Greg picked up a copy of the 1933 Alice In Wonderland. It was new to dvd in March. I don't remember ever seeing it but it could have been on the tv when I was a kid. First thing I notice, the huge cast list. I didn't remember ever hearing about Charlotte Henry, or seeing any of her films, but many of the other actors are favorites of mine. Edna May Oliver, Charles Ruggles, and Edward Everett Horton to name three. After the title card the film shows us a clip of each actor in and out of character. It takes a while to get through that large gang and this is a short film. Originally 90 minutes the movie was cut in the 50's to 77 minutes. This short version is what we get on the dvd. It doesn't look all that great either but I'm used to watching old movies and they don't always come in the best shapes.
I love the old hand colored stills and lobby cards. They have a false reality that I like. You can see that the costumes and makeup are pretty entertaining. In many cases you can't tell who's back there but for the voice. Cary Grant as the mock turtle is one. Here's him with his costume (below). That the Queen and Alice below on the right. Some of the makeup's are pretty wild. Kind of reminded me of the Tenniel drawings in some editions of the books.
The sets are pretty good. The special effects are average for the time. It's weird and goofy but for some reason I couldn't get into the movie right away. Mostly I was thinking it was Charlotte Henry. She was kind of annoying, especially when she talked. She looked too old. She was 19 when she shot the movie and looked older. I didn't find Alice or her dialog very interesting. Once we got through the looking glass and down the rabbit hole it was more interesting. The movie grabs bits from both books and mushes them up a bit and even tosses in a cartoon version The Walrus and The Carpenter. In the movie it's shown to us on a tv like screen. Odd as it is I don't think I'll got out and get one.
Life Blood is the US title of Murder World. It's a vampire movie with Sophie Monk. It's terrible. Most of the movie takes place in a desert gas station called Murder World. It's near a famous murder site. It's a pretty weak element in a movie filled with weak elements. Sophie's at a party smoochin' up her girlfriend. Going to bathroom she stops a sleazy actor from beating a girl. Then when he's calmed down she stabs him in the neck. Sophie takes off with her pal, they both die, and they both rise from the ground 40 years later. It gets more unbelieveable after that. The movie's being sold as a lesbian vampire film and let me tell you it doesn't deliver much on either front. Any other lesbian vampire film you hear about is probably better than this. Not much acting, even for the kind of movie it is. We started calling for scanning. There's way to much yakkin' by the two women on their metaphysical voyage. Nothing I want to hitch a ride on that's for sure. It's all the fault of Ron Carlson, who wrote and directed the movie. Boo, Ron!
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