The Wizard of Oz (1925)

Dorothy, heir to the Oz throne, must take it back from the wicked Prime Minister Kruel with the help of three farmhands.

Director:

Larry Semon

Writers:

L. Frank Baum (story), Frank Joslyn Baum (adapted by),

Stars:

Dorothy Dwan, Mary Carr, Charles Murray

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Dorothy Dwan	...	Dorothy / Princess Dorothea
Mary Carr	...	Aunt Em
Virginia Pearson	...	Lady Vishuss
Bryant Washburn	...	Prince Kynd
Josef Swickard	...	Prime Minister Kruel
Charles Murray	...	Wizard of Oz
Oliver Hardy	...	Woodsman / Knight of the Garter / Farmhand (as Oliver N. Hardy)
William Hauber	...	Undetermined Role
William Dinus	...	Undetermined Role
Frank Alexander	...	Uncle Henry / Prince of Whales
Otto Lederer	...	Ambassador Wikked
Frederick Ko Vert	...	Phantom of the Basket
Larry Semon	...	Scarecrow / Toymaker / Farmhand

Storyline

A Toymaker tells a bizarre story about how the Land of Oz was ruled by Prince Kynd, but he was overthrown by Prime Minister Kruel. Dorothy learns from Aunt Em that fat, cruel Uncle Henry is not her uncle, and gives her a note due on her eighteenth birthday, which reveals she is actually Princess Dorothea of Oz, and is supposed to marry Prince Kynd. She, Uncle Henry , and two farmhands are swept to Oz by a tornado. Snowball, a black farmhand soon joins them after a lightning bolt chases him into the sky. They land in Oz, where the farmhands try to avoid capture. Semon becomes a scarecrow, Hardy briefly disguises himself as a Tin Woodman, and Snowball is given a Lion suit by the Wizard, which he uses to scare the Pumperdink guards.

---

Plot Keywords:

uncle | prince | wizard | birthday | lightning | 

---

Taglines:

Larry Semon, Oliver Hardy: Alone Either One Is Hilarious; Together They Are a Riot

---

Genres:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Adventure

---

Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Country:

USA

Release Date:

13 April 1925 (USA)

Also Known As:

El mago de Oz

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chadwick Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min 81 min 72 min (2005 alternate)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White (Sepiatone)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many theatres that booked the film never received it because its production caused Chadwick Pictures to go bankrupt and distribution ceased long before it was intended to.

---

Goofs

The plane that brings Kruel's emissaries from Oz to Kansas is a triplane in the long shots of it in mid-air, but a biplane when it lands.

---

Connections

Version of The Land of Oz, a Sequel to the 'Wizard of Oz' (1932)

User Reviews

Hard to believe any Baum family member was connected

Despite some good cast members -- very much excluding Larry Semon -- the script was so silly, so completely NOT related to the original story -- in fact, even further from the original than the famous 1939 filmed version -- that this movie serves only as historical oddity.

To be honest, I always despised movies of Larry Semon, primarily because of Larry Semon. When the great John and Dorothy Hampton were running The Silent Movie Theatre in Los Angeles, a Larry Semon picture was the occasional fare, so I speak from actual knowledge and experience, and unfailingly it was dismal.

Tarmcgator noted correctly the stunt work was outstanding in this otherwise very bad movie.

And I repeat that, otherwise, it is worth watching solely as an intriguing stage along the evolution of the motion picture.