early Oz
Posted by martinteller on October 13, 2009
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - It would rather unfair to compare the beloved classic to this 13-minute film produced nearly 30 years earlier. Suffice it to say this isn’t as impressive (and doesn’t make a whole lot of sense), but it’s pretty nifty for its time, and the cast looks like they’re having a barrel of fun. Rating: 7
His Majesty, The Scarecrow of Oz - One of several Oz films directed by J. Farrell MacDonald and produced by Baum himself. It’s no surprise then that it feels so close to the madcap spirit of the books. I haven’t read any Baum stories in ages, but I recalled many of the elements here. But the film suffers from odd pacing and lengthy diversions (perhaps the results of a too-literal translation from page to screen). Some imaginative and clever effects, though. Rating: 6
The Magic Cloak of Oz - This one is so scattershot and so simplistic that it feels like it was written by children instead of for them. Something this goofy and surreal ought to be more fun, but it’s hard to get into. Violet MacMillan, who was a rather homely Dorothy in His Majesty, seems more appropriately cast as a boy in this one. All the people in animal costumes made me think of The Wicker Man. Rating: 6
The Patchwork Girl of Oz - The last of the Baum/MacDonald productions on the disc, thank goodness (although I still have hours upon hours of other Oz stuff to get through). I would say this is the most successful of the three, although it’s still rather slipshod (or “patchwork” if you will). The story goes all over the place, but manages to hold together pretty well. Maybe not quite as clever/fantastic as the other two, but an improvement in the storytelling department. Rating: 7
The Wizard of Oz (1925) - A fucking tragedy. Dumb slapstick, awful jokes, racism, and a rather tarty Dorothy. But that’s just the beginning. This movie has absolutely fuck-all to do with “The Wizard of Oz” Hell, there’s hardly any Dorothy in it. Director Larry Semon (great name, huh?) piles all the attention on himself as he tries to position himself as another Buster Keaton. He plays one of the farmhands, and dominates the entire picture. The farmhands and Uncle Henry get whisked off in the cyclone with Dorothy (about halfway through the movie, after an interminable setup that bears no resemblance to the source material). Once in Oz, the good farmhand (Semon, of course) dresses up as the Scarecrow, the evil farmhand as the Tin Man, and the black farmhand as the Cowardly Lion. Yes, Semon takes these fantasy characters and transforms them into a game of humans playing dress-up, effectively SUCKING ALL THE MAGIC out of the story. Basically the story is all about Semon rescuing Dorothy from an evil dictator (no witches at all here). It’s all just so very, very wrong. I will begrudgingly admit that some of the stunt work is impressive, but that’s the only thing this version has going for it. Tedious and offensive and stupid. Rating: 2
The Wizard of Oz (1933) - At a mere 8 minutes, this animated short is obviously a severely truncated version of the story. Dorothy and Toto get swept off to Oz, meet the Scarecrow and Tin Man, hook up with the Wizard who performs some wacky tricks, The End. But it’s cute and charming, and has some good Carl Stalling music. Also, it introduces the notion of black & white Kansas vs. colorized Oz. Rating: 7
