"The Wednesday Play" Alice (1965)

Director:

Gareth Davies

Writers:

Lewis Carroll (novels)
Dennis Potter (written by)

TV Series:

"The Wednesday Play" (1964)

Original Air Date:

13 October 1965 (Season 1, Episode 33)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Written for THE WEDNESDAY PLAY (1964-70), which the BBC retitled PLAY FOR TODAY in 1970, ALICE has the...

Plot Keywords:

Based On Novel | Character Name In Title | Partially Lost TV Series | Day In Title

Cast

George Baker	...	Rev Charles Lutwidge Dodson
Deborah Watling	...	Alice Liddell
Rosalie Crutchley	...	Mrs. Liddell
David Langton	...	Dean Liddell
Tessa Wyatt	...	Lorina Liddell
Maria Coyne	...	Edith Liddell
Maurice Hedley	...	Alexander MacMillan
John Moffatt	...	Mr. Stotman
Peter Bartlett	...	Dormouse
John Bailey	...	Mad Hatter
John Saunders	...	March Hare
Norman Scace	...	Mock Turtle
Frank Shelley	...	Gryphon
Colin Rix	...	Workman
Suzanne Vasey	...	Ellen
George Pensotti	...	John
John Steiner	...	Thornton
Tony Anholt	...	Hargreaves
Gareth Forwood	...	Balcar
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Keith Campbell	...	The Caterpillar
Michael Harfleet	...	The Gardener's Boy
Billy Russell	...	The Gardener
Malcolm Webster	...	Reverend Robinson Duckworth

Directed by
Gareth Davies

Writing credits
Lewis Carroll		(novels)
Dennis Potter		(written by)

Produced by
James MacTaggart	....	producer

Original Music by
Peter Greenwell

Cinematography by
Charles Parnall

Film Editing by
Howard Billingham
Peter Pierce

Production Design by
Michael Wield

Costume Design by
Lisa Benjamin

Makeup Department
Christina Morris	....	makeup artist

Camera and Electrical Department
Robert Wright	....	lighting technician

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Sydney Newman		creator

Production Companies

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Distributors

• BBC Warner (2010) (USA) (DVD)

Runtime:

72 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

This play is also known as "The Life of Lewis Carroll".

Movie Connections:

Followed by Dreamchild (1985)

Interesting portrait of Lewis Carroll

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This intelligent, absorbing, and insightful BBC TV special centers on Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodson (an excellent performance by George Baker), an awkward and stuttering, but brilliant and creative academic who wrote the classic novel "Alice in Wonderland" under the alias Lewis Carroll. Dodson was inspired to write said book through his friendship with the lovely and radiant young girl Alice Liddell (a delightful and enchanting portrayal by the adorable Deborah Watling). Director Gareth Davies and writer Dennis Potter not only astutely peg how Dodson's eccentricity alternately charmed or irritated those who knew him, but also show how everyday events influenced his work. In addition, Davies and Potter vividly capture Dodson's tremendous leaping imagination and painfully acute sensitivity (he was vehemently opposed to change and was extremely uncomfortable with the fame his book brought him). Moreover, there's a few neat visualizations of key scenes from the book. Baker and Watling do sterling work in the lead roles; they receive fine support from Rosalie Crutchley as Alice's concerned mother Mrs. Liddell, David Langton as the self-absorbed Dean Liddell, Maria Coyne as Alice's bratty sister Edith, John Bailey as the batty Mad Hatter, and John Saunders as the melancholy Mock Turtle. Charles Parnall's sharp black and white cinematography boasts several stately fades and dissolves. Peter Green's spare, melodic score likewise does the trick. Worth a look for fans of Lewis Carroll's work.