The Magic Cloak of Oz (1914)

One of the best films i have seen

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

In other words,this film is a surreal ride.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

"The Magic Cloak" is a 38-minute short film from 1914, so it had its 100th anniversary 2 years ago. Of course, this means it is a black-and-white silent film. The director is J. Farrell MacDonald, an extremely prolific actor as well who appeared for example in "Sunrise". The writer is L. Frank Baum, the man who wrote "The Wizard of Oz" too. However, he did not witness the success of the 1939 film anymore, but by 1914 and for this film here he was still very much alive (died five years later) and wrote also the screenplay. This fairly long short movie is possibly the most known work of lead actress Mildred Harris. It is a fantasy film and this shows also in terms of the sets and especially costumes used in here. On some occasions, I must say, it felt a bit awkward and weird to watch these people in very obvious animal costumes, but then I remember this is from over a century ago and it makes sense again. The success of the 1939 film I mentioned earlier shows how much Baum's films need color to really make an impact and sadly, but not surprisingly "The Magic Cloak" still does not have any yet. It would have elevated the material considerably I am sure. You cannot really blame any of the director, writer or cast for this not turning out a quality, but you can say that film in 1914 may not have been ready for this project. And it also has a problem that many silent films suffer from: not enough intertitles. I give it a thumbs-down. Not recommended.

This is the second addition to Frank Baum's personally produced trilogy of Oz films. It's essentially the same childishness as in the other two pictures, although I consider it preferable to the others because it's shorter. As in the other films, there are performers in animal costumes, an adult woman pretends to be a boy, and the characters and plot jump all over the place while the camera-work is static. This time, at the center is a magic cloak that grants wishes, and the boy played by a woman is made a king.Most of the special effects are witnessed at the beginning. Fairies are represented by multiple-exposure photography. And, there's a man in the moon that looks just like those made by Georges Méliès years before, most famously in "Le Voyage dans la lune" (A Trip to the Moon) (1902). Méliès's imaginative fantasies and creative trick effects made him the leading pioneer of early cinema, and the films he made around the turn of the century were far better and even technically more advanced than this trifling Oz series.

Magic Cloak of Oz, The (1914) *** (out of 4) The fairies of Oz create a magic cloak, which will give one wish to the person who wears it. Once again the production design is very good here with wonderful and magical sets. The story is quite touching and I'm sure kids would love this version just as much as adults. The highlight of the film is the scene where a horse (played by a human in an outfit) is scratching his butt up against a tree and tries to teach a monkey how to do it.Wizard of Oz, The (1910) *** (out of 4) Nice if strange version of the classic tale. The production values here are actually pretty nice and it's a rather strange trip seeing humans in outfits playing the various animals including the lion.Wizard of Oz, The (1933) *** (out of 4) Pretty good Technicolor cartoon based on the book. The animation is rather nice and the scarecrow and tin man are pretty funny here as well. This was the first version to show Kansas in B&W and then Oz in color.

Writing for children is arguably the hardest job for anyone. It involves so much speculation regarding the child's psyche, that the author, despite a richness of childhood experience, feels helpless at the task; that is if he/she intends to write good children literature. L. Frank Baum never seemed to have this handicap.'The Magic Cloak of Oz', lost in its complete version, lacks the power of a great piece of work, and yet it is somewhat touching. The sets and the costumes are rich and beautiful; the cinematography is pleasant (Mildred Harris' mirrors scene deserves commending). On the acting front, Fred Woodward's physical performance is rather successful, and Juanita Hansen provides reasonable attempts not to overact.The film is definitely dated, and it seems hard to imagine that the children of our times can really appreciate it. J. Farrell MacDonald, or Baum himself (according to some records), has provided a feeling of playfulness and sheer childhood joy in the story however. One has to imagine how great would it be for a kid to have the entire national budget spent on toys! Maybe, the film has the magic of the irresponsible days, a feature we learn to loose in time.