''Malice in Wonderland'' is a 1985 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made fo ...

biographical film based on the 1972 novel ''Hedda and Louella: A Dual Biography of Hedda Hopper and Louella Parsons'' by George Eells. Starring Elizabeth Taylor and

Jane Alexander Jane Alexander (née Quigley; born October 28, 1939) is an American actress and author. She is the recipient of two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and nominations for four Academy Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards. From 1993 to 19 ...

, it tells the based-on-real-life stories of powerful Hollywood gossip columnists

Hedda Hopper Hedda Hopper (born Elda Furry; May 2, 1885February 1, 1966) was an American gossip columnist and actress. At the height of her influence in the 1940s, her readership was 35 million. A strong supporter of the House Un-American Activities Committ ...

and

Louella Parsons Louella Parsons (born Louella Rose Oettinger; August 6, 1881 – December 9, 1972) was an American movie columnist and a screenwriter. She was retained by William Randolph Hearst because she had championed Hearst's mistress Marion Davies and s ...

, once friends and later rivals. The film premiered on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

on 12 May 1985. The film was a ratings success gaining an 18.3 rating equaling to 15,536,700 households tuning in its original air date.

Cast

* Elizabeth Taylor as

Richard Dysart Richard Allen Dysart (March 30, 1929 – April 5, 2015) was an American actor. He is best known for his role as Leland McKenzie in the television series '' L.A. Law'' (1986–1994), for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award from four consecutive no ...

Louis B. Mayer Louis Burt Mayer (; born Lazar Meir; July 12, 1882 or 1884 or 1885 – October 29, 1957) was a Canadian-American film producer and co-founder of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios (MGM) in 1924. Under Mayer's management, MGM became the film industr ...

Joyce Van Patten Joyce Benignia Van Patten (born March 9, 1934) is an American film and stage actress. She is best known for her roles in films like '' The Bad News Bears'' (1976), ''St. Elmo's Fire'' (1985) (as Mrs. Beamish), and as Rob Schneider's septuagenari ...

as Dema Harshbarger *

Jon Cypher Jon Cypher (born January 13, 1932) is an American actor and singer. He is best known as playing Chief of Police Fletcher Daniels in ''Hill Street Blues'' throughout the series' run. He is also known for his work in ''Cinderella'', ''As the World Tu ...

as Dr. Harry 'Docky' Martin *

Leslie Ackerman Leslie Ackerman (born August 2, 1956) is an American actress. Ackerman is from Springfield, New Jersey. Her father progressed from being an attorney to serving on the Federal District Court in Trenton, New Jersey. She became interested in the ...

as Harriet Parsons *

Bonnie Bartlett Bonnie Bartlett (born June 20, 1929) is an American actress. Her career spans seven decades, with her first major role being on a 1950s daytime drama, ''Love of Life''. Bartlett is known for her role as Grace Snider Edwards on the Michael Land ...

as Ida Koverman * Thomas Byrd as

William Hopper William DeWolf Hopper Jr. (January 26, 1915 – March 6, 1970) was an American stage, film, and television actor. The only child of actor DeWolf Hopper and actress and Hollywood columnist Hedda Hopper, he appeared in predominantly minor r ...

* Joel Colodner as Andy Kenderson * Rick Lenz as Iceman *

Mary McCusker Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

as Dot *

John Pleshette John Pleshette (born July 27, 1942) is an American actor and screenwriter, best known for his role as Richard Avery on the television drama ''Knots Landing'', and for portraying Lee Harvey Oswald in the TV movie '' The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald ...

as Tommy Gallep *

Eric Purcell The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

Tim Robbins Timothy Francis Robbins (born October 16, 1958) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for portraying Andy Dufresne in the film '' The Shawshank Redemption ''(1994), and has won an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards for his rol ...

Joseph Cotten Joseph Cheshire Cotten Jr. (May 15, 1905 – February 6, 1994) was an American film, stage, radio and television actor. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original stage productions of '' The Philadelphia Story'' and '' Sab ...

* Mark L. Taylor as

Howard Strickling Howard Strickling (September 25, 1896 – July 16, 1982) served as head of publicity for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer pictures from the late 1920s into the late 1960s. Biography He was born in West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalach ...

Nancy Travis Nancy Ann Travis (born September 21, 1961) is an American actress. She began her career on Off-Broadway theater, before her first leading screen role in the ABC television miniseries ''Harem'' opposite Omar Sharif. Her breakthrough came in 198 ...

as Ann * B.J. Ward as June *

Vernon Weddle Vernon Weddle Jr. (born August 23, 1935) is an American film, stage and television actor. He is perhaps best known for playing "General Washburne" in the 1986 film ''Short Circuit''. Life and career Weddle was born in Hattiesburg, Mississipp ...

Sam Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (born Szmuel Gelbfisz; yi, שמואל געלבפֿיש; August 27, 1882 (claimed) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer. He was best known for being the founding contributor a ...

* Allen Williams as Joel *

Theodore Wilson Theodore Rosevelt "Teddy" Wilson (December 10, 1943 – July 21, 1991) was an American stage, film, and television actor. He is best known for his recurring roles as Earl the Postman on the ABC sitcom '' That's My Mama'', and Sweet Daddy Wil ...

as Collins *

Jason Wingreen Jason Wingreen (October 9, 1920 – December 25, 2015) was an American actor. He portrayed bartender Harry Snowden on the CBS sitcom ''All in the Family'' (1977–1979), a role he reprised on the continuation series ''Archie Bunker's Place'' ( ...

as Jack L. Warner *

Helen Baron Helen may refer to: People * Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world * Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress * Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Places * Helen, ...

as Ellen * Thomas Bellin as Hotel Clerk *

Denise Crosby Denise Michelle Crosby is an American actress and model known for portraying Security Chief Tasha Yar mainly in season one of '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', and Yar's daughter, the half-Romulan Commander Sela, in subsequent seasons. She ...

as Carole Lombard * Robert Darnell as Heiner *

Christine Dickinson Christine may refer to: People * Christine (name), a female given name Film * ''Christine'' (1958 film), based on Schnitzler's play ''Liebelei'' * ''Christine'' (1983 film), based on King's novel of the same name * ''Christine'' (1987 fi ...

as Betty *

Douglas Emerson Douglas Emerson (born October 4, 1974) is an American former child actor who played Scott Scanlon on ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' in the show's first and second seasons and played Eddie Beckner in ''The Blob''. On Beverly Hills 90210, Emerson's ch ...

as Young Bill Harper * Edith Fields as Mrs. Washburn *

Lyla Graham Lyla is a feminine given name. Notable people with the name include: People * Lyla Berg (born 1951), Hawaiian politician * Lyla Elliott (born 1934), Australian politician * Lyla Foy (aka WALL), London songwriter and solo artist, who garnered accl ...

as Mrs. Clayton * Anne Haney as Dema's Secretary *

Mindi Iden Mindi is a suburb area in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. Entertainment Globex Shopping Mall is at NH Road accessible here. There is a multiplex with 5 screens. Transport APSRTC buses are available here from city. ;APSRTC Andh ...

as Starlet *

Leigh Kavanaugh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffo ...

as 2nd Journalist *

Amelia Laurenson Amelia may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Amélia'' (film), a 2000 Brazilian film directed by Ana Carolina * ''Amelia'' (film), a 2009 film based on the life of Amelia Earhart Literature * '' Amelia (magazine)'', a Swedish ...

Elizabeth Arden Elizabeth Arden (born Florence Nightingale Graham; December 31, 1881 – October 18, 1966) was a Canadian-American businesswoman who founded what is now Elizabeth Arden, Inc., and built a cosmetics empire in the United States. By 1929, s ...

* Galen Thompson as Hal *

Jan Tříska Jan Tříska (; 4 November 1936 – 25 September 2017) was a Czech actor who played over 160 roles across stage, film, and television. He worked in the United States after emigrating there in the 1970s, but later returned to his native country fo ...

as Mike Romanoff * Keith Walker as Albert *

Gary Wayne Gary Anthony Wayne (born November 30, 1962) is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He played for the Minnesota Twins, Colorado Rockies, and Los Angeles Dodgers between 1989 and 1994. Early life Wayne graduated from ...

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American film actor, often referred to as "The King of Hollywood". He had roles in more than 60 motion pictures in multiple genres during a career that lasted 37 years, three decades ...

Noni White Noni White is an American writer and actress. White is best known for co-creating and writing the screenplay for ''Newsies'' along with her husband Bob Tzudiker, which was based on the real-life Newsboys' strike of 1899. Newsies began as a "cl ...

as 1st Journalist *

Craig Richard Nelson Craig Richard Nelson (born September 17, 1947) is an American actor in theater, film and television. Life and career Nelson was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and grew up as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He studie ...

as Radio Producer

Crew

Director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Gus Trikonis Gus Trikonis (born Kostas Tritchonis; November 21, 1937) is an American actor, dancer, and director. Career Trikonis began his career as an actor and dancer, notably appearing in the hugely successful 1961 film ''West Side Story'' as Indio, one ...

* Producer as

Jay Benson A jay is a member of a number of species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy, passerine birds in the Crow family, Corvidae. The evolutionary relationships between the jays and the magpies are rather complex. For example, the Eurasian ...

* Music as

Charles Bernstein Charles Bernstein may refer to: * Charles Bernstein (composer) (born 1943), American composer of film and television scores * Charles Bernstein (poet) Charles Bernstein (born April 4, 1950) is an American poet, essayist, editor, and literary sc ...

* Cinematographer as Philip H. Lathrop * Film Editing as

Allan Jacobs Allan B. Jacobs (born 29 December 1928) is an urban designer, renowned for his publications and research on urban design. His well-known paper ''"Toward an Urban Design Manifesto"'', written with Donald Appleyard, describes how cities should be ...

Production Designer In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wo ...

as John D. Jefferies Sr. *

Costume design Costume design is the creation of clothing for the overall appearance of a character or performer. Costume may refer to the style of dress particular to a nation, a class, or a period. In many cases, it may contribute to the fullness of the arti ...

er as

Nolan Miller Nolan Bertrandoff Miller (January 8, 1933 – June 7, 2012) was an American fashion and jewelry designer on QVC and a television costume designer best known for his work on the long-running 1980s series ''Dynasty'', its spin-off series ''The Colb ...

Home media

''Malice in Wonderland'' was released on Region 1

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

on June 28, 2004 with a running time of 94 minutes.

External links

* 1985 films 1980s historical comedy-drama films 1985 television films American biographical films American comedy-drama films American historical comedy-drama films CBS network films Films set in the 20th century Biographical films about journalists American drama television films Films directed by Gus Trikonis 1980s English-language films 1980s American films {{US-tv-film-stub