The first known “Alice in Wonderland” film, above,  was made in 1903, just 68 years after Lewis Carroll first published his fantasy “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.” The print of the one-reel silent is in desperate need of restoration, but even with the ravages of time and the limitations of filmmaking of the era, the charm and whimsy of Carroll’s story still shines.

Over the past century, there have countless versions of “Alice in Wonderland” on screen and TV and, of course, on stages both professional and amateur – a new musical called “Wonderland” is currently playing in Houston, for instance. Alice has been animated, musical, serious, funny and X-rated. On screen, Hollywood heavyweights such as Cary Grant and Meryl Streep have gone down the rabbit hole long before Johnny Depp. With the March 5 arrival of Tim Burton’s lavish 3-D take on the classic tale, here’s a look back at some past version of Alice…

The 1903 version of the film, which was made in England, stars Mabel Clark as Alice. Cecil Hepworthis listed as the co-star, cinematographer and co-directed. Hepworth wasn’t above a little nepotism as “Mrs. Cecil Hepworth” is also listed in the cast. A 1910 American version , “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” was directed by the seminal early silent director Edwin S. Porter (“The Great Train Robbery“) for Edison Manufacturing Co. Gladys Hulette starred. The 10-minute short received a thumb up from Variety, which declared it was as good as the “foreign” film fantasies playing in the U.S. And the Alices just kept coming: Viola Savoy had the title role in a 1915 version, which was re-released in 1924.

Ruth Gilbert, a stage actress who was discovered by Eugene O’Neill and later played Milton Berle’s secretary on his TV series, is the first talking Alice. She starred in the 55-minute adaptation in 1931 directed by “Bud” Pollard. Alice really hit the big time in 1933 when Paramount produced an all-star cast version of the tale. Charlotte Henry was cast as Alice. The supporting cast featured the studio’s stable of stars hidden behind tons of strange makeup and costumes — Cary Grant is the Mock Turtle; Gary Cooper, the White Knight, Richard Arlen the Cheshire Cat and even W.C. Fields as Humpty Dumpty. Gordon Jennings and Farciot Edouart supplied the cutting edge special effects, but for all of its expense and star power, this version laid an egg bigger than Humpty.

Not everyone intended their Alice to be child-friendly. Back in 1976, adult film mogul Bill Osco released his first mainstream adult film, an X-rated musical version of “Alice in Wonderland,” with Playboy centerfoldKristine DeBell as Alice, a young woman, who after rejecting the advances of a young man (Ron Nelson) falls asleep reading “Alice in Wonderland.” Larry Gelman, best known as Dr. Bernie Tupperman on “The Bob Newhart Show,” plays the White Rabbit who takes Alice down a rabbit hole into a sexually active wonderland. The movie was a huge hit, making some $90 million worldwide. Three years later, it was given an R-rating after a few minutes were snipped. And DeBell, who is now 55, did eventually go mainstream appearing in “The Big Brawl” and “Willie & Phil.”

Then there were the singing Alices. John Barry supplied the music and Don Black, the lyrics of this traditional telling of the 1972 British musical version starring Fiona Fullertonas Alice. The terrific supporting cast includes a pre-“Phantom of the Opera” Michael Crawford as the White Rabbit, Ralph Richardson as the Caterpillar, Dudley Moore as the Dormouse and Peter Sellers as the March Hare.

Decades before she belted out ABBA tunes in “Mamma Mia!,” Streep strutted her musical stuff as Alice in Elizabeth Swados’ musical “Alice in the Palace,” which originally played at the Public Theater in the late 1970s. In 1982, PBS’ brought this hip combination of “Alice in Wonderland” and “Alice Through the Looking Glass” to TV. Streep, dressed in a long white blouse and pink overalls, is a feisty delight and she’s ably matched by Mark Linn-Baker., Michael Jeter, Deborah Rush and Debbie Allen.

What’s the defining screen version of Alice for most Americans? It’s hard to argue against Walt Disney’s 1951’s “Alice in Wonderland,” which despite its beautiful Modernist animation was not a hit commercially or critically when it was released. The British press and literary critics denounced it as too Americanized, and they pounced on the absence of the White Knight, the Duchess and Humpty Dumpty. To Disney, though, the reason the film fizzled was a problem with the title character — she lacked “heart,” he judged. But in the 1960s, “Alice,” along with “Fantasia,” gained a reputation among college students as a “head” film.

Speaking of that tie-dyed era, one of the more intriguing incarnations of “Alice in Wonderland“ was a BBC version in 1966 that skipped the usual emphasis on visual effects. Director Jonathan Miller first came to fame in England in the early 1960s as part of the innovative comedy troupe Beyond the Fringe, which also featured Peter Cook, Dudley Moore and Alan Bennett. (Cook and Moore became a comedy team, Bennett a playwright and Miller a director.) Miller directed this beautifully shot BBC adaptation that eschews special effects and elaborate costumes and sets. Anne-Marie Millik plays Alice, John Gielgud is the Mock Turtle, Cook plays the Mad Hatter and Peter Sellers is the King of Hearts. And sitar legend (and the Beatles’ pal) Ravi Shankar supplied the music.

Jumping back, there was a 1949 French/British film version of “Alice in Wonderland” that presented actors as well as a supporting cast portrayed by the Bunin puppets. Carol Marsh played Alice, but her work wasn’t widely seen because of a legal issue with Disney, whose cartoon feature was already underway. The overseas version was eventually released here in 1951, but it flopped.

There was an interesting father-daughter appearance in another television production, this one in 1983 on the American side of the Atlantic. Kate Burton, best known as Ellis Grey on “Grey’s Anatomy,” played Alice in this uneven fantasy/musical conceived by the great stage actress/director Eva Le Gallienne that ran for 21 performances on Broadway in 1982 and early 1983. PBS’ “Great Performances” brought it to TV in 1983. It’s no classic, but it offers a rare chance to see young Kate acting opposite her legendary father, Richard Burton, who plays the White Knight.

As far as animation, one of the more interesting versions came in 1966 when ABC aired a 60-minute special produced by Hanna-Barbera. Set in modern times, Alice and her dog Fluff follow the White Rabbit down the hole in order to escape her angry father. Sammy Davis Jr. provided the voice of the cool Cheshire Cat .

Television has returned again and again and again to Lewis Carroll’s curious little girl in the pinafore dress. Often big names are pulled into the mix: Natalie Gregory had the title role in a CBS two-part miniseries that aired in 1985 and features Red Buttons, Anthony Newly, Carol Channing and Roddy McDowell.

NBC tried its luck in Wonderland in 1999, with Tina Majorino as Alice in a visual-effects-heavy version directed by Nick Willing. The supporting cast includes Martin Short, Whoopi Goldberg, Peter Ustinov, Ben Kingsley and Gene Wilder. Jim Henson’s Creature Shop designed the puppets.

Willing also directed the SyFy 2009 re-imagining of the story, set in Wonderland 150 years after Alice’s visit. And all is not good in the hood: Wonderland is filled with casinos built of playing cards and ruled by the Queen of Hearts (Kathy Bates). The White Rabbit is a covert organization working for the Queen that kidnaps people from the real world so they can gamble in the casinos. Alice (Caterina Scorsone) is a twentysomething judo sensei in who finds herself in this corrupt realm after her boyfriend is among the plucked.

The list just goes on and on, and “Alice” productions arrive with all manner of passport stamps.

There was a 1981 Belgium-Polish musical version “Alice” that presented a modern retelling with Sophie Barjac in the title role. Jean-Pierre Cassel plays a jogger by the name of Rabbit.

Then the legendary Czech filmmaker Jan Svankmajer created the 1988 surreal fantasy ”Alice” that combines live action with stop-motion animation.

Want to know more about the real-life Alice and her influence on the literature? Dennis Potter (“The Singing Detective”) penned the exquisite 1985 “Dreamchild.” It’s a fictionalized look at Alice Liddell, the young woman who inspired Carroll’s famous stories. Amelia Shankley plays the young Alice; Coral Browne is the elderly Alice; and Ian Holm is the Rev. Charles Dodgson, a.k.a. Carroll. Popping up again, Jim Henson’s Creature Shop created the makeup and special effects in the fantasy sequences.

Oh, and in 1991, Disney took another shot at Alice: The Disney Channel introduced a live-action TV series based on the classic, starring Elisabeth Harnois as Alice. The show continued through 1995.

Now, of course, Disney has another trip planned down the rabbit hole. And with the cast, budget and 3-D technology brought to bear by this production, there is good reason to suspect that this 2010 version of Alice’s adventures will make a strange new magic for yet another generation.

– Susan King

LAtimes