''His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz'' is a 1914 American silent fantasy adventure film directed by J. Farrell MacDonald, and written and produced by

L. Frank Baum Lyman Frank Baum (; May 15, 1856 – May 6, 1919) was an American author best known for his children's fantasy books, particularly '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', part of a series. In addition to the 14 ''Oz'' books, Baum penned 41 other novels ...

. It stars Violet MacMillan, Frank Moore, Vivian Reed, Todd Wright,

Pierre Couderc Pierre Couderc (18 November 1896 – 6 October 1966) was a French screenwriter, actor, acrobat, and film producer. He wrote for 34 films between 1925 and 1930. He also appeared in ten films between 1914 and 1934. He was born in Paris, Franc ...

, Raymond Russell, and Fred Woodward. The film had a troubled distribution history; it opened on September 28, 1914, to little success, though it was received as well above average fare by critics of the time. Early in 1915, it was reissued under the title ''The New Wizard of Oz'' and was slightly more successful. The film is loosely based on Baum's 1900 book ''

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' is a 1900 children's novel written by author L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. It is the first novel in the Oz series of books. A Kansas farm girl named Dorothy ends up in the ma ...

'', but in the screenplay, Baum introduced many new characters and a large new story that later became the basis for the 1915 book ''

The Scarecrow of Oz ''The Scarecrow of Oz'' is the ninth book in the Oz series written by L. Frank Baum. Published on July 16, 1915, it was Baum's personal favorite of the Oz books and tells of Cap'n Bill and Trot journeying to Oz and, with the help of the Scar ...

''. Similar to ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', the Scarecrow's origin is revealed, although his life is now attributed to "the Spirit of the Corn", who appears as a conventional

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

depiction of a Native American. This was the third film by the Oz Film Manufacturing Company, following ''

The Patchwork Girl of Oz ''The Patchwork Girl of Oz'' is the seventh book in L. Frank Baum's Oz series. Characters include the Woozy, Ojo "the Unlucky", Unc Nunkie, Dr. Pipt, Scraps (the patchwork girl), and others. The novel was first published on July 1, 1913, ...

'' and ''

The Magic Cloak of Oz ''The Magic Cloak of Oz'' is a 1914 film directed by J. Farrell MacDonald. It was screenwriter, written by L. Frank Baum and film producer, produced by Baum and composer Louis F. Gottschalk. The film is an film adaptation, adaptation of Baum's ...

''.

Plot

King Krewl ( Raymond Russell) is a cruel dictator in the

Emerald City The Emerald City (sometimes called the City of Emeralds) is the capital city of the fictional Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum's ''Oz'' books, first described in '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900). Fictional description Located in the center of ...

in the

Land of Oz The Land of Oz is a fantasy world introduced in the 1900 children's novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by William Wallace Denslow, W. W. Denslow. Oz consists of four vast quadrants, the Gillikin Countr ...

. He wishes to marry-off his niece, Princess Gloria (Vivian Reed), to an old courtier named Googly-goo (Arthur Smollett), but she is in love with Pon, a

Gardener A gardener is someone who practices gardening, either professionally or as a hobby. Description A gardener is any person involved in gardening, arguably the oldest occupation, from the hobbyist in a residential garden, the home-owner suppleme ...

's boy (Todd Wright). Krewl employs the Wicked Witch named Old Mombi (Mai Wells), to freeze the heart of Gloria so she will not love Pon any longer. This she does by pulling out her heart (which looks somewhere between a valentine and a bland representation of a heart without any vessels) and coating it with ice. Meanwhile, a lost little girl from

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

named

Dorothy Gale Dorothy Gale is a fictional character created by the American author L. Frank Baum as the protagonist in many of his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's classic 1900 children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and reappears in most o ...

(Violet MacMillan) is captured by Mombi and imprisoned in her castle. However, Dorothy runs away with the now heartless Gloria, accompanied by Pon, and they eventually meet the Scarecrow ( Frank Moore). Mombi catches up with the travelers and removes the Scarecrow's stuffing, but Dorothy and Pon are able to re-stuff him; Gloria abandons them and wanders off. They meet the lost little boy, Button Bright (Mildred Harris). The party travels to the

Winkie Country The Winkie Country is the western region of the fictional Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum's classic series of Oz books, first introduced in '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900). The Winkie Country is in the West, noted by later being ruled by ...

next and arrive at the Tin Castle of the

Tin Woodman Nick Chopper, the Tin Woodman, or the Tin Man, is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. He first appeared in his 1900 book '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' and reappeared in many other subsequent Oz ...

(Pierre Couderc), who has rusted solid. Mombi reaches the Tin Castle, and the Tin Woodman chops off her head; however, this merely slows her down as she hunts for it and places it back on. Having replaced her head, Mombi encounters Pon and turns him into a

kangaroo Kangaroos are marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use, the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

. Dorothy, Button Bright, the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman escape from Mombi by crossing a river on a raft. But the Scarecrow's barge-pole gets stuck in the river bed and leaves him stranded, until he is rescued by a bird. At one point in this sequence, the Scarecrow slides down the pole into the river, resulting in a brief "underwater" sequence featuring puppet fish and a

mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are ...

; throughout, the Scarecrow makes asides to the camera, mostly without ntertitles The party encounter the Wizard (J. Charles Haydon), who tricks Mombi by letting the group hide in the Red Wagon, pulled by the sawhorse; when Mombi attempts to follow them, the group escape out the back of the wagon. The four companions meet the

Cowardly Lion The Cowardly Lion is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. He is depicted as an African lion, and like all animals in Oz, he can speak. Although he often self-doubt, doubts himself, the Cowardly Lion no ...

, who joins them. The Wizard traps Mombi in a container of "Preserved Sandwitches" and paints out the "sand" and the plural, carrying her away in his pocket. The Scarecrow, taking a barrage of arrows, tosses Krewl's soldiers over the battlements to deal with the Cowardly Lion, who cannot climb the rope ladder over the city wall. With the support of the people, the Scarecrow is easily able to depose King Krewl. The Wizard releases Mombi, and compels her to restore Pon to his normal form and unfreeze Gloria’s Heart.

Cast

Damage history

The opening reel was lost for many years. While it was eventually recovered in the 1990s, it did not contain the opening titles; Dick Martin's titles, designed in the 1960s, continued to be used, which falsely stated that Baum was the director of the film, misspelled

Mai Wells Mai Wells (14 April 1863 – 1 August 1941), also billed as May Wells and Mae Wells, was an American actress whose career spanned eight decades. A prolific actress of the silent era, she worked with Charlie Chaplin, made at least two films wit ...

' name, and left out Smollett's credit entirely. In September 2024, there was a new restoration made by Nate Barlow that was first shown at the Charloz festival in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

. The newly restored film is now being brought over to film festivals worldwide (It played at the

Art Theatre The Art Theatre is a historic movie theater on Retro Row in Long Beach, California. Opened in 1925 as the Carter Theatre, it is the oldest operating cinema in the city. After sustaining damage from the 1933 Long Beach earthquake, the venue was r ...

in Long Beach on Memorial day weekend in 2025).

References

External links

* * {{Oz 1914 films 1914 adventure films 1910s American films 1910s English-language films 1910s fantasy adventure films American black-and-white films American fantasy adventure films American silent feature films Articles containing video clips Films based on American novels Films based on fantasy novels Films based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Films directed by J. Farrell MacDonald Paramount Pictures films Silent American children's films Silent American fantasy films Silent fantasy adventure films Surviving American silent films Works by L. Frank Baum English-language fantasy adventure films