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HIS MAJESTY THE SCARECROW OF OZ

A scene from the film.

His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz was a silent film released in 1914 by the Oz Film Manufacturing Company. It featured the Scarecrow, Dorothy, and the Tin Woodman in an original story with elements from the books The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Marvelous Land of Oz, and The Road to Oz. The basic plot was later adapted by L. Frank Baum as a subplot of The Scarecrow of Oz in 1915. The film is in the public domain.

Cast[]

History[]

Baum himself was credited as the director, in addition to his normal duty as screenwriter. Violet MacMillan played Dorothy, and Frank Moore was the Scarecrow, with Pierre Couderc as the Tin Woodman. Mildred Harris played the "breeches part" of Button-Bright. Fred Woodward juggled multiple parts, playing the Cowardly Lion plus a mule, a kangaroo, a cow, and a crow.

In Baum's script, Mombi is the principal villain but in the book that followed, her place was taken by the witch Blinkie. The film's special effects include the beheading and restoration of Mombi plus an underwater scene with the Scarecrow and a mermaid.

The film was completed by late September 1914, and premiered in Los Angeles on 5 October. In a private letter to his publisher Frank Reilly, Baum stated that the film cost $23,500 to make. In January 1915 the Alliance Film Corp. agreed to a distribution deal; the film appeared in theaters in February, retitled The New Wizard of Oz. It was seen under that title as late as 1920, though it was never a popular or financial success.

Film[]

References[]

  • David L. Greene and Dick Martin. The Oz Scrapbook. New York, Random House, 1977.
  • Katharine M. Rogers. L. Frank Baum, Creator of Oz: A Biography. New York, St. Martin's Press, 2002.

External links[]

Site-logo Films Site-logo
Live-Action adaptations Silent films Fairylogue and Radio-Plays (1908) • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910) • His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz (1914) • The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914) • The Magic Cloak of Oz (1914) • The Wizard of Oz (1925)
Modern films The Wizard of Oz (1939) • The Wonderful Land of Oz (1969) • 20th Century Oz (1976) • The Wiz (1978) • Return to Oz (1985) • The Dreamer of Oz (1990) • The Wizard of the City of Emeralds (1994) • The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005) • After the Wizard (2011) • Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) • The Wiz Live! (2015)
Inspired films Flying Monkeys (2013) • OzLand (2015)
Guest Appearances Inkheart (2008) • Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021)
Animated adaptations Feature films Journey Back to Oz (1974) • The Wizard of Oz (1982) • The Wizard of Oz (1983) • The Wizard of Oz (1991) • Lion of Oz (2000) • Tom and Jerry & the Wizard of Oz (2011) • Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return (2014) • Guardians of Oz (2015) • Tom and Jerry: Back to Oz (2016) • Urfin Jus and His Wooden Soldiers (2017) • The Steam Engines of Oz (2018)
Guest Appearances The LEGO Movie (2014) • The Lego Batman Movie (2017)
Upcoming adaptations Wicked: Part One/Wicked: Part Two (2024-5) • Dorothy & Alice (TBA) • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (film) (TBA) • Toto (film) (TBA)
Short films After Oz (2007) • The Land of Oz (short film) (2015) • Dorothy in the Land of Stars (2017) • Unknown, Lost, or non-English Adaptations

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