Alice In Wonderland (1933) ***1/2

The 1933 version of Alice In Wonderland, based on Lewis Carroll’s Alice's Adventures In Wonderland (1865) and Alice Through The Looking Glass (1871), is the right proportion of surreal and whimsical. It’s amazing to me how much this live action version seems to inform not only the 1951 Disney animated version but also the 1939 film adaptation of The Wizard Of Oz (review). While this AIW has nowhere near the staying power of either of those films, it’s still quite entertaining. The production values are cheap but the bizarre, nightmarish costumes are a blast, Charlotte Henry is a cute, endearing Alice, and the appearances by stars Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, and W.C. Fields are fun.