The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914)

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Writer and producer L. Frank Baum brings his children's stories to life. Thomas Edison is also credited as a producer. Supposedly this was the first to be released near the same time as The Magic Cloak of Oz, but it was the longest of these early adaptations. The BEST of the three! Young girls play boys and a man (some circus or vaudeville performer) plays the Patchwork Girl. The stories of Oz have always had strong female characters. There are more fantastical effects in this movie. There are more strange people/creatures (important parts in all the books, but rarely presented in any other adaptation of Oz stories). And the realistic appearance of the Scarecrow, Patchwork Girl, Lion, and other animals show excellent work in costume and makeup!

L. Frank Baum himself produced and wrote this adaptation of his own Oz book, a full quarter century before Judy Garland strolled the yellow brick road. What survives is an intriguing artifact from cinema's infancy, antiquated in style and naive in sentiment, but compensating with plenty of charm for what it lacks in sophistication. The influence of theater can still be seen in the histrionic acting and static camera set-ups, but the affection Baum lavished on his creations (munchkins, magicians, 'hoppers', the 'woozy') is clearly evident, even today. His fertile imagination, reinforced by some clever (if primitive) camera tricks, makes this an enchanting fantasy with more than merely academic interest for students of early film history.

"The Patchwork Girl of Oz" is one of the three Oz films produced by author L. Frank Baum's own production company. And, as to be expected, it's childish for sure. Supposedly, there's humor in characters jumping around and moving about erratically. Violet MacMillan plays a munchkin boy, but is very obviously a woman. Additionally, the static shots from a stationary camera make it a typically primitive film from 1914. But, there is also some inventive fantasy design--in the story, its odd places and characters, the costumes (even the silly animal ones) and the sets. The trick shots, such as stop-motion animation, are very basic, even for 1914, but nothing more was needed.Children of today could still probably have fun watching this, but even for adults addicted to silent films, like myself, it may be too childish. Yet, they transferred the fantasy from the book very well and that made it worth a look for me. And, the film's faithfulness to the book shouldn't be in question, as Baum worked on this adaptation himself. It's also interesting how far back children's movies and fantasies go in film history. It's been sometime since I saw the two follow-ups to this film: "The Magic Cloak of Oz" and "His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz", but I remember them as more of the same.

Quite an enjoyable movie. I'd seen it twice before (in the Origins of Film box set), and watched it again with my grandmother who was born the year it was released. L. Frank Baum produced, and was evidently on the set with the director.A young boy named Ojo (played by a woman) lives with his Unc Nunkie, and they've run out of food. They decide to go to Oz, where there is always more than enough food.On the way, they encounter a wizard who's been working on a potion for six years to create life. His wife, using a magic wand, assembles a human-size patchwork doll to use the potion on. It won't have brains, since that makes for better servants says the wife. Ojo decides to mix up some magic brains and surreptitiously put them in, however. After the Patchwork Girl (played by a man) is brought to life, there's an accident that results in the wizard's wife, Unc Nunkie, and the Munchkin lover of the wizard's daughter being petrified. Munchkins in this film are not little people, though they do wear different costumes.Ojo, the Patchwork Girl, the wizard, his daughter and her friends must go out to collect ingredients for an antidote: three hairs from a Woozy's tail, a six-leaved clover, and a gill of water from a Dark Well. The daughter has her father shrink her petrified boyfriend down to doll size, since she can't be without him.On the way, they meet one-legged Hoppers, tribal Tottenhots, and jolly Horners. They encounter a maid of Oz who helps them, but who also develops a liking for the petrified Munchkin.The sets are simple, yet nicely establish a fantasy world. Costumes are good too. The wizard character is stooped and knock-kneed (possibly from stirring a potion for six years with his hands *and* legs?). The Woozy is neat, a big boxy cat played by Fred Woodward, who specialized in animal roles (he does several others in this movie). Despite being a simple costume, it seems more real than some CGI creations.The Wizard of Oz, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion show up towards the end. The original mission to obtain food is forgotten by that point!It's a cute movie, and I suspect that despite being silent (with musical score added) and black and white, and ninety-one years old that it would still delight small children.