L. Frank Baum's Silent Film Collection: Oz

Long before Judy Garland went somewhere over the rainbow, Dorothy Dwan, along with her pals Larry Semon (the kinetic scarecrow) and Oliver Hardy (yep, of Laurel & Hardy fame) were swept up in a cyclone and transported to the Kingdom of Oz. The 1925 silent version of The Wizard of Oz has been refurbished with a new music soundtrack and voice-over narration, and while hardly in the same league as the 1939 MGM extravaganza, this oldie but goodie offers a few treats. Larry Semon (who also directed) was a master of comic timing, and it is he, not Hardy, who commands the big laughs here. The special effects sequences--including the house swirling through the sky--are very impressive for 1925, and the new and rather quirky music feels appropriate in many places (though the voice-over narration is no great shakes). Available singly or in a boxed set that includes the other silent films The Patchwork Girl of Oz, The Magic Cloak of Oz, and His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz. Recommended for most collections; essential for any emphasizing film history. Aud: C, P. (R. Pitman)