Alice in Wonderland (1976 adult film)

Alice in Wonderland (sometimes listed as Alice in Wonderland: A Musical Porno) is a 1976 pornographic musical film, loosely based on Lewis Carroll's book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. It was directed by Bud Townsend and starred Terri Hall, Bree Anthony, and Kristine DeBell. The theatrical release of the film was on December 10, 1976 in the USA. On May 26–27 it was shown at the Grand Illusion Cinema in Seattle, Washington during Satellites 2000: Screens From Outer Space.

 

The film initially received an X-rating in 1976 and subsequently, an R-rating a year later with three minutes cut from the film. It was later re-released on VHS with a somewhat grandiose title roll preceding the movie noting that quite a bit of hardcore footage had originally been shot, but "could not be included" at the time. Several reviews opine that the added material actually makes the movie less enjoyable by dragging down its pacing. It has also been re-released on DVD, though whether this release is official, and which source material it was made from, is unclear.

Plot summary

Alice (Kristine DeBell) offends her would-be lover William (Ron Nelson) by rejecting his advances. Upset, she falls asleep reading Alice in Wonderland. The white rabbit (Larry Gelman) appears to her in a dream and takes her into a sexual wonderland. The story loosely follows Carroll's original plot, and includes many of his characters, but with considerable sexual license.

 

Availability

The film was produced by adult film mogul Bill Osco, the producer of the first mainstream adult film, Mona (1970), and its sequel Harlot (1971), as well as the comedy/stop motion effects hit, Flesh Gordon (1974). Osco chose to make as his next project a musical soft-core version of the Lewis Carroll novel, finding that the story rights were in the public domain. The result was an X-rated feature which was picked up by 20th Century Fox, who cut three minutes to obtain an R-Rating.

Alice went on to gross over $90 million worldwide, thus making it one of the most successful adult films ever. Two years later the film was recut to add some reshot hardcore scenes, using some of the original actors, with an added credit scroll explaining the demand for the hardcore version.

 

History
Alice was circulated as an R-rated version in VHS format by Media Home Entertainment. The hardcore version was also available on VHS. Both have long been out of print. In December 2007, Subversive Cinema released a DVD containing the original X-rated and hardcore versions, fully-restored, and available through mainstream DVD retail outlets.