Customer Reviews

His Majesty the Scarecrow of Oz

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I found this...and bought it, and I didn't regret it! I loved it. I raised myself on Baum's Oz stories, and this is one that he made himself. This movie is an original story that Baum wrote using his Oz characters, and later, story plots from this movie were used in his book, "The Scarecrow of Oz" - most notably the story of Princess Gloria and Pon, the Gardener's son and King Krewl. Dorothy features prominently in the story, though we're not told how she gets to Oz. Mombie is the witch, instead of Blinkie in the book. Other Oz characters that appear are Button Bright, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion, the Wizard, the Sawhorse, a Winged Monkey, and (I think) Hank the Mule. The music is really "Ozzy," and I really enjoyed it. It's a silent film, but the narration cards are read by an actress who does a pretty good job. The special effects are pretty impressive for its time. The is a scene reminiscent of "The Wizard of Oz" book, where the Scarecrow, pushing a raft, gets stuck on the pole. He slides down underwater, and the underwater affects surprised me for such an old film. There are fish swimming around, and even a mermaid makes an appearance. I also liked they way they showed Princess Gloria getting her heart frozen by Mombie and her fellow witches that she summons. At one point, they even take off flying on their brooms, which looked really awesome!
The costumes and makeup are also exellent. Dorothy wears the same dress and bow style that she does in John R. Neill's illustrations. The Tin Woodman's costume is a little funky, but is ok. I was impressed with how well the Scarecrow's makeup and clothes hold up in water. Mombie looks like The Witch of the West and Neill's Blinkie in the book. Princess Gloria is beautiful and looks like a wistful Fairy princess. The animal costumes were very kewl. I especially like Hank the Mule's costume, and enjoyed seeing him fight off Mombie. There's also other really nice pices of detail, like the little "Oz" pieces on the Sawhorse's bridle, which he has in Neill's illustrations.
There were also some very funny parts, like the Scarecrow discovering water and playing in a stream, to the dismay of Dorothy and Button Bright. They even had the Wall of Water, which was interestingly done with camera angles.
There is also a Little Rascals short on the disk about Alfalfa fighting a masked wrestler that's funny as well. But if you're looking for Baum's Oz, then this is for you.

This is a fun 1914 version of an 'Oz' book, directed by L. Frank Baum himself. There are some great special FX, (the 'freezing heart' is fantastic!), and the acting is fairly good as well. The music and narration on this edition, as it is on the 1925 version of 'Wizard Of Oz', is redone and not very well. However, for the price, this film is worth having! Great fun for children but requires an attention span, because it's not as 'flash-bang-zippo!' as modern films, because of no sound effects.

This is a good purchase for $4.99, especially if you like the more unusual films to come out of the silent era, or any of the Oz books. It's a fun romp through Oz, and has some decent special effects.

The film itself has deteriorated substantially, and it appears no effort was made to restore it. That's understandable, especially for such a cheap movie. The bad part of this disc is the audio. The music is a mix of ragtime and various other types. It has some relevance, as the mood does change with the film, but that's about all. The voice-over for the title cards, on the other hand, is just wrong.

My conclusion: Buy the movie, but turn the audio off.

I have been an Oz fan all of my life and usually jump at the opportunity to add something to my Oz collection. So it was that I was glad to find this piece. Watching it, however, was not all I had hoped for.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was written and directed by L. Frank Baum, the author of "The Wizard of Oz" as well as the later sequel, "The Scarecrow of Oz". As such, I expected it to be a very faithful adaptation of the book. In this, I was surpised by two things. The first was that the story was much less like the book that I would have expected from the book's author. The second is how good a job was done in a film dating from 1914.

The basic story is that of the book. Princess Gloria has her heart frozen by an evil witch to prevent her from marrying a commoner. The Oz characters come to her rescue. The way this comes about, however, deviates significantly from the book and several characters are changed or are missing alltogether. This was a dissapointment to me but may not be to others.

The state of the art for motion pictures was not all that developed in 1914. With that in mind, this movie does achieve some remarkable things. The "trick" are easy to identify but they do not detract from the progession of the story itself. These special effects include an underwater scene with the scarecrow, the actual freezing of the princess's heart and the decaptitation of the evil witch. They do blend well with the story. There is none of the "how did they do that" feeling but there is a "I'm surpriised they managed that" feeling to replace it.

In appearance, it seems like Oz is located in the American plains of the midwest. This is particularly apparent when the scarecrow is seen in his cornfield with "Indians" dancing around him. So too do the river scenes seem more like a bit of Americana than the fantasy land of Oz. So too do the witches seem to come from Salem as opposed to the fairy land. This is another instance of something that distracted me but may not affect anyone else.

Staple Oz characters making an appearance include Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, the Cowardly Lion, the Wizard, the wooden Sawhorse, Old Mombi, Button Bright (as a girl instead of a boy!) as well as those specific to this story line like Gloria, Pon, King Krewl and Googly Goo. Notably absent are Trot, Captain Bill and Betsy Bobbin. It is possible that Hank the mule makes an appearance but I don't know if that is intentional or a coincidence and the character is not named.

This film is well worth buying for serious Oz fanatics. It does provide a diverting hour of entertainment and follows the basics of the story. So too might it appeal to silent movie fans who like silent movies for their own sake. The Little Rascals short is a nice additional touch as well.

An enjoyable silent film which can be found for as little as $2 (5 for $10 at Price Chopper stores in NY). Effects are surprisingly good, particularly costumes and makeup, and the underwater scene as mentioned (where Scarecrow fights a swordfish and meets a mermaid). Other enjoyable scenes include Scarecrow dancing with a giant Crow and the violent (if temporary) dispatching of Mombi by the Tin Woodsman. I'll disagree with some reviewers and say I liked the music...it's piano tracks mostly, with some guitar parts and percussion. Modern but fits with the film.

Apparently three are at least 2 other Oz films from the same era and with many of the same actors, those titles being "The Patchwork Girl of Oz" and "The Magic Cloak of Oz". Attention Brentwood, can you find some good prints and release those?

Well Its A Good Video But The Tin Woodmans Costume Did'nt
Fit Like Oliver Hardy's Costume In The Wizard Of Oz 1925
THE Film Is A Subject Of Scenario Which Starts As King Kruel
Wants His Niece To Wed A Strange Weird Looking Man But His Niece Gloria Likes "PON" A Gardeners Boy They Get Caught By Kruel So He Takes Her To Mombi Who Captured Dorothy When Her
House Landed By A Twister ANY WAY Mombi Turns Gloria's Heart
Into An Ice Heart Then She Is Payed By Kruel Dorothy And Pon Watched All This In The Window Then Mombi Summons Her Band
Of Witches Then Gloria Is Now Untied And Mombi Is After Dorothy
Who Escaped Then Mombi Beats Up "HANK"The Mule LATER Indians
Turn Pon And His Dads Scarecrow Into A Living One Which Is Descovered By Pon And Dorothy Then They Walk After Helping The
Straw Man They Find Button Bright Who Is Played By Charlie Chaplins Wife Mildred After While Button Scarecrow Dorothy And
Pon And Gloria Sit Near A River Bank Dorothy Eats But The Poor
Scarecrow Cant Eat Later They Are Chased By Mombi The Scarecrow
Talks While Mombi Yells At Gloria And The Straw Man Gets Hit With Her Broom And His Straw Is Plucked Out Pon And Dorothy
Put His Straw In Again Then The They See The Tin Castle Of The Tin Man Or(the Emerald Castle)They Oil The Woodman And They
All Hide In The Castle Mombi Yells At Tin Woodman But He Cuts
Her Head Off With A Cheap Effect A Bag Over Her Real Face She
Puts A Head On Then In A Backstage Moment She Takes The Bag Off
Then Later They Sit On A Raft And The Scarecrow Like In The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz Book Gets Stuck On A Pole And Falls
In The Lake Twice Then Also Like The First Book A Bird Lifts
Him up Back To The Friends Then They Find The Lion Who Finished
Battling A Winged Monkey Then They Find The Wizard Of Oz
Who Helps Them By Trapping Mombi In A Can Of Preserved Witch
Then They Go To The Castle The Scarecrow Is Made King After A War Then Mombi Tells The Wizard She'll Unfreas Glorias Heart
He Lets her Out And She Does Then Googly Goo And Kruel Are Put
In The Dungen THE END

I don't know alot about old movies, especially not silent film, or anything before the 40's, so maybe my opinion is that of a dummy. Most of the shots were very long, repetitive, and boring. It was rare for a scene to have much editing at all, it was mostly a single shot showing frantic action that doesn't tell much of a story at all. The woman who reads the text screens is obnoxious. In my opinion, I'd rather read it myself than have it read to me. I don't like that voice there. As some of the other reviewers have said, some of the effects and costuming worked very well. Very impressive for the time. The direction, action, and pacing/storytelling just didn't seem to work well at all for me. Very slow. I fell asleep several times and had to rewind. If you want a good silent film, check out Steamboat Bill, Jr. Excellent.

this is the best movie ever of oz! it was made by the author himself!it is full of action and adventure and romance. it was alot of fun.not bad for a film made in 1914.

I bought this recently, when i was about to watch it I thought it was going to be the stupidest thing i have ever seen. But after the first few minutes i loved it. The special effects were good (for 1914) The only thing i didnt like is the WEIRD music and the naration. Whats wrong with panio or organ music?

The Wizard Of Oz Original Author Lyman Frank Baum Made A Living On The Books And On The Films...Which The Films Did Not Make It Because Men And Women Would Get Away From The Kids Or They Thought It Would Be To Rapid Because Films Had Moved In Quick Motions The Film Also Back Those Times Would Flash....Pierre Couderc Was Also The Patchwork Girl In The Patchwork Girl Of Oz...Charlie Chapplin Married To The Woman Who Plays Button Bright Who Is Mildred Harris Those Two Had A Child Mildred And Charles Had A Child That Only Lasted Three Days Before It Died The Film Is Great Anyway Frank Moore Pierre Couderc Violet Macmillian And Mildred Harris Should Be Known As The Real Charectors Because L.Frank Baum Appointed Them As The Charectors