SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Blistering performances.

The oldest surviving movie version of L. Frank Baum's famous story is 13 minutes long, and was filmed only ten years after the original story was published. Although the film looks almost like a college stage play, it is meant to follow the basic story-line of the stage musical. Movie technology was still primitive; there are no multiple cameras and close-ups. Humans wear animal costumes and use crutches (for the forelegs), and bounce and dance about the stage without any reason. In all, there are about twelve scenes.In the beginning we see a barnyard stage scene with nine-year old Dorothy Gale (Bebe Daniels), Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, two farmhands, and a kick-happy mule. No one is identified, but audiences would have known the characters. Dorothy discovers a live scarecrow, and quickly, in the second minute, a cyclone blows away Dorothy, Toto, the scarecrow, the mule, and a cow into the Land of Oz. Here a title card tells us that Momba the witch has assumed most of the Wizard of Oz's power. The Wizard wants to retire to Omaha (in Nebraska, not Kansas!) anyway, and thus offers his crown to anyone who can defeat the witch. In the fourth minute Glinda the Good Witch alters Toto's size and shape so that he becomes a powerful force of good. Out of nowhere a lion joins Dorothy's group. In the fifth minute the stiff Tin Woodsman is encountered and oiled; he is now so loose that he can play a flute. In the seventh minute Dorothy's entire band, including different animals, is surprised by Momba and her soldiers, and taken captive. In the eighth minute Dorothy, learning of the witch's weakness, throws a pail of water into Momba's face, dissolving her. Momba's surprised and leaderless soldiers are then routed by the Tin Woodsman, who wields a heavy ax. In the ninth minute Dorothy's forces reach the Emerald City. One minute later the Wizard crowns the scarecrow as the King of Oz. A minute after that, happy girls dance on stage as the work day at Oz has been considerably shortened. In the twelfth minute, the Wizard flies away in a hot-air balloon. In the thirteenth and final minute, we see a parade of people, live animals, and fake animals on stage. Since it is 1910, production values are archaic, but the movie is all in fun. See it more than once and admire our modern technology by comparison. By the way, Bebe Daniels grew up an attractive woman; she became the first female lead for the famous comic, Harold Lloyd, in his earlier silent movies.

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.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 (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.

TCM showed this silent short one night while showcasing their Treasures of the American Film Archive, and at 13 minutes, this version of THE WIZARD OF OZ is quite engaging. I can only wonder, though, at the reactions of an audience, circa 1910, going to theatres and watching this version of a story that 20 years later would become one of the most enduring classics not only for children but adults alike, because seeing the events portrayed here just only shows how little we had back then, how much we have now... and why these little shorts are worth preserving. On that basis alone I'd recommend viewing this version devoid of preconceived notions of modern cinema, but as an intellectual ride.

This film is included in the "More Treasures of the American Film Archive" DVD. The running time is listed at 13 minutes. It kind of looks like a junior high school production of "the Wizard of Oz" with people dressed up in costumes to portray Toto, the Cowardly Lion, Imogene the Cow and what appears to be a donkey. The latter two accompany Dorthy to the Emerald City with the all the rest. The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodsman are not too bad, and not that far removed from the 1939 Classic. The Wizard himself looks like the 19th century Medicine Show man that the Wizard was supposed to be. It is interesting that they basically told the whole story in such a short time frame. This film is actually interesting to watch in a historical sense. For that reason I gave it a 9.