''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' is a 10-minute black-and-white

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

made in the United States in 1910, and is based on

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...

's 1865 book of the same name. Produced by the

Edison Manufacturing Company The Edison Manufacturing Company, originally registered as under the name of the United Edison Manufacturing Company and often known as simply the Edison Company, was organized by scientist / inventor and entrepreneur, Thomas A. Edison (1847–1 ...

and directed by Edwin S. Porter, the film starred Gladys Hulette as Alice. Being a

, naturally all of

's nonsensical prose could not be used, and, being only a one-reel picture, many of the memorable characters in Carroll's original 1865 novel similarly could not be included. What was used in the film was faithful in spirit to Carroll, and in design to the original

John Tenniel John Tenniel (; 28 February 182025 February 1914) was an English illustrator, graphic humourist and political cartoonist prominent in the second half of the 19th century. An alumnus of the Royal Academy of Arts in London, he was knight bachelor ...

illustrations. '' Variety'' complimented the picture by comparing it favorably to the "foreign" film fantasies then flooding American cinemas.

Plot

Alice sees the White Rabbit run by, checking its pocketwatch. Intrigued, she follows him down the rabbit hole and into Wonderland. She lands in a room lined with doors, but finds all of them locked. She finds a key on a table that opens a tiny door. Frustrated that she can't fit through the door, she discovers a bottle has appeared on the table. She drinks its contents and shrinks down to the size of the little door. Realizing she left the key on the table and can't reach it, she eats a piece of cake that makes her grow even bigger than her original size. She sees the White Rabbit run through the room, and she's so unhappy that she begins to cry. She weeps a pool of tears and splashes in it, but she dries off quickly. Next she punches through the little door that leads to a garden. The White Rabbit and other small animals are alarmed to see a giant hand reaching through the door, and they run away. She finds a little fan, and when she fans herself, she shrinks back down to the correct height for the door. Emerging at last into the garden, she's frightened by an enormous puppy. Approaching a little house, she sees a fish-footman hand a frog-footman an invitation from the Queen of Hearts to the Duchess. Plates fly out of the door, so she enters the house and finds the Duchess, the Cook, the Baby and the Cheshire Cat. The Cook adds too much pepper to her food, and the sneezing Duchess hands Alice the Baby. Going outside with the Baby, she finds that it's turned into a little pig. The Cheshire Cat appears in a tree, and tells her that "We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad." Next, Alice comes across a mad tea-party, hosted by the March Hare, the Mad Hatter and the sleepy Dormouse. Then she finds the topiary garden, where a pack of playing-card soldiers and other members of the royal court greet the King and Queen of Hearts. Spying some roses that have not been painted red, the Queen scolds some playing cards and shouts, "Off with their heads!" Retiring to a room in the castle, Alice is present for a party where the King and Queen of Hearts discover that the Knave of Hearts has stolen some tarts. A trial ensues, where the Mad Hatter, the Cook and Alice present evidence. Alice upsets the King and Queen, and the Queen shouts "Off with her head!" Alice is surrounded by a swirl of playing cards, and then wakes up to find that her adventure in Wonderland was a dream.

Gallery

Image:Gladys-Hulette-Alice.jpg, Gladys Hulette as 'Alice' Image:mad-hatter-hare-1910.jpg, The Mad Hatter and the March Hare

References

External links

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''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' on Comic Vine
{{Edwin S. Porter 1910 films 1910 short films 1910s American films 1910s fantasy films American black-and-white films American silent short films Edison Manufacturing Company films Films based on Alice in Wonderland Films based on multiple works Films directed by Edwin S. Porter Silent American adventure films Silent American fantasy films Surviving American silent films

Plot

Gallery

See also

References

External links