"That's a nice-a donut."

Sunday, October 30, 2005

The Wizard of Oz (1925)

When you mention The Wizard of Oz, of course most people immediately think of Victor Fleming's black and white and Technicolor classic from 1939. But there have actually been numerous iterations of the fantasy tale about young Dorothy and her band of outcasts, including several shorts and feature-length versions during the silent era. One of them is director and star Larry Semon's 1925 adaptation, which appears on the new gorgeous three-disc set for The Wizard of Oz.

Much of this Oz is quite different than the one that we all know. For starters, Semon (who is also the Scarecrow and several other characters) is more or less the feature character, instead of Dorothy. Also, the structure is different; here a toymaker (Semon again) is reading the story to his daughter. There are two main components to the story: the first focuses on the rulers of the Land of Oz There is the noble Prince Kynd, and the dastardly Prime Minister Kruel (the latter of whom reminded me of a strange cross between Mike Myers' Goldmember and Commandant Mauser from Police Academy 2 and 3. The second focuses on Dorothy (Dorothy Dwan) and her family back in Kansas. As it turns out, when she was a baby, Dorothy was left on the doorstep of Auntie Em and Uncle Henry and she is actually a princess in Oz. Through a contrived turn of events, Dorothy, her promising suitor, a friendly neighbor (Semon), and a farmhand all end up in Oz. Kynd welcomes the group, and is happy that the princess has returned after 18 years. Kruel, however, is bent on ruling the kingdom and tries to have them imprisoned. Throw in a fake wizard, who has the suitor (the Tin Man), the neighbor (the Scarecrow), and the farmhand (the Lion) all disguise themselves, and you have a very weird and discombobulated story.

There is a lot of slapdashery in this Oz, obviously aiming for humor and laughs, and it succeeds to some degree. There are some effects that are actually quite good (at least for 80 years ago), and there are a few fun chase sequences. I also enjoyed the different tints that are used: a brownish hue for outdoor scenes and a calmer, cleaner look for inside. The real attention, though, is on Semon. His impish scarecrow is okay, but the lack of focus hurts the movie. Auntie Em disappears and becomes a nonfactor, as does the Tin Man and, well, much of the movie after everyone is in Oz is rather random and not very story-driven. I appreciate Semon's attempt, and I actually rather enjoyed the Kansas scenes. But it is Oz where I was left scratching my head. If you use Fleming's landmark pictures as the sole basis of judgment for this precursor, you will be severely disappointed.

The Verdict: C.

Michael Bentley 4:54 PM

"That's a nice-a donut."

Sunday, October 30, 2005

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