The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914)

Ojo and Unc Nunkie are out of food, so they decide to journey to the Emerald City where they will never starve. Along the way, they meet Mewel, a waif and stray (mule) who leads them to Dr.... See full summary »

Director:

J. Farrell MacDonald

Writers:

L. Frank Baum (novel), L. Frank Baum (screenplay)

Stars:

Violet MacMillan, Frank Moore, Raymond Russell

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Violet MacMillan	...	Ojo, a Munchkin Boy
Frank Moore	...	Unc Nunkie, Ojo's Guardian
Raymond Russell	...	Dr. Pipt, the Crooked Magician
Leontine Dranet	...	Margolotte, his wife, who makes the Patchwork Girl (as Haras Dranet)
Bobbie Gould	...	Jesseva, his daughter, betrothed to Danx
Marie Wayne	...	Jinjur, a Maid in the Emerald City
Richard Rosson	...	Danx, a Noble Munchkin (as Dick Rosson)
Frank Bristol	...	The Soldier with the Green Whiskers (Omby Amby)
Fred Woodward	...	The Woozy, a Quaintness / The Zoop, A Mystery / Mewel, who is Everybody's Friend
Todd Wright	...	The Wizard of Oz
Bert Glennon	...	The Scarecrow (as Herbert Glennon)
Hal Roach	...	The Cowardly Lion / Tottenhot (as Al Roach)
Dave Anderson	...	The Hungry Tiger (as Andy Anderson)
Jessie May Walsh	...	Ozma of Oz, the Ruler of the Emerald City
William Cook	...	The Royal Chamberlain

Storyline

Ojo and Unc Nunkie are out of food, so they decide to journey to the Emerald City where they will never starve. Along the way, they meet Mewel, a waif and stray (mule) who leads them to Dr. Pipt, who has been stirring the powder of life for nine years. Ojo adds plenty of brains to Margolotte's Patchwork servant before she is brought to life with the powder. When Scraps does come to life, she accidentally knocks the liquid of petrifaction upon Unc Nunkie, Margolotte, and Danx (daughter Jesseva's boyfriend). So all go on separate journeys to find the ingredients to the antidote. (Of course Jesseva has Danx shrunken to take with her, which causes trouble with Jinjur.) Of course, no one ever told Ojo that some of the ingredients were illegal to obtain...

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Plot Keywords:

journey | oz | turned to stone | sequel | rag doll | 

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Taglines:

5,000 FEET OF JOYOUS FILM!

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Genres:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 September 1914 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ragged Girl of Oz

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Oz Film Manufacturing Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Film debut of Charles Ruggles, who had previously appeared on stage in the related play The Tik-Tok Man of Oz.

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Goofs

The character of Ojo is stated several times to be a boy, but is referred to as a girl in one of the dialogue caption cards.

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Connections

Referenced in Return to Oz (1985)

User Reviews

early Oz film has the look down, though it drags a bit late

I watched this on a VHS from the American Movie Entertainment box set (1996) of four early Oz films. The print was OK, fairly sharp and without too many pops or scratches -- but with at least one significant scene missing (where Scraps accidentally turns three of the other characters into statues) and some lengthy portions where the right side of the screen is burnt/melted. The music was weird; it vacillated between fairly appropriate ragtime-esquire piano and an electronic score more appropriate to a Tarkovsky film! Those caveats aside, I really liked the first half of the film a lot, as Ojo and Unc Nunkie set out for the Emerald City but end up delayed and sidetracked after encountering magician Dr. Pipt, his wife and his magical creation Scraps, the Patchwork Girl. The adventures up through that point, and the finding of the Woozy, and the sequence around the Dark Well are all inventive and fast-moving, but the film gets a bit bogged down and repetitive once the action shifts to the Emerald City. I did like that the characters for the most part looked like they came straight out of the original illustrations -- Scraps and Mr Pipt in particular looked and acted just right; also some of the sets, like Dr. Pipt's house, are quite excellent, busy and full of clutter, which seems appropriate. The special effects are pretty well done and there are a surprising number of them; especially nice is the way in which Scraps is put together. I think this one is more for true fans of the books than general silent film buffs, and I suspect that will be true of the other films.