The Oz Film Manufacturing Company
Encyclopedia
The Oz Film Manufacturing Company was an independent film
studio from 1914-1915. It was founded by L. Frank Baum
(president), Louis F. Gottschalk
(vice president), Harry Marston Haldeman (secretary), and Clarence R. Rundel (treasurer) as an offshoot of Haldeman's social group, The Uplifters
, that met at the Los Angeles Athletic Club
. Its goal was to produce quality family-oriented entertainment in a time when children were primarily seeing violent Westerns. It was a critical but not a commercial success; even under a name change to Dramatic Feature Films
, it was quickly forced to fold. The studio made only five features and five short films, of which four features (in part) and no shorts survive.
The company is best known for three of its films that survive, albeit with missing footage, today: The Patchwork Girl of Oz
, The Magic Cloak of Oz
, and His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz.
and Lodi Street. The facility would later be used by Famous Players-Lasky
and National Film Corporation of America. It was considered state-of-the-art at the time. It was used almost exclusively for interior shots. Exterior shots were done outdoors rather than simulated in the studio.
directed all of the film productions and acted in some of them. L. Frank Baum
wrote all the scripts, and Louis F. Gottschalk
wrote complete original score
s that were sent out with the films, at time when improvising stock cues from the repertoire was common. James A. Crosby was the studio cinematographer
, and Will H. White was the technical director. The records do not show who was responsible for film editing
.
Among the major players at the company were Violet MacMillan
, Frank Moore, Pierre Couderc
, Juanita Hansen
, Mai Wells, Raymond Russell, Todd Wright, Vivian Reed
, and J. Charles Haydon
, with animals portrayed by Fred Woodward, who had appeared in the stage version of The Wizard of Oz
back in 1902. A newcomer on the second project, Mildred Harris
, would become more famous for her marriage to Charles Chaplin. Another member of the company was Dick Rosson, whose younger brother, Harold Rosson
, would go on to shoot The Wizard of Oz
(1939).
distribution program, but when the picture fared poorly, Paramount refused to take on the additional productions. The remaining films were finally accepted onto the Alliance program. The Magic Cloak of Oz was not released until 1917. The prints currently circulating are based on two two-reelers of a British release, known as The Magic Cloak and The Witch Queen, and are missing a reel of material.
, from an exotic orientalist
adventure novel that Baum had written but declined authorship credit for commercial reasons, in early December. The studio claimed to be going strong well into the next year, but released only short subjects, and the held-up His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz, retitled The New Wizard of Oz to capitalize on the popularity of the stage play well-remembered from the previous decade.
Each of these films depicted Violet's interaction with animals (played by Woodward), and magical opportunities to do things she is otherwise not allowed to do, such as visit a country circus prohibited to her because of her gender
.
George Cochrane produced a film in 1917 based on these materials titled Like Babes in the Woods. This film should not be confused with The Babes in the Woods, an adaptation of the Hansel and Gretel
story made by Chester Franklin and Sidney Franklin
, also from 1917. The Babes in the Woods has been released on videocassette; Like Babes in the Woods is a lost film
.
(1908), Baum invested none of his own money in the venture and was not financially affected by the studio's failure, though it is probable it impacted his health, which took a turn for the worse not long after the failure.
Frank Joslyn Baum
, Baum's eldest son and sometime attorney, who handled East Coast distribution from an office in Times Square
, took over the company and renamed it Dramatic Feature Films
, which made one feature and one short, probably from scripts by the younger Baum. Although ads announced the release of the feature film, The Gray Nun of Belgium
, it does not appear to actually have been released. While some speculate that Baum would have allied himself with United Artists
had he been able to sustain the company, there is no evidence for this, nor evidence that he had ever met UA's founding members, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford
, Douglas Fairbanks
, and D. W. Griffith
, though Gottschalk went on to work with all of them. It is known that fairy tale/fantasy films were produced more frequently by 1917.
The four feature films were considered lost for many years. By the 1980s, all three fairy tale films were made available on home video. All of the feature films have been released on both DVD and VHS with the exception of The Last Egyptian. The Museum of Modern Art owns a worn copy that was used in Bill Morrison
's Decasia
, but it remains unreleased and is not part of their screening repertoire. The shorts remain lost.
, the series' principals are introduced to a filmmaker named Otis Werner, who is clearly a send-up of Otis Turner
, who made some earlier Oz films, mostly without Baum's input. The nieces decide to establish their own film company for children, and Uncle John name-drops "Hans Andersen
, Frank Baum, and Lewis Carroll
" as among those whose fairy tales had already been adapted to the screen. The novel was written during the midst of the company's existence and published before the company's fall, and ends before the girls actually do establish such a company.
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
studio from 1914-1915. It was founded by L. Frank Baum
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
(president), Louis F. Gottschalk
Louis F. Gottschalk
Louis Ferdinand Gottschalk was an American composer and conductor born in St. Louis, Missouri. The son of a Missouri governor, also named Louis, he studied music in Stuttgart, Germany, where his father, a judge, was American consul.He came to attention as conductor of the U.S. premiere of Franz...
(vice president), Harry Marston Haldeman (secretary), and Clarence R. Rundel (treasurer) as an offshoot of Haldeman's social group, The Uplifters
The Uplifters
The Lofty and Exalted Order of Uplifters or simply The Uplifters was a men's social club at the Los Angeles Athletic Club founded by Harry Marston Haldeman in 1913. Originally from Chicago and a member of such a club there called The Bugs, Haldeman, a plumbing magnate and grandfather of H.R....
, that met at the Los Angeles Athletic Club
Los Angeles Athletic Club
Los Angeles Athletic Club is an athletic club and private social club in Los Angeles, California, USA. It awards the John R. Wooden Award to the outstanding men's and women's college basketball player of each year....
. Its goal was to produce quality family-oriented entertainment in a time when children were primarily seeing violent Westerns. It was a critical but not a commercial success; even under a name change to Dramatic Feature Films
Dramatic Feature Films
Dramatic Feature Films was an unsuccessful silent film venture by Frank Joslyn Baum, son of L. Frank Baum. The office was at 300 West 42nd Street in New York City , while the films were made in the Hollywood studios of The Oz Film Manufacturing Company, which was the company's former identity.Two...
, it was quickly forced to fold. The studio made only five features and five short films, of which four features (in part) and no shorts survive.
The company is best known for three of its films that survive, albeit with missing footage, today: The Patchwork Girl of Oz
The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914 film)
The Patchwork Girl of Oz is a silent film made by L. Frank Baum's The Oz Film Manufacturing Company. It was based on the book The Patchwork Girl of Oz....
, The Magic Cloak of Oz
The Magic Cloak of Oz
The Magic Cloak of Oz is a 1914 film directed by J. Farrell MacDonald. It was written by L. Frank Baum and produced by Baum and composer Louis F. Gottschalk. The film is an adaptation of Baum's novel, Queen Zixi of Ix....
, and His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz.
Studio
The studio was located on Santa Monica Boulevard between Gower StreetGower Street (Hollywood)
Gower Street is a street in Los Angeles, California that has played an important role in the ongoing evolution of Hollywood, particularly as the home to several prominent Poverty Row studios during the area's Golden Age...
and Lodi Street. The facility would later be used by Famous Players-Lasky
Famous Players-Lasky
Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company created on July 19, 1916 from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company -- originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays -- and Jesse L...
and National Film Corporation of America. It was considered state-of-the-art at the time. It was used almost exclusively for interior shots. Exterior shots were done outdoors rather than simulated in the studio.
Stock Company
J. Farrell MacDonaldJ. Farrell MacDonald
Joseph Farrell MacDonald was an American character actor and director. He played supporting roles and occasional leads. MacDonald, who was sometimes billed as "John Farrell Macdonald", "J.F...
directed all of the film productions and acted in some of them. L. Frank Baum
L. Frank Baum
Lyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
wrote all the scripts, and Louis F. Gottschalk
Louis F. Gottschalk
Louis Ferdinand Gottschalk was an American composer and conductor born in St. Louis, Missouri. The son of a Missouri governor, also named Louis, he studied music in Stuttgart, Germany, where his father, a judge, was American consul.He came to attention as conductor of the U.S. premiere of Franz...
wrote complete original score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
s that were sent out with the films, at time when improvising stock cues from the repertoire was common. James A. Crosby was the studio cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
, and Will H. White was the technical director. The records do not show who was responsible for film editing
Film editing
Film editing is part of the creative post-production process of filmmaking. It involves the selection and combining of shots into sequences, and ultimately creating a finished motion picture. It is an art of storytelling...
.
Among the major players at the company were Violet MacMillan
Violet MacMillan
Violet MacMillan , was an American actress in Broadway theatre productions, vaudeville, and silent motion pictures. She was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan.-Tiny feet:...
, Frank Moore, Pierre Couderc
Pierre Couderc
Pierre Couderc was a French screenwriter, actor, acrobat, and film producer. He wrote for 34 films between 1925 and 1930...
, Juanita Hansen
Juanita Hansen
Juanita C. Hansen was an American silent film actress. Beginning as one of the Sennett Bathing Beauties, she appeared in a variety of serials through the late 1910s. She was well known for her troubled personal life and struggle with addiction to cocaine and morphine. In 1934 she became clean and...
, Mai Wells, Raymond Russell, Todd Wright, Vivian Reed
Vivian Reed (silent film actress)
Vivian Reed was an American actress of the silent era. She appeared in 36 films between 1914 and 1938. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Reed died in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. She was married to director Alfred E. Green and they had three children—Douglas Green, Hilton A...
, and J. Charles Haydon
J. Charles Haydon
J. Charles Haydon was an American film director, actor and screenwriter of the silent era. He directed twelve films between 1914 and 1920. He also appeared in five films between 1912 and 1914...
, with animals portrayed by Fred Woodward, who had appeared in the stage version of The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1902 stage play)
The Wizard of Oz was a 1902 musical extravaganza based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, which was originally published in 1900...
back in 1902. A newcomer on the second project, Mildred Harris
Mildred Harris
Mildred Harris was an American film actress. Harris began her career in the film industry as a popular child actress at age eleven. At the age of fifteen, she was cast as a harem girl in D. W. Griffith's Intolerance . She appeared as a leading lady through the 1920s but her career slowed with...
, would become more famous for her marriage to Charles Chaplin. Another member of the company was Dick Rosson, whose younger brother, Harold Rosson
Harold Rosson
Harold G. "Hal" Rosson, A.S.C. was an American cinematographer during the early and classical Hollywood cinema. He is best known for his work on the 1939 masterpiece The Wizard of Oz.-Biography:Rosson came from a film-making family...
, would go on to shoot The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
(1939).
Distribution
The Patchwork Girl of Oz was accepted onto the ParamountParamount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
distribution program, but when the picture fared poorly, Paramount refused to take on the additional productions. The remaining films were finally accepted onto the Alliance program. The Magic Cloak of Oz was not released until 1917. The prints currently circulating are based on two two-reelers of a British release, known as The Magic Cloak and The Witch Queen, and are missing a reel of material.
Features
The Patchwork Girl of Oz was released in early September, The Magic Cloak of Oz ready by late September, and His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz was screened in October but did not get distribution. The Alliance program released a fourth feature, The Last EgyptianThe Last Egyptian
The Last Egyptian: A Romance of the Nile is a novel written by L. Frank Baum, famous as the creator of the Land of Oz. The book was published anonymously on 1 May 1908 by Edward Stern & Co. of Philadelphia, with eight color plate illustrations by Francis P. Wightman...
, from an exotic orientalist
Orientalism
Orientalism is a term used for the imitation or depiction of aspects of Eastern cultures in the West by writers, designers and artists, as well as having other meanings...
adventure novel that Baum had written but declined authorship credit for commercial reasons, in early December. The studio claimed to be going strong well into the next year, but released only short subjects, and the held-up His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz, retitled The New Wizard of Oz to capitalize on the popularity of the stage play well-remembered from the previous decade.
Short Subjects
Lost from the company are a series of four short subjects titled Violet's Dreams, which starred Violet MacMillan and Fred Woodward. This was the whole of the company's new output in 1915 prior to the name change.- A Box of Bandits (based on Baum's short story, "The Box of Robbers" from American Fairy TalesAmerican Fairy TalesAmerican Fairy Tales is the title of a collection of twelve fantasy stories by L. Frank Baum, published in 1901 by the George M. Hill Company, the firm that issued The Wonderful Wizard of Oz the previous year...
) - The Country Circus
- The Magic Bon Bons (based on Baum's short story, "The Magic Bon-Bons" [punctuation sic], also from American Fairy Tales
- In Dreamy Jungleland (working title: "The Jungle") [Note: Alan Goble's International Film Index cites this title as In Dreamy Jungletown with MacMillan as director, though there seems little evidence for either claim.]
Each of these films depicted Violet's interaction with animals (played by Woodward), and magical opportunities to do things she is otherwise not allowed to do, such as visit a country circus prohibited to her because of her gender
Gender
Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
.
George Cochrane produced a film in 1917 based on these materials titled Like Babes in the Woods. This film should not be confused with The Babes in the Woods, an adaptation of the Hansel and Gretel
Hansel and Gretel
"Hansel and Gretel" is a well-known fairy tale of German origin, recorded by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812. Hansel and Gretel are a young brother and sister threatened by a cannibalistic hag living deep in the forest in a house constructed of cake and confectionery. The two children...
story made by Chester Franklin and Sidney Franklin
Sidney Franklin (director)
Sidney Franklin was an American film director and producer. His brother Chester Franklin also became a director during the silent film era best known for helming the early Technicolor film Toll of the Sea....
, also from 1917. The Babes in the Woods has been released on videocassette; Like Babes in the Woods is a lost film
Lost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
.
Decline
The studio was rented out to others, and was eventually demolished. Unlike the case with The Fairylogue and Radio-PlaysThe Fairylogue and Radio-Plays
The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays was an early attempt to bring L. Frank Baum's Oz books to the motion picture screen. It was a mixture of live actors, hand-tinted magic lantern slides, and film. Baum himself would appear as if he were giving a lecture, while he interacted with the characters...
(1908), Baum invested none of his own money in the venture and was not financially affected by the studio's failure, though it is probable it impacted his health, which took a turn for the worse not long after the failure.
Frank Joslyn Baum
Frank Joslyn Baum
Frank Joslyn Baum was a lawyer, soldier, writer, and film producer, though his attempts to continue the legacy of his father brought him lawsuit and estrangement from his family. Nonetheless, he became the first president of The International Wizard of Oz Club.He is best known as the author of To...
, Baum's eldest son and sometime attorney, who handled East Coast distribution from an office in Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
, took over the company and renamed it Dramatic Feature Films
Dramatic Feature Films
Dramatic Feature Films was an unsuccessful silent film venture by Frank Joslyn Baum, son of L. Frank Baum. The office was at 300 West 42nd Street in New York City , while the films were made in the Hollywood studios of The Oz Film Manufacturing Company, which was the company's former identity.Two...
, which made one feature and one short, probably from scripts by the younger Baum. Although ads announced the release of the feature film, The Gray Nun of Belgium
The Gray Nun of Belgium
The Gray Nun of Belgium was a 1915 film announced for release on the Alliance Program by Dramatic Feature Films, Frank Joslyn Baum's short-lived successor to The Oz Film Manufacturing Company....
, it does not appear to actually have been released. While some speculate that Baum would have allied himself with United Artists
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
had he been able to sustain the company, there is no evidence for this, nor evidence that he had ever met UA's founding members, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford
Mary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
, Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Fairbanks
Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. was an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films such as The Thief of Bagdad, Robin Hood, and The Mark of Zorro....
, and D. W. Griffith
D. W. Griffith
David Llewelyn Wark Griffith was a premier pioneering American film director. He is best known as the director of the controversial and groundbreaking 1915 film The Birth of a Nation and the subsequent film Intolerance .Griffith's film The Birth of a Nation made pioneering use of advanced camera...
, though Gottschalk went on to work with all of them. It is known that fairy tale/fantasy films were produced more frequently by 1917.
The four feature films were considered lost for many years. By the 1980s, all three fairy tale films were made available on home video. All of the feature films have been released on both DVD and VHS with the exception of The Last Egyptian. The Museum of Modern Art owns a worn copy that was used in Bill Morrison
Bill Morrison (director)
Bill Morrison is a New York-based filmmaker and artist, best known for his experimental collage film Decasia . He is a member of Ridge Theater and the founder of Hypnotic Pictures...
's Decasia
Decasia
Decasia is a 2002 found footage film by Bill Morrison, featuring an original score by Michael Gordon. The film is a meditation on old, decaying silent films and is similar in spirit to Lyrical Nitrate. It begins and ends with scenes of a dervish and is bookended with old footage showing how film...
, but it remains unreleased and is not part of their screening repertoire. The shorts remain lost.
In fiction
In L. Frank Baum's pseudonymous novel, Aunt Jane's Nieces Out WestAunt Jane's Nieces Out West
Aunt Jane's Nieces Out West is the penultimate novel in the Aunt Jane's Nieces series, written by L. Frank Baum as "Edith Van Dyne" and published in 1914....
, the series' principals are introduced to a filmmaker named Otis Werner, who is clearly a send-up of Otis Turner
Otis Turner
Otis Turner was an American director, screenwriter and producer. Between 1908 and 1917, he directed 133 motion pictures and wrote 40 scenarios.He was born in Fairfield, Indiana, and died in Los Angeles, California....
, who made some earlier Oz films, mostly without Baum's input. The nieces decide to establish their own film company for children, and Uncle John name-drops "Hans Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."...
, Frank Baum, and Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll
Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
" as among those whose fairy tales had already been adapted to the screen. The novel was written during the midst of the company's existence and published before the company's fall, and ends before the girls actually do establish such a company.