The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
About The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
On the farm, the mule Hank chases Dorothy and the cow Imogene. Dorothy finds the scarecrow is alive. A cyclone lifts Dorothy, Toto, Hank, Imogene, and the scarecrow into Oz, where soldiers run from the witch Momba. Glinda turns Toto into a protector. Dorothy meets the Cowardly Lion, oils the Rusty Woodman, and is imprisoned with the other children by Momba. She throws water and kills the witch. In the Emerald City the scarecrow reads a note: the Wizard has made him king. The company dances.
Cast & crew
More about The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Otis Turner directed and wrote the one-reeler and is credited as cinematographer. William N. Selig produced it. Selig released it on 24 March 1910. It was made without L. Frank Baum, to meet a contract tied to his bankruptcy after The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays failed. Costumes follow the 1902 stage musical, which replaced Toto with Imogene the cow for much of the show, but Momba is a witch of the sort the musical left out. No songs from the stage score are sung. The same year Selig made Dorothy and the Scarecrow in Oz, The Land of Oz, and John Dough and the Cherub. Those three are lost.
Themes
Background
Baum's 1908 Fairylogue and Radio-Plays had failed and helped push him into bankruptcy. This one-reeler was the picture Selig still had coming.
Making
Selig made the film because Baum had lost control of the novel and still owed the company a picture. Costumes and makeup follow the 1902 musical.
Look
Otis Turner is credited with the camera as well as the direction and the scenario.
Music
No score was recorded for the 1910 release. The National Film Preservation Foundation DVD uses Martin Marks at the piano, playing music adapted from Paul Tietjens's 1902 stage score.
Preservation
The one-reel film survives at George Eastman House. It is the earliest surviving film of Baum's story. The three 1910 Selig sequels are lost.
Notes
- Bebe Daniels plays Dorothy, in the reading of scholar Mark Evan Swartz. He takes Hobart Bosworth as the scarecrow and Robert Z. Leonard as the tin woodman. Eugenie Besserer, Winifred Greenwood, and Lillian Leighton are also in the company.
- The print was long suspected of being leftover Fairylogue footage. Once it was found, that idea did not hold.
- The 2004 DVD set More Treasures from American Film Archives adds a piano score played by Martin Marks, adapted from Paul Tietjens's music for the 1902 show.
Scenes
- Momba's soldiers scatter, and Dorothy later kills the witch with water.
- The scarecrow reads the Wizard's note and is crowned in a dance.
Influenced by
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (L. Frank Baum, 1900)
- The Wizard of Oz (1902 stage musical)
Also available
- Internet Archive (The_Wonderful_Wizard_of_Oz)
- More Treasures from American Film Archives, National Film Preservation Foundation DVD (2004)
