{"id":45567,"date":"2024-11-22T07:30:03","date_gmt":"2024-11-22T12:30:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=45567"},"modified":"2024-11-22T08:14:43","modified_gmt":"2024-11-22T13:14:43","slug":"the-bootleg-files-the-wonderful-land-of-oz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2024\/11\/22\/the-bootleg-files-the-wonderful-land-of-oz\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bootleg Files: The Wonderful Land of Oz"},"content":{"rendered":"

BOOTLEG FILES 886:<\/strong> \u201cThe Wonderful Land of Oz\u201d (1969 kiddie matinee feature). <\/p>\n

LAST SEEN:<\/strong> On YouTube.
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\nAMERICAN HOME VIDEO:<\/strong> On public domain-friendly platforms.<\/p>\n

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS:<\/strong> A lapsed copyright.<\/p>\n

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: <\/strong>This is just what The Criterion Collection needs!<\/p>\n

On this particular day \u2013 November 22, 2024, to be precise \u2013 most moviegoers are fixated on the release of the big-budget musical \u201cWicked.\u201d But since I prefer the rat-a-tat-tat from a different drum, I am venturing to a lower rent corner of the Yellow Brick Road to celebrate the no-budget 1969 feature \u201cThe Wonderful Land of Oz.\u201d
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I admit that I approached \u201cThe Wonderful Land of Oz\u201d fully expecting to hate the film. After all, the film has a dismal reputation \u2013 it turned up on both the Something Weird video label and the RiffTrax snark barbecue. But to my happy surprise, I found this little film to be an offbeat and charming production \u2013 it is far from perfect, but if you consider it within the context of its creation, it is a delightfully eccentric work.<\/p>\n

Before approaching this film, a bit of background information is needed. \u201cThe Wonderful Land of Oz\u201d was not designed for a wide commercial release. Instead, it was strictly aimed at the so-called \u201ckiddie matinee\u201d audiences \u2013 these were screenings on Saturdays and Sundays designed specifically for the youngest moviegoers; contemporary grown-ups are not the audience for this type of a work. Back in the day, parents often dropped their kids off at cinemas with kiddie matinee presentations and take care of their weekend shopping chores, returning to retrieve the youngsters when the show was over. <\/p>\n

The film is adapted from the 1904 novel \u201cThe Marvelous Land of Oz\u201d by L. Frank Baum, and it maintains a surprising level of fidelity to the original work. But due to the film\u2019s too-tight $50,000 budget and a compact 71-minute running time, it could not cram in every aspect of the Baum text. Still, it manages to pack in a great deal of Baum\u2019s vision \u2013 including the very surprising twist ending regarding the central character\u2019s backstory.<\/p>\n

What emerges is a fun little adventure about the boy Tip, who escapes from his witch guardian Mombi after she threatens to turn him into a stone statue. Tip is accompanied by Jack Pumpkinhead, an anthropomorphic figure that he created from straw, wood and a carved pumpkin. Together, they help the Scarecrow \u2013 now the monarch of the Emerald City \u2013 overcome the conquering onslaught of General Jingur and her all-female army.<\/p>\n

In regard to the costuming and hair-styling aspects, \u201cThe Wonderful Land of Oz\u201d is very much a product of 1969. All of the female characters except Mombi and Glinda wear mini-skirts, while Glinda has an elaborate fall in her hairdo. Tip sports the long hair that boys in the late 1960s favored. In terms of the film\u2019s musical numbers \u2013 and there are several of them \u2013 the songs feel like they were churned out early 1950s-era television shows. Indeed, the soundtrack is closer in style to \u201cYour Hit Parade\u201d than the Woodstock song line-up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Wonderful Land of Oz\u201d was the brainchild of Florida-based Barry Mahon, who specialized in exploitation works such as \u201cCuban Rebel Girls\u201d (1959) starring Errol Flynn in his last film, along with the wonderfully titled \u201cProstitutes Protective Society\u201d (1966), \u201cFanny Hill Meets Dr. Erotico\u201d (1967) and \u201cProwl Girls\u201d (1968). This film marked Mahon\u2019s debut into family-friendly films, not to mention family filmmaking \u2013 he recruited his son Channy to play Tip, but the poor lad lacked the charisma and spunk that one often associates with child actors. Still, the younger Mahon comes across as an average boy, and one can imagine the little boys in 1969 could see themselves in his shoes and would not be judging his thespian skills.<\/p>\n

More emotional performances could be found in Zisca Baum (no relation to the creator of Oz) as Mombi \u2013 she really isn\u2019t a wicked witch, but she is a bit dyspeptic when it comes to dealing with the less-than-vigorous Tip. Caroline Berner\u2019s General Jingur acts like a drum majorette on steroids and Hilary Lee Gaess\u2019 plastic-pretty Glinda could have easily occupied a float in the Orange Bowl Parade. But these offbeat women add to the fun of this romp. Filmmaker Mahon claimed in an interview that he wanted to get Judy Garland to narrate the film, but that seems fairly unlikely.<\/p>\n

By contemporary standards, \u201cThe Wonderful Land of Oz\u201d might seem hopelessly silly. The production looks like a filmed record of a children\u2019 theater show \u2013 complete with cardboard sets, papier m\u00e2ch\u00e9 animals and cheapjack costumes. But anyone expecting an MGM-level production equivalent to that certain 1939 classic is ridiculously mistaken. What the film lacks in sophistication, it compensates with sincerity and a sense of harmless fun that is mostly absent in today\u2019s family-friendly fare. It certainly isn\u2019t so dreadful that it warrants the nasty wisecracks of the obnoxious RiffTrax presentation. <\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not planning to see \u201cWicked\u201d this weekend, check out \u201cThe Wonderful Land of Oz.\u201d Who knows, you might find yourself enjoying its na\u00efve likability. Now, if only The Criterion Collection can rescue this from public domain purgatory and give it the 4K restoration treatment!<\/p>\n