The Chocolate Factory 1971

[Mohammed Huberty]

WillyWonka & the Chocolate Factory is a 1971 American musical fantasy film directed by Mel Stuart from a screenplay by Roald Dahl, based on his 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It stars Gene Wilder as chocolatier Willy Wonka. The film tells the story of a poor child named Charlie Bucket (Peter Ostrum) who, upon finding a Golden Ticket in a chocolate bar, wins the chance to visit Willy Wonka's chocolate factory along with four other children from around the world.

Filming took place in Munich from August to November 1970. Dahl was credited with writing the film's screenplay; however, David Seltzer was brought in to do an uncredited rewrite. Against Dahl's wishes, changes were made to the story, and other decisions made by the director led Dahl to disown the film. The musical numbers were written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley while Walter Scharf arranged and conducted the orchestral score.

Charlie Bucket, a poor paperboy, passes Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, where a tinker tells him that nobody ever enters or leaves the building. Charlie's Grandpa Joe reveals that Wonka had shut down the factory due to espionage from rival confectioners; production resumed three years later, but the factory remained closed to the public and the new workers are unknown.

Wonka announces that he has hidden five Golden Tickets in Wonka Bars; the finders of the tickets will receive a tour of the factory and a lifetime supply of chocolate. The first four tickets are found by Augustus Gloop, a gluttonous boy; Veruca Salt, a spoiled girl; Violet Beauregarde, who chews gum constantly; and Mike Teevee, who is obsessed with television. A mysterious man is seen whispering to each winner.

One day, Charlie finds money in a gutter and uses it to buy a Wonka Bar that contains the fifth ticket. On his way, he encounters the man who spoke to the other winners. Introducing himself as Arthur Slugworth, one of Wonka's competitors, the man offers Charlie money for a sample of Wonka's new invention, the Everlasting Gobstopper. Arriving home with the Golden Ticket, Charlie chooses Grandpa Joe as his chaperone.

The next day, Wonka greets the ticket winners at the front gates of the factory and leads them inside, where they are made to sign a contract. The tour begins in the Chocolate Room, where the visitors meet Wonka's workforce: little people known as Oompa-Loompas. The children receive Everlasting Gobstoppers in the Inventing Room. As the tour progresses, each child is eliminated; Augustus is sucked up a pipe after falling into the chocolate river, Violet becomes a giant blueberry, Veruca falls down a garbage chute, and Mike is shrunk to the size of a chocolate bar. At one point, Charlie and Grandpa Joe sample Fizzy Lifting Drinks, causing them to float dangerously close to a fan; they manage to descend safely by burping.

When the tour is over, Wonka refuses to give Charlie and Grandpa Joe their chocolate prize on the grounds that they violated the contract by taking the Fizzy Lifting Drinks. Grandpa Joe plans to give the Gobstopper to Slugworth out of spite, but Charlie chooses to return it instead. Wonka declares Charlie the winner, revealing that "Slugworth" is actually one of his employees, and that the offer to sell the Gobstopper was a test of character. Wonka explains that he created the contest to find a successor and invites Charlie and his family to come and live in the factory.

The idea for adapting the book into a film came about when director Mel Stuart's 10-year-old daughter, Madeline, read the book and asked her father to make a film out of it, with "Uncle Dave" (producer David L. Wolper, who was not related to the Stuarts) producing. Stuart showed the book to Wolper, who happened to be in the midst of talks with the Quaker Oats Company regarding a vehicle to introduce a new candy bar from its Chicago-based Breaker Confections subsidiary (subsequently renamed The Willy Wonka Candy Company and sold to Nestl).[6] Wolper persuaded the company, which had no previous experience in the film industry, to buy the rights to the book and finance the picture for the purpose of promoting a new Quaker Oats "Wonka Bar".[7]

Wolper and Roald Dahl agreed that Dahl would also write the screenplay.[7] Though credited for the film, Dahl had not delivered a completed screenplay at the start of production and only gave an outline pointing to sections of the book.[8] Wolper called in David Seltzer for an uncredited rewrite after Dahl left over creative differences. Wolper promised to produce Seltzer's next film for his lack of a credit as they needed to maintain credibility by keeping Dahl's name attached to the production.[8] Also uncredited were several short humorous scenes by screenwriter Robert Kaufman about the Golden Ticket hysteria.[9] Changes to the story included Wonka's character given more emphasis over Charlie; Slugworth, originally a minor character who was a Wonka industry rival in the book, was reworked into a spy so that the film could have a villain for intrigue; a belching scene was added with Grandpa and Charlie having "fizzy lifting drinks"; the walnut-shelling squirrels changed to golden-egg-laying geese; and the ending dialogue.[9][10]

Seltzer also created a recurring theme that had Wonka quote from various literary sources, such as Arthur O'Shaughnessy's Ode, Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice.[11] After completing the screenplay, Seltzer was exhausted and went on vacation to a remote cabin in Maine. However, while filming the final scene, Stuart was unhappy with the ending having Dahl's version of Grandpa Joe just exclaiming "Yippee!" The director tracked down the writer to the only phone in the area which was attached to a tree. By chance, Seltzer was passing and answered the call. Stuart told him to think up an ending quickly as the production was waiting at great expense.[c] Seltzer could only recall the overused phrase to fairytale endings therefore reworked Wonka's final line to Charlie: "Don't forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he always wanted? ... He lived happily ever after."[12][13]

Wolper decided with Stuart that the film would be a musical and approached composers Richard Rodgers and Henry Mancini, but both declined.[1] Eventually, they secured the songwriting team Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley.[1]

Different explanations have been given for the title change to Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. In the United States during the 1960s, the term "Mister Charlie" had been used as a pejorative expression in the African-American community for a "white man in power" (historically plantation slave owners) and press reports claimed the change was due to "pressure from black groups".[1] During the same period, US soldiers in the Vietnam War used the derisive term "Charlie" for the Viet Cong, originating from the acronym VC using the callsign "Victor Charlie".[14] The studio publicity stated that the title "was changed to put emphasis on the eccentric central character of Willy Wonka".[1] However, Wolper said he changed the title to make the product placement for the Wonka Bar have a closer association.[7] Stuart confirmed the matter was brought to his attention by some African-American actors and he also claimed to have changed the title, saying, "If people say, 'I saw Willy Wonka,' people would know what they were talking about. If they say, 'I saw Charlie,' it doesn't mean anything".[14]

The book was also in the midst of a controversy when the film was announced. Protest groups including the NAACP had taken issue with the original Oompa-Loompas depicted as African pygmies and compared them to slavery.[14] Stuart addressed the concerns for the film and suggested making them the distinctive green-and-orange characters.[15]

Gene Wilder wanted specific changes to Wonka's costume, including what type of trousers the character should wear, "the color and cut" of his jacket and the placement of pockets. Wilder's attention to detail also requested, "The hat is terrific, but making it 2 inches [5 cm] shorter would make it more special".[16][17]

Before Wilder was officially cast as Willy Wonka, producers considered many actors.[18][19][20] Spike Milligan was Roald Dahl's original choice.[10] Peter Sellers reportedly begged Dahl for the role.[21] Joel Grey was the front runner for the part but director Mel Stuart decided he was not physically imposing enough as the actor's height was five-foot-five. The producers learned that Fred Astaire wanted the part, but the 72-year-old may have considered himself too old.[22][d]

Actors were auditioned for the role of Willy Wonka in a suite at the Plaza Hotel in New York and by the end of the week Wilder had walked in. It was then Stuart and producer Wolper realised that they could stop looking.[24][22] Wolper remarked, "The role fit him tighter than one of Jacques Cousteau's wetsuits." Stuart was captivated by Wilder's "humor in his eyes" and said, "His inflection was perfect. He had the sardonic, demonic edge that we were looking for."[25] Wolper tried to suppress Stuart's eagerness for the actor as he wanted to negotiate the salary. Regardless, the director ran out into the hall as Wilder was leaving and offered him the part of Wonka.[26]

When I make my first entrance, I'd like to come out of the door carrying a cane and then walk toward the crowd with a limp. After the crowd sees Willy Wonka is a cripple, they all whisper to themselves and then become deathly quiet. As I walk toward them, my cane sinks into one of the cobblestones I'm walking on and stands straight up, by itself; but I keep on walking, until I realize that I no longer have my cane. I start to fall forward, and just before I hit the ground, I do a beautiful forward somersault and bounce back up, to great applause.

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