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sabotai · 07-25-2007, 02:08 PM

Wizard of Oz (1925)

Directed by: :Larry Semon
Starring: Larry Semon, Olivar Hardy, Dorothy Dwan, Josef Swickard
Length: 72 min.
Genre: Comedy
Based on: L. Frank Baum's novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", adapted by Larry Semon, Leon Lee, Frank Joslyn Baum

You may have looked at the genre label just now, and went "waaa?". I'll get to it, first a bit of history.

Larry Semon was a huge star. He was a comedian that made a lot of popular short films (I'd love to also add comedic short films to my journey, like Laural and Hardy, The Three Stooges, Our Gang, etc. but that would just be too much. Maybe someday in the distant future, I'll do a spin off - Sab's Journey through short comedy! Anyway...). Stan Laural joined up with Larry Semon at the start of his career, and it looked like he would end up joining Semon and making a great duo, but he actually left Semon's group early on. Later, Oliver Hardy would join Semon's troupe, and became an important member of it.

Larry Semon was wildly successful, was very wealthy because of it, and this film ruined his career, and to a large extent, his life. He would die penniless at the age of 39 in 1928 (although there is some speculation that he faked his death). In truth, he had left his studio, Vitagraph, two years before this film was released, and his career was dieing down since then. However, this movie finished him off.

The movie is one slapstick comedic stunt after another. Semon took the story of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, used some of the characters, and some of the situations, but for the most part, this movie had hardly any resemblance to the novel.

Larry Semon plays a farmhand on the farm that is owned by Dorothy's uncle, as does Oliver Hardy and another actor, a black man who is credited with the name G. Howe Black (now that's funny!). One of the criticisms of the movie today is the racism. Maybe I've gotten used to it because of the silent movies I have watched, but I didn't really see it. I mean, I can see how it would be racist today (a black man eating watermellon), but for the time, there isn't anything here that isn't in just about every other film of the time, and even by today's standards, I don't see all that much to get offended at.

As I said, the movie is one stunt after another, the same joke over and over again, and it's a pretty unfunny joke. When they get to the land of Oz, it's a basic monarchy. It's not a magical land. The ruler, Kruel, is corrupt and evil. The good guy, Prince Kynd, is looking for the rightful ruler of Oz, and Kruel is trying to stop the discovery of the real ruler, Queen....wait for it.....Dorothy. Yes, Dorothy is really the ruler of Oz. She was taken to Kansas and left on the doorstep of her "uncle" and "aunt".

The Scarecrow, The Tin Woodsman and The Cowardly Lion are not in the movie. What happens is that the 3 farmhands, who were taken with Dorothy to Oz by a tornado, dress up as these characters. Larry Semon dresses up as a Scarcrow and Oliver Hardy dresses up as the Tin Woodsman in an effert to fool Kruel. Later, the black farmhand dresses up as a lion (see, he's cowardly and then he dresses up as a lion...the cowardly lion). So, that's how the scarecrow, tin woodsman, and cowardly lion are worked in.

All in all, I can see why this movie ruined Larry Semon's career. It was terrible. Absolutely terrible. He took a kid's fantasy story (a wildly popular story) and turned it into a terrible slapstick comedy. Imagine if someone took Harry Potter, played one of the supporting characters and turned himself into the main focus of the movie, and threw out just about everything and made it into a slapstick comedy. I don't think it would go over very well, and neither did this movie.

Entertainment Rating: 2/10
Historical Rating: 2/10

07-25-2007, 02:08 PM	#112
sabotai General Manager Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The Satellite of Love	Wizard of Oz (1925) Directed by: :Larry Semon Starring: Larry Semon, Olivar Hardy, Dorothy Dwan, Josef Swickard Length: 72 min. Genre: Comedy Based on: L. Frank Baum's novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", adapted by Larry Semon, Leon Lee, Frank Joslyn Baum You may have looked at the genre label just now, and went "waaa?". I'll get to it, first a bit of history. Larry Semon was a huge star. He was a comedian that made a lot of popular short films (I'd love to also add comedic short films to my journey, like Laural and Hardy, The Three Stooges, Our Gang, etc. but that would just be too much. Maybe someday in the distant future, I'll do a spin off - Sab's Journey through short comedy! Anyway...). Stan Laural joined up with Larry Semon at the start of his career, and it looked like he would end up joining Semon and making a great duo, but he actually left Semon's group early on. Later, Oliver Hardy would join Semon's troupe, and became an important member of it. Larry Semon was wildly successful, was very wealthy because of it, and this film ruined his career, and to a large extent, his life. He would die penniless at the age of 39 in 1928 (although there is some speculation that he faked his death). In truth, he had left his studio, Vitagraph, two years before this film was released, and his career was dieing down since then. However, this movie finished him off. The movie is one slapstick comedic stunt after another. Semon took the story of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, used some of the characters, and some of the situations, but for the most part, this movie had hardly any resemblance to the novel. Larry Semon plays a farmhand on the farm that is owned by Dorothy's uncle, as does Oliver Hardy and another actor, a black man who is credited with the name G. Howe Black (now that's funny!). One of the criticisms of the movie today is the racism. Maybe I've gotten used to it because of the silent movies I have watched, but I didn't really see it. I mean, I can see how it would be racist today (a black man eating watermellon), but for the time, there isn't anything here that isn't in just about every other film of the time, and even by today's standards, I don't see all that much to get offended at. As I said, the movie is one stunt after another, the same joke over and over again, and it's a pretty unfunny joke. When they get to the land of Oz, it's a basic monarchy. It's not a magical land. The ruler, Kruel, is corrupt and evil. The good guy, Prince Kynd, is looking for the rightful ruler of Oz, and Kruel is trying to stop the discovery of the real ruler, Queen....wait for it.....Dorothy. Yes, Dorothy is really the ruler of Oz. She was taken to Kansas and left on the doorstep of her "uncle" and "aunt". The Scarecrow, The Tin Woodsman and The Cowardly Lion are not in the movie. What happens is that the 3 farmhands, who were taken with Dorothy to Oz by a tornado, dress up as these characters. Larry Semon dresses up as a Scarcrow and Oliver Hardy dresses up as the Tin Woodsman in an effert to fool Kruel. Later, the black farmhand dresses up as a lion (see, he's cowardly and then he dresses up as a lion...the cowardly lion). So, that's how the scarecrow, tin woodsman, and cowardly lion are worked in. All in all, I can see why this movie ruined Larry Semon's career. It was terrible. Absolutely terrible. He took a kid's fantasy story (a wildly popular story) and turned it into a terrible slapstick comedy. Imagine if someone took Harry Potter, played one of the supporting characters and turned himself into the main focus of the movie, and threw out just about everything and made it into a slapstick comedy. I don't think it would go over very well, and neither did this movie. Entertainment Rating: 2/10 Historical Rating: 2/10 Last edited by sabotai : 12-16-2007 at 11:00 PM.