Alice in Wonderland (1976 film)

Alice in Wonderland
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBud Townsend
Screenplay byBucky Searles[1]
Based onAlice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass
by Lewis Carroll
Produced byWilliam Osco
StarringKristine De Bell
Larry Gelman
Alan Novak
Terri Hall (Terry Hall)
Jason Williams
CinematographyJoseph Bardo
Edited byShaun Walsh
Music byJack Stern
Production
companies
  • Cruiser Productions
  • Essex Pictures Company
Distributed byGeneral National Enterprises[1]
Release date
  • June 11, 1976 (1976-06-11)
[2]
Running time
72 minutes[3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$350,000-$500,000[1][4]
Box office$90 million[5]

Alice in Wonderland is a 1976 American erotic musical comedy film loosely based on Lewis Carroll's 1865 book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. The film expands the original story to include sex and broad adult humor, as well as original songs. The film was directed by Bud Townsend, produced by William Osco, and written by Bucky Searles, based on a concept by Jason Williams.[1]

The plot revolves around Alice (Kristine De Bell), a librarian who falls asleep reading the book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and dreams of the White Rabbit (Larry Gelman), whom she follows into Wonderland, where she begins to experiment with her unexplored sexuality. Through a series of sexual encounters, Alice loses her sexual inhibitions and allows herself to become sexually liberated. The film is a softcore erotic comedy with orchestrated musical numbers which move the plot forward, and contribute to the film's humor.

After premiering in a longer version, three minutes were edited from the film, and it was rated R by the MPAA, and released theatrically by General National, a company formed by producers Jason Williams and William Osco, due to other distributors being unwilling to distribute a sex film.[1] The film grossed over $90 million at the box office.[5] Osco later re-edited the film as hardcore, incorporating explicit sex that was not part of its original production.[1] In 2004, Osco staged an Off-Broadway stage adaptation of the musical.[6][7]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Cite error: The named reference RialtoReport was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Box Office." Variety. June 16, 1976. Retrieved November 21, 2020. https://varietyultimate.com/archive/issue/WV-06-16-1976-12[permanent dead link] (subscription required)
  3. ^ "Alice in Wonderland (X) (cut)". British Board of Film Classification. May 31, 1977. Archived from the original on April 19, 2016. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kemp was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Alice Beyond Wonderland was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Off Broadway Musicals was invoked but never defined (see the help page).