The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910 film)

1910 American silent fantasy film by Otis Turner

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

13-minute film clip

Directed by| Otis Turner (unconfirmed)
Written by| Otis Turner (unconfirmed)
Based on| The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
1900 novel
by L. Frank Baum
Produced by| William Selig
Starring| Bebe Daniels
Distributed by| Selig Polyscope Company

Release date

* March 24, 1910 (1910-03-24)

Running time

| 13 minutes
Country| United States
Languages| Silent film
English intertitles

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, also known as The Wizard of Oz,[1] is a 1910 American silent fantasy film and the earliest surviving film version of L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The film was made by the Selig Polyscope Company without Baum's direct input. It was created to fulfill a contractual obligation associated with Baum's personal bankruptcy caused by the failure of his theatrical production The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays.[2] It was partly based on the 1902 stage musical The Wizard of Oz,[3] though much of the film deals with the Wicked Witch of the West, who does not appear in the musical.

It was the beginning of a series of film sequels, also released in 1910 and based on Baum's books, but the sequels are thought to be lost films.

## Plot

[edit]

Dorothy Gale (Bebe Daniels) and Imogene the Cow are chased by Hank the Mule. Dorothy runs to the cornfield and discovers that the family Scarecrow (Robert Leonard) is alive. They realize a cyclone is approaching, so they all hide in a haystack. Dorothy and Toto, Hank, Imogene, and the Scarecrow are all swept to the Land of Oz, where soldiers get scared away by the Witch Momba (Winifred Greenwood), who attacks the Wizard of Oz (Hobart Bosworth) due to his threat to her reign. As Dorothy plays with Toto, the good Witch Glinda (Olive Cox) changes Toto into a real protector. Dorothy then encounters the Cowardly Lion, and they encounter the Rusty Woodman and oil his joints. The children meet Eureka the Cat. The Witch kidnaps and imprisons the children. Dorothy throws water on the Witch Momba, killing her and allowing the gang to rescue the animals. Dorothy and her friends arrive at the Emerald City. The citizens dance, and the Scarecrow reads a note that says the Wizard has declared him king, and the whole thing ends in a celebratory dance.

## Cast

[edit]

The credits to the film list Hobart Bosworth, Eugenie Besserer, Robert Leonard, Bebe Daniels, Winifred Greenwood, Lillian Leighton and Olive Cox as the performers,[4] and Otis Turner as director.[5]

The cast list does not indicate which characters each credited actor portrayed. In his book Oz Before the Rainbow: L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz  Stage and Screen to 1939, Oz scholar Mark Evan Swartz concludes that Daniels, who was eight or nine years old at the time of filming, played Dorothy, and that Bosworth and Leonard likely played the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman, respectively. He takes no position on the rest of the cast assignments.[4]

## Production history

[edit]

The character Imogene the Cow did not appear in the novel. She replaced Toto the dog in the stage musical.[6] Many of the costumes and much of the make-up in this film, though not the Tin Woodman's, resemble those used in the 1902 Broadway musical, The Wizard of Oz. None of the songs in the stage show were sung in the famous 1939 film. The presence of Eureka the kitten is drawn from the commingling of material from The Marvelous Land of Oz and Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz; Eureka appears in the latter novel.

Long thought to be culled from footage from The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays (a feature length stage and film show created and presented by Baum in 1908), this was proven not to be the case when the film was recovered. Although the only known Fairylogue film footage has decomposed (and the interactive nature of the presentation makes the discovery of another print unlikely), the slides, script, and production stills are available (and many have been reprinted in books and magazines) and clearly from another production, which emphasized material from Ozma of Oz that the descriptions of the Selig films imply was ignored. This film, and its sequels, were created in the wake of Baum's loss of the rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and temporary licensing rights on The Marvelous Land of Oz and John Dough and the Cherub.

## Other adaptations

[edit]

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was later followed by the sequels Dorothy and the Scarecrow in Oz, The Land of Oz, and John Dough and the Cherub. All three were produced in 1910 and are all considered to be lost films.[1]

## Sequels

[edit]

The Selig Polyscope sequels are known only from their catalog descriptions, derived from press releases printed in The Moving Picture World:

### Dorothy and the Scarecrow in Oz

[edit]

> Dorothy and the Scarecrow are now in the Emerald City. They have become friends with the Wizard, and together with the woodman, the cowardly lion, and several new creations equally delightful, they journey through Oz -- the earthquake -- and into the glass city. The Scarecrow is elated to think he is going to get his brains at last and be like other men are; the Tin-Woodman is bent upon getting a heart, and the cowardly lion pleads with the great Oz for courage. All these are granted by his Highness. Dorothy picks the princess. -- The Dangerous Mangaboos. -- Into the black pit, and out again. We then see Jim, the cab horse, and myriads of pleasant surprises that hold and fascinate.[7]

### The Land of Oz

[edit]

> The Emerald City in all its splendor with all the familiar characters so dear to the hearts of children - Dorothy, the scarecrow, the woodman, the cowardly lion, and the wizard continuing on their triumphal entry to the mystic city, adding new characters, new situations, and scintillating comedy. Dorothy, who has so won her way into the good graces of lovers of fairy folk, finds new encounters in the rebellion army of General Jinger [sic] showing myriads of Leith soldiers in glittering apparel forming one surprise after the other, until the whole resolves itself into a spectacle worthy of the best artists in picturedom. Those who have followed the two preceding pictures of this great subject cannot but appreciate "The Land of Oz," the crowning effort of the Oz series.[8]

### John Dough and the Cherub

[edit]

No description of this film was given, but it does mention the name. It was unlikely to be considered a direct sequel, but is probably based on another L. Frank Baum novel, John Dough and the Cherub.

## Home media

[edit]

The film is included in the 3-disc DVD set More Treasures from American Film Archives (2004), compiled by the National Film Preservation Foundation from five American film archives. This film is preserved by George Eastman House, has a running time of 13 minutes and an added piano score adapted from Paul Tietjens's music from the 1902 stage play and performed by Martin Marks. It is also included in the 3-disc edition of the 1939 film version. On this edition, John Thomas performs a compilation of Oz-related music by Louis F. Gottschalk.

## See also

[edit]

* The Wizard of Oz adaptations — other adaptations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
* Treasures from American Film Archives

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Hogan, David J. (2014). The Wizard of Oz FAQ: All That's Left to Know About Life According to Oz. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781480397200.
2. ^ Berman, Ruth (November 2003). "Review: The Wizardry of Oz". Science Fiction Studies. 30 (3): 504, 508. JSTOR 4241209.
3. ^ Swartz, Mark Evan (2000). Oz Before the Rainbow: L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz on Stage and Screen to 1939. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 175, 184. ISBN 0801864771. "In many ways the film went directly back to the novel for its inspiration and bypassed the narrative changes made for the 1902 stage adaptation. Still, the influence of the 1902 show could not be escaped.... Elements of the 1902 play are also apparent.... The marching guards and dancing courtiers of the Wizard's court almost seem to duplicate the choruses that surrounded the Wizard in the 1902 play."
4. ^ a b Swartz, Mark Evan (2000). Oz Before the Rainbow: L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz on Stage and Screen to 1939. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 190\. ISBN 0801864771. "The published credits for the film list the performers as Hobart Bosworth, Eugenie Besserer, Robert Leonard, Bebe Daniels, Winifred Greenwood, Lillian Leighton and Olive Cox... Unfortunately, the cast list does not indicate who played what role."
5. ^ Swartz, Mark Evan (2000). Oz Before the Rainbow: L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz on Stage and Screen to 1939. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 174\. ISBN 0801864771. "...the credits for Selig's finished Wizard of Oz film, as published in the standard reference work American Film Index, 1908-1915, list Otis Turner as the director of the film... Assuming the published credits are correct, it is likely that Turner made a trip west to shoot The Wonderful Wizard of Oz."
6. ^ Swartz, Mark Evan (2002). Oz Before the Rainbow: L. Frank Baum's the Wonderful Wizard of Oz on Stage and Screen to 1939. JHU Press. p. 55\. ISBN 9780801870927. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
7. ^ "Selig Polyscope Co: Dorothy and Scarecrow in Oz". Moving Picture World. 6 (14): 571. April 9, 1910.
8. ^ "Selig Polyscope Co: The Land of Oz". Moving Picture World. 6 (20): 848. May 21, 1910.

## External links

[edit]

* The full text of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910 film) at Wikisource
* The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
* The Wonderful Wizard of Oz at IMDb
* The Wonderful Wizard of Oz at AllMovie
* The Wonderful Wizard of Oz at the TCM Movie Database
* The Wonderful Wizard of Oz at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films

* v
* t
* e

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Books

| Novels|

| Baum|

* The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)
* The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904)
* Ozma of Oz (1907)
* Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (1908)
* The Road to Oz (1909)
* The Emerald City of Oz (1910)
* The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1913)
* Tik-Tok of Oz (1914)
* The Scarecrow of Oz (1915)
* Rinkitink in Oz (1916)
* The Lost Princess of Oz (1917)
* The Tin Woodman of Oz (1918)
* The Magic of Oz (1919)
* Glinda of Oz (1920)

|

Thompson|

* The Royal Book of Oz (1921)
* Kabumpo in Oz (1922)
* The Cowardly Lion of Oz (1923)
* Grampa in Oz (1924)
* The Lost King of Oz (1925)
* The Hungry Tiger of Oz (1926)
* The Gnome King of Oz (1927)
* The Giant Horse of Oz (1928)
* Jack Pumpkinhead of Oz (1929)
* The Yellow Knight of Oz (1930)
* Pirates in Oz (1931)
* The Purple Prince of Oz (1932)
* Ojo in Oz (1933)
* Speedy in Oz (1934)
* The Wishing Horse of Oz (1935)
* Captain Salt in Oz (1936)
* Handy Mandy in Oz (1937)
* The Silver Princess in Oz (1938)
* Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz (1939)
* Yankee in Oz (1972)
* The Enchanted Island of Oz (1976)

Others|

* The Wonder City of Oz (1940)
* The Scalawagons of Oz (1941)
* Lucky Bucky in Oz (1942)
* The Magical Mimics in Oz (1946)
* The Shaggy Man of Oz (1949)
* The Hidden Valley of Oz (1951)
* Merry Go Round in Oz (1963)
* The Forbidden Fountain of Oz (1980)
* The Ozmapolitan of Oz (1986)
* The Wicked Witch of Oz (1993)
* The Giant Garden of Oz (1993)
* The Runaway in Oz (1995)
* The Rundelstone of Oz (2000)
* The Emerald Wand of Oz (2005)
* Trouble Under Oz (2006)

Other books|

* The Magical Monarch of Mo (1899)
* Dot and Tot of Merryland (1901)
* The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus (1902)
* Queen Zixi of Ix (1904)
* John Dough and the Cherub (1906)
* The Sea Fairies (1911)
* Sky Island (1912)
* Little Wizard Stories of Oz (1913)

Characters|

| Baum|

* Dorothy Gale
* Toto
* Aunt Em
* Uncle Henry
* Princess Ozma
* Wizard of Oz
* Scarecrow
* Tin Woodman
* Cowardly Lion
* Glinda, the Good Witch of the South
* Good Witch of the North
* Wicked Witch of the East
* Wicked Witch of the West
* Billina
* Glass Cat
* Jack Pumpkinhead
* Jellia Jamb
* Jinjur
* John Dough
* Mombi
* Munchkins
* Nome King
* Pastoria
* Patchwork Girl
* Polychrome
* Queen Lurline
* Shaggy Man
* Soldier with the Green Whiskers
* Tik-Tok
* Winged monkeys
* Woggle-Bug

|

Post-Baum|

* Jinnicky the Red Jinn
* Kabumpo
* Peter Brown
* Elphaba

Elements|

* Land of Oz
* Emerald City
* Gillikin Country
* Munchkin Country
* Quadling Country
* Winkie Country
* Yellow brick road
* Deadly Desert
* Land of Ev
* Merryland
* Ruby slippers
* Silver shoes

Authors|

| Writers|

* L. Frank Baum
* Ruth Plumly Thompson
* John R. Neill
* Jack Snow
* Rachel Cosgrove Payes
* Eloise Jarvis McGraw
* Dick Martin
* Alexander Volkov
* Eric Shanower
* Gregory Maguire
* Sherwood Smith
* Roger S. Baum

|

Illustrators|

* William Wallace Denslow
* John R. Neill
* Frank Kramer
* Dirk Gringhuis
* Dick Martin
* Leonid Vladimirsky
* Eric Shanower
* William Stout

Related|

* Political interpretations
* Copyright status

Adaptations

| Stage|

* The Wizard of Oz (1902)
* The Woggle-Bug (1905)
* The Tik-Tok Man of Oz (1913)
* The Wizard of Oz (1942)
* The Wiz (1974)
* The Marvelous Land of Oz (1981)
* The Wizard of Oz (1987)
* The Wizard of A.I.D.S. (1987)
* Twister (1994)
* Wicked (2003)
* The Wizard of Oz (2011)
* The Woodsman (2012)

|

Films|

* The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays (1908)
* The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910)
* The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914)
* The Magic Cloak of Oz (1914)
* His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz (1914)
* The Wizard of Oz (1925)
* The Wizard of Oz (1933)
* The Wizard of Oz (1939)
* The Wizard of Oz (1950)
* The Rainbow Road to Oz (unproduced)
* Return to Oz (1964, TV)
* The Wizard of Mars (1965)
* The Wonderful Land of Oz (1969)
* Ayşecik ve Sihirli Cüceler Rüyalar Ülkesinde (1971)
* Journey Back to Oz (1972)
* Oz (1976)
* The Wiz (1978)
* The Wizard of Oz (1982)
* Os Trapalhões e o Mágico de Oróz (1984)
* Return to Oz (1985)
* Dorothy Meets Ozma of Oz (1987)
* The Dreamer of Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story (1990)
* The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True (1995)
* Lion of Oz (2000)
* The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005)
* Apocalypse Oz (2006)
* After the Wizard (2011)
* Tom and Jerry and the Wizard of Oz (2011)
* Dorothy and the Witches of Oz (2012)
* Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)
* Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return (2014)
* OzLand (2014)
* Guardians of Oz (2015)
* The Wiz Live! (2015)
* Tom and Jerry: Back to Oz (2016)
* The Steam Engines of Oz (2018)
* Rainbow (2022)
* Wicked (2024)
* Wicked Part Two (2025)

TV series|

* Tales of the Wizard of Oz (1961)
* Off to See the Wizard (1967–68)
* The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1986–87)
* The Wizard of Oz (1990)
* The Wonderful Galaxy of Oz (1992–93)
* The Oz Kids (1996)
* Tin Man (2007)
* "Wizard of Odd" (2010)
* Once Upon a Time (2011–18)
* Lost in Oz (2015–18)
* Emerald City (2017)
* Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz (2017–20)

Books|

* The Wizard of the Emerald City (1939)
* A Barnstormer in Oz (1982)
* Mister Tinker in Oz (1985)
* Dorothy of Oz (1989)
* Sir Harold and the Gnome King (1991)
* Was (1992)
* Queen Ann in Oz (1993)
* The Magic Dishpan of Oz (1994)
* The Wicked Years series (1995–2011)
* Visitors from Oz (1998)
* Paradox in Oz (1999)
* Oz Before the Rainbow (2000)
* The Hidden Prince of Oz (2000)
* The Unknown Witches of Oz (2000)
* Bloodstained Oz (2006)
* The Secret Order of the Gumm Street Girls (2006)
* Dorothy Must Die (2014)
* The Wicked Will Rise (2015)

Comics|

* Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz (1904–05)
* Adventures in Oz (1986–92)
* The Enchanted Apples of Oz (1986)
* Oz Squad (1991)
* Lost Girls (1991–92)
* Dorothy (2004–07)
* The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (2005)
* Cheshire Crossing (2006–19)
* The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (2009)
* The Marvelous Land of Oz (2010)

Games|

* The Wizard of Oz (1985)
* The Wizard of Oz (1993)
* The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road (2008)
* Emerald City Confidential (2009)
* Ripened Tingle's Balloon Trip of Love (2009)
* The Wizard of Oz (2010)
* The Wizard of Oz (2013)

Related|

* The Oz Film Manufacturing Company
* The International Wizard of Oz Club
* The Baum Bugle
* Oz Park
* Land of Oz
* Wizard of Oz festival
* Wizard of Oz Museum
* Oz-story Magazine

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Otis Turner

* Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1908)
* The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays (1908)
* The Cowboy Millionaire (1909)
* The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910)
* The Man from the West (1912)
* A Cave Man Wooing (1912)
* Shon the Piper (1913)
* Called Back (1914)
* The Spy (1914)
* Damon and Pythias (1914)
* The Opened Shutters (1914)
* The Black Box (1915)
* From Italy's Shores (1915)
* Langdon's Legacy (1916)
* The Island of Desire (1917)
* Melting Millions (1917)
* The Book Agent (1917)
* The Soul of Satan (1917)
* Some Boy! (1917)

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