The Wizard of Oz Collection (Silent)

In 1914 L. Frank Baum, author of the original fifteen Wizard Of Oz books (written between 1900 and 1920), formed The Oz Film Manufacturing Company to produce live-action motion pictures based on his beloved fantasies. With striking visual effects, including ingeniously charming life-size creature puppets, underwater voyages and flights into the air, the Baum Oz films are filled with a bizarre whimsy reminiscent of Lewis Carroll and an audacious fantasy spectacle all their own.

• The Patchwork Girl Of Oz (1914, 65 minutes): The first and perhaps best of Baum's Oz movies follows the adventures of Ojo and his Unc Nunke as they seek a better life. The duo meets Dr. Pipt and Margolotte who conjure to create "the patchwork girl" made out of rags. Intending for her to be the perfect servant, they are surprised when "the Patchwork girl" asserts a will of her own and embarks on a fantastic adventure.
• His Majesty, The Scarecrow Of Oz (1914, 59 minutes): A romantic triangle engulfs the royal Court of Oz as Princess Gloria falls for the gardener's son, Pon, while wicked King Krewl pines for the princess. Krewl summons the voodoo witch Mombi to freeze Gloria's ardor so that he may possess her for himself. When the King rewards Mombi with great power, the wizard, the tin woodsman and the scarecrow must join forces to stop her wickedness.
• The Magic Cloak Of Oz (1914, 38 minutes): The fairies of Oz assemble one moonlit night to create a magic cloak which grants one wish to the wearer. The cloak is to be given to the unhappiest child in the land, Fluff. After their father dies in an accident, Fluff, her brother Bud and their donkey friend Nickodemus are forced to leave home and journey to the land of Noland.
• The Wizard of Oz (1925, 96 minutes): After L. Frank Baum's death in 1919 and the publication of the last Oz book in 1920, L. Frank Baum Jr. sought to keep the series alive by teaming with comedian/director Larry Semon and newcomer Oliver Hardy. The result was the 1925 remake of The Wizard of Oz which focuses on comedy rather than fantasy. Hardy would go on to pair with Stan Laurel and become half of the world's most beloved comic team. While different in tone than the Oz movies of a decade before, the 1925 Wizard of Oz reinvents the story of Dorothy, the scarecrow and the tin woodsman in a slapstick and humorous light.

• silent