Alice in Wonderland (lost footage from fantasy film; 1949): Difference between revisions

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'''''Alice in Wonderland''''' is a 1949 French-British film based on Lewis Carroll's fantasy novel ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''. It was directed by Dallas Bower and stars Carol Marsh as Alice, Stephen Murray as the live-action Lewis Carroll and voice of the Knave of Hearts, and Raymond Bussières as the live-action Tailor and voice of the Mad Hatter. The Wonderland characters are stop-motion puppets created by Lou Bunin.
'''''Alice in Wonderland''''' is a 1949 French-British film based on Lewis Carroll's fantasy novel ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''. It was directed by Dallas Bower and stars Carol Marsh as Alice, Stephen Murray as the live-action Lewis Carroll and voice of the Knave of Hearts, and Raymond Bussières as the live-action Tailor and voice of the Mad Hatter. The Wonderland characters are stop-motion puppets created by Lou Bunin.


The film has fallen into obscurity over the years, due largely to the actions of Disney Studios. The company prevented it from being widely seen in the U.S. as they did not want it to compete with their own version of the story, which was being released around the same time.<ref> [http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,889135,00.html Time article from July 16th, 1951 which talks about the two ''Alice in Wonderland'' movies coming out.] Retrieved 23 Sept '19</ref> Disney's influence also had a negative impact on the film's preservation as, because of their pre-existing arrangement with Technicolor, it had to be shot in inferior Ansco Color which deteriorated badly over time.<ref>[http://sensesofcinema.com/2018/alice-in-wonderland/lou-bunins-alice-wonderland/ Article on ''Alice in Wonderland'' (1949).] Retrieved 23 Sept '19</ref>
The film has fallen into obscurity over the years, due largely to the actions of Disney Studios. The company prevented it from being widely seen in the U.S. as they did not want it to compete with their own version of the story, which was being released around the same time.<ref> [http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,889135,00.html Time article from July 16th, 1951 which talks about the two ''Alice in Wonderland'' movies coming out.] Retrieved 23 Sep '19</ref> Disney's influence also had a negative impact on the film's preservation as, because of their pre-existing arrangement with Technicolor, it had to be shot in inferior Ansco Color which deteriorated badly over time.<ref>[http://sensesofcinema.com/2018/alice-in-wonderland/lou-bunins-alice-wonderland/ Article on ''Alice in Wonderland'' (1949).] Retrieved 23 Sep '19</ref>


Home video releases of the film vary in length, excluding some scenes while including others, and the order they are shown is often switched around. Sudden jumps and cuts throughout indicate that there is '''missing footage'''. Indeed, in recent years, Lou Bunin's daughter was able to restore 12 minutes of footage to the film (giving it a running time of 76 minutes), which has since been shown at various screening events. It is now in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art. There are plans by the company Thunderbean to release this more complete version on Blu-ray and DVD, but so far nothing has come of them because of financial and other difficulties.<ref> [https://www.intanibase.com/forum/posts/t2721-Lou-Bunin-s-Alice-in-Wonderland-Blu-Ray-Status Article about the Blu-Ray status of Lou Bunin's ''Alice in Wonderland''.] Retrieved 23 Sept '19</ref>
Home video releases of the film vary in length, excluding some scenes while including others, and the order they are shown is often switched around. Sudden jumps and cuts throughout indicate that there is '''missing footage'''. Indeed, in recent years, Lou Bunin's daughter was able to restore 12 minutes of footage to the film (giving it a running time of 76 minutes), which has since been shown at various screening events. It is now in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art. There are plans by the company Thunderbean to release this more complete version on Blu-ray and DVD, but so far nothing has come of them because of financial and other difficulties.<ref> [https://www.intanibase.com/forum/posts/t2721-Lou-Bunin-s-Alice-in-Wonderland-Blu-Ray-Status Article about the Blu-Ray status of Lou Bunin's ''Alice in Wonderland''.] Retrieved 23 Sep '19</ref>


It's unclear if any more footage from the film is lost, though it has been rumored that it originally had a 90-minute running time. According to those who watched the televised film in the late '50s and early '60s, there were once additional scenes of the Caucus Race animals chasing Alice, as well as there being more to the subplot of the Knave of Hearts stealing the Queen's tarts. Also, there was apparently a scene based on the one in the book where Alice is accused of stealing a sparrow's eggs which is now nowhere to be found.
It's unclear if any more footage from the film is lost, though it has been rumored that it originally had a 90-minute running time. According to those who watched the televised film in the late 1950s and early 1960s, there were once additional scenes of the Caucus Race animals chasing Alice, as well as there being more to the subplot of the Knave of Hearts stealing the Queen's tarts. Also, there was apparently a scene based on the one in the book where Alice is accused of stealing a sparrow's eggs which is now nowhere to be found.


==Gallery==
==Gallery==
{{Video|perrow  =1
{{Video|perrow  =2
   |service1    =youtube
   |service1    =youtube
   |id1          =4jPbelf_-XM
   |id1          =4jPbelf_-XM
   |description1 =The released cut of the film.
   |description1 =The released cut of the film.
  |service2    =
  |id2          =
  |description2 =[[File:Alice1949cook.jpg|thumb|center|300px|An image of the Duchess's Cook being called as a witness during the trial scene (as in the book). This does not appear in any version of the film currently available to the public.]]
}}
}}
<gallery mode=packed heights=150px>
File:Alice1949cook.jpg|A screenshot of the Duchess's cook being called as a witness during the trial scene (as in the book). This does not appear in any version of the film currently available to the public.
</gallery>
==External Link==
==External Link==
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042189/ IMDb page on the film.] Retrieved 24 Sept '19
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042189/ IMDb page on the film.] Retrieved 24 Sep '19


==References==
==References==
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[[Category:Lost films]]
[[Category:Lost films]]
[[Category:Lost puppetry]]
[[Category:Lost puppetry]]
[[Category:Completely lost media]]

Latest revision as of 20:38, 30 October 2020

Alice1949.png

Screenshots from the restored print in the Museum of Modern Art.

Status: Lost

Alice in Wonderland is a 1949 French-British film based on Lewis Carroll's fantasy novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It was directed by Dallas Bower and stars Carol Marsh as Alice, Stephen Murray as the live-action Lewis Carroll and voice of the Knave of Hearts, and Raymond Bussières as the live-action Tailor and voice of the Mad Hatter. The Wonderland characters are stop-motion puppets created by Lou Bunin.

The film has fallen into obscurity over the years, due largely to the actions of Disney Studios. The company prevented it from being widely seen in the U.S. as they did not want it to compete with their own version of the story, which was being released around the same time.[1] Disney's influence also had a negative impact on the film's preservation as, because of their pre-existing arrangement with Technicolor, it had to be shot in inferior Ansco Color which deteriorated badly over time.[2]

Home video releases of the film vary in length, excluding some scenes while including others, and the order they are shown is often switched around. Sudden jumps and cuts throughout indicate that there is missing footage. Indeed, in recent years, Lou Bunin's daughter was able to restore 12 minutes of footage to the film (giving it a running time of 76 minutes), which has since been shown at various screening events. It is now in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art. There are plans by the company Thunderbean to release this more complete version on Blu-ray and DVD, but so far nothing has come of them because of financial and other difficulties.[3]

It's unclear if any more footage from the film is lost, though it has been rumored that it originally had a 90-minute running time. According to those who watched the televised film in the late 1950s and early 1960s, there were once additional scenes of the Caucus Race animals chasing Alice, as well as there being more to the subplot of the Knave of Hearts stealing the Queen's tarts. Also, there was apparently a scene based on the one in the book where Alice is accused of stealing a sparrow's eggs which is now nowhere to be found.

Gallery

The released cut of the film.

An image of the Duchess's Cook being called as a witness during the trial scene (as in the book). This does not appear in any version of the film currently available to the public.

External Link

References