Picture shows (seated, L-R) Peter Cook as the Mad Hatter, Wilfrid Lawson as the Dormouse, Michael Gough as the March Hare, Anne-Marie Mallik as Alice and the production team filming the Tea Party scene.
Jonathan Miller’s production of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland debuted on 大象传媒 television on 28 December 1966. Miller said the film "although it is about children, is not really for them", and so it went out in the slot generally filled by The Wednesday Play.
Miller was keen to strip Alice in Wonderland of any associations – such as the Tenniel illustrations – that had built up over the years and had his actors perform without elaborate character makeup, in everyday Victorian dress. This approach proved controversial, but Miller's talent was undeniable and the following year it was repeated at a time when children could see it.
Alice was played by the 13 year old unknown, Ann-Marie Mallik. Mallik's stillness and slight air of detachment emphasised the dreamlike quality of the action that went on around her. The stellar cast included Alan Bennett, Michael Redgrave, Leo McKern, Peter Cook, Michael Gough, Wilfrid Brambell, Alison Leggatt, Peter Sellers and John Gielgud.
They performed what Miller described as "a poetic summary of life's journey" sealed within "a clever child's dream". Ravi Shankar's music heightened the mood, while also adding – in Miller's words – "a faint suggestion of Victorian empire".
Alice in Wonderland is now viewed as an important programme of the time and a reflection of sixties psychedelic culture. Jonathan Miller has made many more acclaimed programmes including The Body in Question, Whistle and I'll Come to You and the 大象传媒 Television Shakespeare project.
December anniversaries
-
Ireland: A Television History
2 December 1980 -
Start of The 大象传媒 Television Shakespeare
3 December 1978 -
The World About Us
3 December 1967 -
Edward VIII Abdication speech
11 December 1936 -
1984 Broadcast
12 December 1954 -
bbc.co.uk is launched
12 December 1997 -
Jackanory first broadcast
13 December 1965 -
Comedy Playhouse
15 December 1961 -
Culloden
15 December 1964 -
The Likely Lads
16 December 1964 -
大象传媒 World Service launches
19 December 1932 -
Zoo Quest, first on-screen appearance by David Attenborough
21 December 1954 -
Just a Minute first transmitted
22 December 1967 -
A Close Shave
24 December 1995 -
First Empire Address by King George V
25 December 1932 -
Morecambe and Wise Christmas Shows
25 December -
Only Fools and Horses 1996 Christmas Specials
25 December 1996 -
大象传媒 Reith Lectures
26 December 1948 -
Alice in Wonderland
28 December 1966 -
Big Ben chimes broadcast at New Year for the first time
31 December 1923