Customer Reviews

Wizard Of Oz: The Lost Original L. Frank Baum Versions

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For any person who is a true fan of The Wizard of Oz or any of L. Frank Baum's works, you will be delighted in these DVDs; however, keep in mind, these DVDs are from films of the early 20th century AND ARE SILENT.

The company that compiled these lost films set them to their own music (which takes away from the films). I watched them with my television muted to fully appreciate them.

Little did I know that Baum had his own film company.

I would NOT recommend these films to children as they are silent and would quite possibly go unappreciated.

This movie is like those old silent movies perhaps you have seen bits and pieces of while watching documentaries of famous movie actors and actresses of the early 1900's. Black and white of course, and very busy and somewhat harsh on the eyeballs. I think since "moving pictures" were such a novel idea back then, that the actors were told to wave their arms A LOT, and run-around frantically while frequently falling down. There is a lot of commotion constantly going on.

It's very interesting in that you can see where the idea originated for the later movie, "The Wizard of Oz", of which we are familiar with. The old version (this movie) does not have very much in common, story-wise with the later movie, but still it's fun to watch and see how far we have come in the cinematic arts. The prototypes for the scarecrow, lion, and tin man are there though one of the main and most busy character, "patchwork girl" is not. My 7 year old loved this movie, but I swear I sometimes think she's my grandmother reincarnated who grew up watching these types of movies. She loves watching all the old movies and cartoons while I get tired of them rather quickly. (Although my daughter is adopted, she has a lot of the same mannerisms my grandmother did!) So, don't buy this movie thinking your kid is going to like it because they won't - but it's great for historical background of silent movies, and it's the precursor to the "Wizard of Oz" with Judy Garland.

Although this is a silent movie, I finally had to mute it because of the constant organ music - it kept playing these harsh chords over and over and over and over with little change in musical content. It was maddening to listen to it over a long period of time. It didn't change no matter what was going on in the story - frantic scene after frantic scene it was the same honking organ music. But music is not needed and it's easy to watch without any sound at all. The story was not exactly fluid, but you could sort of keep up with it by not missing the few opportunities to read a little bit of dialogue and find out what was happening. Sometimes things would change very suddenly without any previous story build-up so you just have to accept it and go along with the flow. The area where the movie was filmed was scraggy, weedy and dry with no though given to making the landscape more visually pleasant. Some costumes were no more than boxes (the "Woozy"!) but other costumes were much more elaborate. I like that they just filmed where they were with the environment just like it was. The props were high-school quality at best, but I liked it anyway.

I think this movie would be a great study for someone earning a college degree in film. It has a lot to offer in many areas, especially when seeing how the special effects were done. And this movie did have some very interesting special effects! Honestly, I love the innocence of it all - it was a pleasure to have this glimpse of the past and I'm very glad I bought it, but I probably won't watch it again for a while.

If you like old silent films, especially fantasy ones like Peter Pan or Alice in Wonderland, you'll find these old silent films funny and fun. I particularly liked the Hoppers and the Rolly Rougues.
review submitted by James Johnston

After the success of the Oz books, L. Frank Baum moved to California. He became part owner of a film company, the Oz Film Manufacturing Company, that was interested in making movies directed at children (they were ahead of their time). The studio didn't do very well and after a couple years folded. The studio only made four feature films and a handful of shorts. For almost half a century, all of these films were thought to be lost. However, the features were discovered and made available to the public. This DVD, L. FRANK BAUM'S WIZARD OF OZ, includes three of those movies as well as the 1925 silent movie adaptation of Baum's THE WIZARD OF OZ. All four movies on the DVD are silent. They are:

PATCHWORK GIRL OF OZ - with the help of Ojo, Unc Nunkie, and Dr. Pipt, the Patchwork Girl comes to life. Life goes well until the Patchwork Girl spills a secret potion on her friends and she has to search throughout Oz for them. This movie is notably because it has Hal Roach (the famed actor, director, and producer) in it as the Cowardly Lion. The movie also features Harold Lloyd in a small role.

HIS MAJESTY, THE SCARECROW - King Krewl is the cruel dictator of Emerald City. He wants his daughter, Princess Gloria, to marry the aged courtier Googly-goo. However, Gloria is in love with the gardner's son, Pon. Krewl hires the witch Mombi to freeze Gloria's heart. Mombi has captured Dorothy and Dorothy escapes with Gloria and Pon. They are joined by the Scarecrow. The later meet the Tin Woodman and the Wizard.

MAGIC CLOAK OF OZ - the magic cloak will grant a single wish to the unhappiest child in Oz. The cloak is given to Fluff and her brother, Bud, are given the cloak. Their wish places Bud on the throne as King. With the help of their animal friends, Bud and Fluff have to fight off the wicked Rolly Rogues.

THE WIZARD OF OZ - Dorothy learns from her Aunt Em that she is actually Princess Dorothea of Oz and is betrothed to Prince Kynd. Dorothy is thrilled. One of the farm hands has fallen in love with Dorothy, but she doesn't return his affection. On Dorothy's birthday, the evil Prime Minister Kruel sends his associate, Ambassador Wikked to Dorothy's farm to steal her birth papers. A chase ensues, a tornado comes, and everyone is swept away to Oz. To protect Dorothy, the farm hands disguise themselves as a scarecrow and a tin woodsman. Later on, another farm hand is given a lion costume to escape from a dungeon.

Out of the four movies featured on this DVD, I enjoyed THE WIZARD OF OZ the most. The story is the easiest to understand and follow. However, there are some elements in the film that are very un-PC which would be considered racially insensitive in today's culture.

This is a DVD that fans of L. Frank Baum might enjoy. It's also a DVD that film historians and buffs will probably enjoy. The movies featured here might not have contributed anything drastic to film history, but their association to Baum makes them significant.

Particularly those familiar with the books will love these old films. One of the great things about these movies is that all but one were actually made L. Frank Baum (author of Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the first sequels). The final film in the collection was made by his son, however. The only fault I find with this collection is its exclusion of Mr. Baum's first Oz movie. (For those of you interested, this was included in a more recent special anniversary edition release of the 1939 Wizard of Oz which I HIGHLY recommend.)