His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz (1914) User Reviews

Old Mombi Steals the Show

[Space_Mafune · 5/10 · 24 July 2006]

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.

follow the unpaved road

[lee_eisenberg · 6/10 · 4 April 2015]

When you think of the land of Oz, you probably think of Toto, a tornado, ruby slippers, a yellow brick road and flying monkeys. But if you look back before the 1939 movie, you find something more eye-popping. There was a movie made in 1925 starring Oliver Hardy as the Tin Man; it was the sort of movie that makes you think "What in the name of anything holy were they smoking when they came up with this?". In fact, it contained no Munchkins or yellow brick road.

Go back even further and you find "His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz". This is an equally bizarre one. Although we have the Munchkins, Dorothy is a supporting character. The emphasis is on Princess Gloria of the Emerald City, whose autocratic father wants to marry her off to a buffoon while she has her eye on someone else. The wizard, scarecrow, tin man and lion have their roles in the story, while there are multiple witches. Yeah, this is some weird stuff. The movie will probably be of interest more as a historical reference, but it's impressive what they were able to pull off. Worth seeing.

One interesting piece of trivia is that Button-Bright is played by Mildred Harris, who later married Charlie Chaplin; Milla Jovovich played her in Richard Attenborough's "Chaplin".

Birth of Children's Movies

[Cineanalyst · 4/10 · 30 December 2009]

This is the third and final film in Baum's personally produced Oz trilogy of 1914. The three pictures are all essentially the same childishness--with magic, a journey and animal costumes. The camera-work and pacing are static and primitive even by 1914 standards, while the performers are quite the opposite--both of which can get annoying and boring. We get poor framing, from a generally stationary position, and the shots linger on much longer than they should, while the performers, except for the literally cold-hearted princess, are in constant motion, mostly broadly gesticulating and doing some knockabout nonsense. Most of it has nothing to do with anything imaginative or with adventure, and I don't see how it could be humorous to anyone but a child. There is some trick photography, but nothing new; in fact, these tricks (superimpositions, stop substitutions, a fish tank between characters and the camera to represent being under the sea, a tilted camera to make them appear to be going up and down stream) had been in use for near a decade or more even by then. At least, the makers of this Oz trilogy put some care and energy, albeit a nauseating excess of it, in front of the camera although not behind it.

I wonder how popular these films were, although, apparently, they weren't popular enough, because Baum's production company was short lived. There doesn't seem to have been many movies back then which were so specifically targeted at children. The industry at the time, which was even before "The Birth of a Nation" (1915), was still struggling even to attract middle and upper class women to theatres. Times have certainly changed.

Often Unrefined, But Enjoyable & Creative

[Snow Leopard · 8 August 2005]

There are times when the rather unrefined nature of this Oz fantasy feature stands out, but any rough edges are smoothed out by the enjoyable and creative nature of the story and the characters. It's one of an unfortunately small number of Oz features made by L. Frank Baum's own production company, and it is easy to see his influence, in the way that the story and characters are brought to life with such energy and imagination.

The story of "His Majesty, The Scarecrow of Oz" includes several of the characters who are familiar from the much better known "The Wizard of Oz", plus some added characters, but it is a much different story, and pretty interesting in its own right. The cast all do a solid job with the characters, and the cast includes several performers who were regulars in the short-lived series. Fred Woodward also performs several of his costume animal characters.

The old-fashioned style would probably keep this and the other movies in the series from enjoying a wide popularity now, but it's of good quality for its era. The special effects are sometimes rough, but imaginative, and several of them come off pretty well. There are times when the editing seems pretty odd, but that could well be a result of physical defects that have occurred over time. The movie has its occasional flaws, but it was obviously made with care, good humor, and enthusiasm, and it is certainly worth seeing for silent movie fans.

Early Audiences Needed 1939 to Come

[PCC0921 · 5/10 · 25 April 2021]

AKA: His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz

In this dip into the Oz universe, is Princess Gloria, stuck in one of those classic situations, where the King wants her to marry the rich old guy, but she is in love with someone else. Meanwhile, another girl, named Dorothy, is captured and made a prisoner in the castle. Also, a scarecrow is put up in one of the local fields. To thwart the Princess' love for Pon, the King has the wicked witches (in really bad costumes), freeze her heart. The scarecrow comes to life and falls in love with Gloria. Since her heart is frozen, Gloria now wanders around like a unemotional zombie not caring at all. The evil witch Mombi beats all the hay out of the Scarecrow and he needs to be rescued by Dorothy and Pon.

The actor portraying the Scarecrow looks like he is a clown performer, in fact, the Scarecrow looks more like a clown than a scarecrow. Probably another reason why early audiences didn't like these films, bad costumes and make-up. After Gloria wanders off, the rest of the crew runs into the tin woodsman, who is in a much better costume then anyone else, even though parts of him look like they are about to fall off. Then he cuts off Mombi's head. Next up is the Cowardly Lion. Who actually looks kind of cool, but still a guy in a lion costume. They do attempt some effects in this film, such as the Scarecrow underwater. Not bad attempts for 1914.

As the film rolls along in its totally unorganized fashion, we also see another reason why audiences didn't react well to this film. They shot these films in the forests, streams and lakes that can be found just about anywhere. All they were giving the audience was people in bad costumes running around in someone's back yard, not visiting an enchanted world. This dizzying story, fraught with strange little dancing skits, doesn't give the audience of the day what they were looking for. This film was re-released after its initial run a second time as the New Wizard of Oz and it actually did better just because of a title change, because the Scarecrow is not a very exciting character in this film and that part gets lost by the time you get to the end. No wonder it did better. This kind of storytelling needed some more time for the artform of filmmaking to grow some more. It needed to wait until 1939.

4.4 (E- MyGrade) = 5 IMDB.

Strangely sensual

[drystyx · 7/10 · 27 March 2008]

This was, of course, one of the early movies, and special effects were not an issue, for which we may be thankful in this day and age when many movies look more like video arcade games.

The plot is bizarre, to say the least. It borders between dream state and LSD trip. It would be interesting to know what early twentieth century audiences thought when they viewed this.

There a motley group of characters, and really, no one takes center stage all the time. People traipse aimlessly, meeting strange characters, and unique situations. Indeed, the wall of water would be a fresh idea as of the day of this critique.

There is a strange sexuality to this one. Super sexy witches dance around very sensually, and would be the envy of the scantily clad girls in today's movies. They are quite beautiful and striking. Again, audiences in this day must have been affected some way. It is too bad that the sexuality seems to be equated with witches, though. Sort of false advertising.

The music is probably too lame for today, and you may want to play your own while watching. Viewable mostly from an artistic perspective or in a social situation, and not as a sit down and watch movie.

The best of the best!

[meg23 · 9/10 · 25 May 2009]

"His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz" is the best of L. Frank Baum's Oz movies! The plot is easily understandable without being boring and the characters are wonderfully acted, given their limitations. The special effects are marvelous, and some of the better ones rival even the technical marvels of the 1939 Movie, particularly the hilarious undersea bit with the Scarecrow and a swordfish and a mermaid! Violet MacMillan is an absolute delight as Dorothy. Despite her charming looks and thoroughly enchanting demeanor, the girlish actress was generally confined to roles as frank boys in Baum's films. She brings a great sparkle to the role as Dorothy, however. Another standout - or group of standouts, rather - is Mombi's whole cohort of witches. Funny and spooky at the same time, it seems as if they may have been the greatest inspiration for the way in which MGM chose to portray the Witch of the West in their take on Baum's first history of Oz. Either way, this movie is a can't miss, which I give a solid 9, a rating I am more than glad to give!

Who needs Judy Whatsername?

[F Gwynplaine MacIntyre · 8 November 2002]

As his books about Oz became increasingly popular, L. Frank Baum tried to branch out into other media. His novel "Tik-Tok in Oz" was originally a grandiose stage musical. Eventually, Baum (never a good businessman) used the profits from his novels to finance a low-budget film studio which turned out several silent films, nearly all of them fantasies. "His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz" is the best of Baum's films. His Oz book "The Scarecrow of Oz" (still in print) is actually a novelisation of this silent fantasy film, which was produced before the novel was written.

Although crudely staged, with some low-budget special effects that were laughably obvious even for 1914, "His Majesty" is an action-filled and imaginative movie that should still appeal to viewers (including children) even today. There are some flaws: the actress playing "little girl" Dorothy is clearly an adult woman; worse luck, the "little boy" Button-Bright is obviously played by a teenage girl (who became Mrs Charlie Chaplin!).

The plot of this film is almost identical to the main plot of the novel (which contains several subplots not found here ... including one about creatures named Orks, long before Tolkien invented Orcs). Princess Gloria is in love with Pon, a lowly gardener's boy, and he loves her. Because Pon is far beneath Gloria's station, King Krewl and Googly-Goo decide to break up the romance by engaging Mombi the witch to freeze Pon's heart. There are some interesting Georges Melies-type special effects here: crudely done yet imaginative. Mombi holds her hands in front of Pon's chest. In a slow dissolve, his (valentine-shaped) heart appears in her hands. In another slow dissolve, icicles appear on his heart. Then another dissolve as the heart (now frozen) is replaced within his chest.

There is one bizarre scene in which the Tin Woodman uses his axe to chop off a witch's head ... but fear not, parents! Your kiddies will probably laugh when they see how it's done. The special-effects trickery in the decapitation sequence is blatantly obvious to even the most unsophisticated viewer.

SPOILERS COMING. Eventually the Wizard of Oz arrives. (Looking a great deal like the Wizard in the Oz books ... which is more than I can say of Frank Morgan in that overrated MGM movie.) The Wizard takes out a tin can with a misspelt label reading "CANNED SANDWITCHES". A wave of his hands, and the can grows giant-sized. Another wave of his hand, and Mombi the witch is trapped inside the tin can, which the Wizard then shrinks back to its original size. He takes a paintbrush and carefully paints out certain letters on the label, so that it now reads "CANNED WITCH". This sort of humour is actually quite effective here.

An amazing performance (or group of performances) is given by Fred Woodward, who plays a large number of animals in this movie ... including a human-sized jackdaw. For most of his roles, Woodward walks on all fours, holding short stilts in his hands to lengthen his arms so that they become forelegs.

AMAZING TRIVIA NOTE: L. Frank Baum had been involved in amateur theatricals ever since his adolescence, and he owned a large number of costumes. After his death, his widow sold these to a Los Angeles costume jobber. One particular item -- a shabby frock coat which had seen better days -- was later worn by Frank Morgan in his role as Professor Marvel in "The Wizard of Oz". Supposedly, the coat was chosen utterly at random because it fit Morgan and its shabbiness suited the character ... and it wasn't recognised as Baum's coat until his widow saw the film in a preview. True story!

I thoroughly enjoyed "His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz", and I continue to enjoy it after repeated viewings. I wish that a certain overrated MGM musical (starring Judy Whatsername) were less popular, and that L. Frank Baum's short films were better-known.

Better then the Wizard of OZ (1939)

[jacobjohntaylor1 · 10/10 · 8 February 2016]

This a great movie. It is better then The Wizard of Oz (1939) It is a great movie. A girl from Kansas find a magical land. The 1939 remake is good. But this is better. This is a great movie. 5 is underrating it. It is no 5. It a lot better. This is one of the best fantasy movies of all time. This movie is a must see. It one of the best version of The Wizard of Oz that I have seen. See this movie. It is a great movie. It is a must. Violet MacMilian was great actress. This a great movie. Frank Moore was a great actor. Pierre Couderc was a great actor. Fred Woodward was a great actor. Mai Wells was great actor. This a great movie. Great movie great movie great movie. See it.

Good Version

[Michael_Elliott · 13 March 2008]

His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz (1914)

*** (out of 4)

An evil King takes over and wants his daughter to make a no good but when the Scarecrow comes to life he has his eyes on the daughter as well. Here's a very interesting film written and directed by L. Frank Baum who was also the writer of the Oz stories. The visual effects are very effective especially one scene where the evil witch removes the heart of the Princess and then freezes it before putting it back in her body. Another great scene is one that the kiddies shouldn't see but the Scarecrow cuts off a head. This effect is done very well and effective. This is certainly the most "adult" version of Oz I've seen, which makes it quite interesting.

A Classic Wizard of Oz

[zoe-79083 · 10/10 · 4 May 2019]

As a child, I adored anything Wizard of Oz. When the 70th anniversary collection came out, I got it and discovered this movie, which I immediately fell in love with. The movie is well acted, and while the special effects are cheesy, they are amazing for the time. I'd highly recommend watching it.

Inept

[WeepingGodFilms · 5 August 2001]

Baum's inept adaptation of a couple of his Oz books is a sad sight indeed. Shots are poorly framed, often excluding some of the actor's faces from view. The plot is moronic and the acting stale. The cast is much too large and he seems to throw in characters just to throw them in. The special effects are cheesy, especially when the Tin Woodsman chops off the Witch's head.

However, this silent film does feature an excellent performance by the man playing the Wizard and the young woman playing the Princess Ozma. There's a good, melodramatic concept, this young woman walking around with everyone left and right falling in love with her, and she being incapable of loving them back-- it makes for a good visual. But the rest of the film is just so incompetent that's it obscures its good points.