The Wonderful Land of Oz is a 1969

1969 in film

The year 1969 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Last year for prize giving at the Venice Film Festival until it is revived in 1980...

 film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 by Barry Mahon

Barry Mahon

Barry Mahon, born Jackson Barrett Mahon , was an American film director, cinematographer and producer.-Early years:...

, based on the novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

 The Marvelous Land of Oz

The Marvelous Land of Oz

The Marvelous Land of Oz: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, commonly shortened to The Land of Oz, published on July 5, 1904, is the second of L. Frank Baum's books set in the Land of Oz, and the sequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. This and the next...

by L. Frank Baum. A low budget

Low budget film

A low-budget film is a motion picture shot with little or no funding from a major film studio or private investor. Many Independent films are made on low budgets but films made on the mainstream circuit with unexperienced or unknown filmmakers can also have low budgets. Many young or first time...

 but faithful adaptation

Film adaptation

Film adaptation is the transfer of a written work to a feature film. It is a type of derivative work.A common form of film adaptation is the use of a novel as the basis of a feature film, but film adaptation includes the use of non-fiction , autobiography, comic book, scripture, plays, and even...

, the film stars Mahon's son, Channy (Chandos Castle Mahon, now a producer) as Tip, Zisca Baum (no relation) as Mombi

Mombi

Mombi is a wicked old witch from L. Frank Baum Oz Books. She appears in the book The Marvelous Land of Oz and is alluded to in other works. Of all the wicked witches in L...

, Caroline Berner as General Jinjur, George Wadsworth as Jack Pumpkinhead

Jack Pumpkinhead

Jack Pumpkinhead is a fictional character from the Oz book series by L. Frank Baum.-In Baum:Jack first appeared in The Marvelous Land of Oz. Jack's tall figure is made from tree limbs and jointed with wooden pegs...

, Gil Fields as H. M. Woggle-bug T. E.

H. M. Woggle-bug T. E.

The Highly Magnified Woggle-Bug is a character in the Oz books by L. Frank Baum. He first appears in the book The Marvelous Land of Oz in 1904. He goes by the name H. M. Woggle-Bug, T.E....

, Michael R. Thomas as the Scarecrow

Scarecrow (Oz)

The Scarecrow is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum and illustrator William Wallace Denslow. In his first appearance, the Scarecrow reveals that he lacks a brain and desires above all else to have one. In reality, he is only two days old and merely...

, and Al Joseph as the Tin Woodman

Tin Woodman

The Tin Woodman, sometimes referred to as the Tin Man or the Tin Woodsman , is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum...

. Ozma

Ozma

Ozma may refer to:* Ozma of Oz, a 1907 and third book in the Oz series* Ozma , a 1989 album by the Melvins* Ozma , a rock band from Pasadena, California* Ozma Wars, a 1979 arcade game...

 is played by Joy Webb. Jellia Jamb

Jellia Jamb

Jellia Jamb is a fictional character from the Oz series by L. Frank Baum. She is the head of all the maids at the palace in the Emerald City and in The Road to Oz, is described as Princess Ozma's favorite servant...

 and Omby Amby appear, unbilled. The Gump is voiced by Ray Menard, the production designer

Production designer

In film and television, a production designer is the person responsible for the overall look of a filmed event such as films, TV programs, music videos or adverts. Production designers have one of the key creative roles in the creation of motion pictures and television. Working directly with the...

, also unbilled, but remembered by Thomas, who also remembers that Hilary Lee Gaess, who played Glinda

Glinda

Glinda is a fictional character in the Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. She is the most powerful sorceress of Oz, ruler of the Quadling Country south of the Emerald City, and protector of Princess Ozma.- Literature :Baum's 1900 children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...

, had extreme bouts with stage fright

Stage fright

Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia which may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, whether actually or potentially . In the context of public speaking, this fear is termed glossophobia, one of the most common...

.

Mahon told The New York Times

The New York Times

The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

that he was planning to get Judy Garland

Judy Garland

Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...

 to narrate the film, but the film has no narration. Popular rumor is that Jinjur's Army of Revolt is composed of actors who had previously appeared in Mahon's nudie films. This is, however, not the case. The nudie films were made in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, while the children's films were made in Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

. Mahon did not bring any of his former performers to appear in the film.

The film played in Saturday kiddie matinee venues, but was not released on VHS

VHS

The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....

 until after it had been issued on DVD

DVD

A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

, making it something of a lost and often misreported legend. Some sources, such as Allan Eyles's 1985 book, The World of Oz claim that Dorothy Gale

Dorothy Gale

Dorothy Gale is the protagonist of many of the Oz novels by American author L. Frank Baum, and the best friend of Oz's ruler Princess Ozma. Dorothy first appears in Baum's classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reappears in most of its sequels...

 accompanied Tip on his journey in this film, but this is not the case. (It is, however, the case in Ozu no Mahōtsukai.) Another oft-repeated error is the claim that the songs are by Loonis McGlohan and Alec Wilder

Alec Wilder

Alec Wilder was an American composer.-Biography:...

. This is derived from the fact that they wrote music for the Land of Oz

Land of Oz

Oz is a fantasy region containing four lands under the rule of one monarch.It was first introduced in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, one of many fantasy countries that he created for his books. It achieved a popularity that none of his other works attained, and after four years, he...

 theme park in Banner Elk, North Carolina

Banner Elk, North Carolina

-Attractions:During summer time there is hiking, whitewater rafting, fishing, and other activities. The largest lake in the area, Watauga Lake, is a favorite spot just 30 minutes away for boating, fishing and wake boarding. In the winter the main event is skiing and snowboarding. There are two...

, released on a vinyl record titled The Land of Oz. Their songs were inspired by The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...

, not The Marvelous Land of Oz

The Marvelous Land of Oz

The Marvelous Land of Oz: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, commonly shortened to The Land of Oz, published on July 5, 1904, is the second of L. Frank Baum's books set in the Land of Oz, and the sequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. This and the next...

. The songs for the film were composed by George Linsenmann with lyrics by Ralph Falco. The experimental rock group Daiquiri often performs "I Don't Want to Be a Statue" as part of their act, as has The New Zip Code Rapists.

Mahon, Linsenmann, and Falco would re-team for Jack and the Beanstalk and Thumbelina. All three films are owned by Jeffrey C. Hogue

Jeffrey C. Hogue

Jeffrey C. Hogue is the current president of Charles Atlas, Ltd. He also owns the rights to a number of films, as well as Majestic International Pictures, Inc.....

. The film was released on VHS in 2001 and DVD in 2002, as a double feature with Jack and the Beanstalk, by Something Weird Video

Something Weird Video

Something Weird Video is an American publisher of video tapes and DVDs, based in Seattle, Washington. They specialize in exploitation film, particularly the works of Harry Novak, Doris Wishman, David F. Friedman, and Herschell Gordon Lewis. SWV videos are available on demand to Comcast subscribers...

. That it remained unavailable on VHS until the 21st century may explain the rumors published by Eyles and others.

Songs

• "The Land of Oz"
• "The Powder of Life"
• "I Don't Want to Be a Statue"
• "I've Watched You"
• "On That Great Take Over Day"