His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz (1914)

Director:

J. Farrell MacDonald

Writers:

L. Frank Baum (novels)
L. Frank Baum (screenplay)

Release Date:

14 October 1914 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Fantasy | Adventure | Comedy

Tagline:

The Oz Film Company presents L. Frank Baum's famous comedy

Plot:

A wicked king has taken over the Emerald City, and wants his daughter, Princess Gloria to marry the horrid courtier Googly-Goo...

Plot Keywords:

Sequel | Adaptation Directed By Original Author | Based On Novel

Cast

Violet MacMillan	...	Dorothy, a Kansas girl who is wandering in the Land of Oz
Frank Moore	...	The Scarecrow
Pierre Couderc	...	The Tin Woodman
Fred Woodward	...	The Cowardly Lion / The Kangaroo / The Crow / The Cow / The Mule
Raymond Russell	...	King Krewl
Arthur Smollet	...	Googly-Goo, a wealthy courtier
J. Charles Haydon	...	The Wizard of Oz (as J. Charles Hayden)
Todd Wright	...	Pon, the Gardener's Boy
Vivian Reed	...	Princess Gloria, niece to King Krewl
Mai Wells	...	Old Mombi
Mildred Harris	...	Button-Bright, who is lost and doesn't care
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Louise Emmons
Jacqueline Lovell	...	Narrator (1996 version) (voice)

Also Known As:

His Majesty, the Scarecrow (USA) (review title)
The New Wizard of Oz (USA) (new title)
The Scarecrow of Oz (USA) (alternative title)
The Wizard of Oz (USA) (promotional title)

Runtime:

59 min

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Company:

The Oz Film Manufacturing Company

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Aysecik ve sihirli cüceler rüyalar ülkesinde (1971)

Old Mombi Steals the Show

When his daughter Princess Gloria refuses to marry the courtier Googly-Goo he selected for her because she's in love with the Gardener's Boy Pon, wicked King Krewl takes the Princess to the evil witch Mombi in hopes the witch can cast a spell and destroy his daughter's love for Pon, a boy he considers beneath her station. Well, the Wicked Witch does eventually succeed in freezing the Princess's heart to all potential suitors. In the meantime, the Gardener's Boy Pon having followed the King's trail to Mombi's hut meets and befriends Dorothy (Violet MacMillan), a little Kansas girl taken prisoner by Mombi, helping her escape. Eventually the two, in their continued effort to escape and elude the Wicked Witch, meet up with the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman and eventually the Wizard of Oz. Together they try and devise a plan to deal with the Wicked Witch and remove King Krewl from power.

While it's truly fun to see so many of the most familiar Oz characters participating in a new story, this one feels all over the place it's so lacking in terms of good direction. In fact, this often feels as though they were deciding what was going to happen next as they were doing it. It's way too hard to keep track of all the different characters and there's way too many unnecessary sub-plots. The best and funniest scenes in this one tend to revolve around Old Mombi the Witch (as played by Mai Wells) and her continual pursuit of our heroes. How's she dealt with time and time again proves more and more creative each time around.