The Magic Cloak

Writing for children is arguably the hardest job for anyone. It involves so much speculation regarding the child's psyche, that the author, despite a richness of childhood experience, feels helpless at the task; that is if he/she intends to write good children literature. L. Frank Baum never seemed to have this handicap.

'The Magic Cloak of Oz', lost in its complete version, lacks the power of a great piece of work, and yet it is somewhat touching. The sets and the costumes are rich and beautiful; the cinematography is pleasant (Mildred Harris' mirrors scene deserves commending). On the acting front, Fred Woodward's physical performance is rather successful, and Juanita Hansen provides reasonable attempts not to overact.

The film is definitely dated, and it seems hard to imagine that the children of our times can really appreciate it. J. Farrell MacDonald, or Baum himself (according to some records), has provided a feeling of playfulness and sheer childhood joy in the story however. One has to imagine how great would it be for a kid to have the entire national budget spent on toys! Maybe, the film has the magic of the irresponsible days, a feature we learn to loose in time.

This is the second addition to Frank Baum's personally produced trilogy of Oz films. It's essentially the same childishness as in the other two pictures, although I consider it preferable to the others because it's shorter. As in the other films, there are performers in animal costumes, an adult woman pretends to be a boy, and the characters and plot jump all over the place while the camera-work is static. This time, at the center is a magic cloak that grants wishes, and the boy played by a woman is made a king.

Most of the special effects are witnessed at the beginning. Fairies are represented by multiple-exposure photography. And, there's a man in the moon that looks just like those made by Georges Méliès years before, most famously in "Le Voyage dans la lune" (A Trip to the Moon) (1902). Méliès's imaginative fantasies and creative trick effects made him the leading pioneer of early cinema, and the films he made around the turn of the century were far better and even technically more advanced than this trifling Oz series.

Fairies weave a magic cloak capable of granting its wearer one wish but cannot decide who should receive it. Finally the Man in the Moon suggests they give it to the unhappiest person they can find. This person as it turns out is Fluff (played by Mildred Harris), on her way to the land of Noland with her brother Bud (as played by Violet MacMillan), their Aunt Rivette and their pet mule Nickodemus to make a new life having just recently lost her {and Bud's} father. After receiving the cloak from the fairies, Fluff wishes for happiness and Bud as luck should have walks right into inheriting a kingdom, making Fluff a princess. Things are well until their pet mule Nickodemus gets captured by robbers and the 683 year old beguiling Queen Zixi of Ix decides to come looking for the cloak, wishing to make herself appear as young and beautiful in her own mirror as others already see her.

The main problem with this movie is it seems to lack focus. While entitled "The Magic Cloak of Oz", the title should probably instead read "The Startling Adventures of Nickodemus the Mule" since Nickodemus (wonderfully brought to life by Fred Woodward) and his animal friends garner most of the attention during this one's running time. Now Nickodemus is often delightfully amusing to watch and really his scenes tend to provide this one's funniest moments. Another problem for some may be there's not enough familiar Oz style characters in this one, aside from the animals and the demanding, soup-eating Rolly Rogues. All in all though, this one's flaws ultimately prove somewhat forgivable since it's such an imaginative journey into a childlike fantasy world.

Just finished watching The Magic Cloak of Oz (1914) and it was an interesting proof of concept.

Positives for The Magic Cloak of Oz (1914): There is a lot of intrigue to be had with this proof of concept. The initial idea can lead to some interesting adaptations or version of the stories that can be told in different forms of media. And finally, it was cool to see this ideas brought to life as a silent film.

Negatives for The Magic of Cloak (1914): Because it is a proof of concept, there isn't a lot to explore in this version of the story. Aside from the concept itself, this was a little dull to watch.

Overall, The Magic Cloak of Oz (1914) is an interesting and unique story to tell on screen and I would love to see a modern day version of this story be tolded to a modern audience someday.

A quarter century before Dorothy and her compatriots danced and sang their way down the yellow brick road, L. Frank Baum founded a production company and made some movie versions of his novels. One was "The Magic Cloak", which won't be immediately recognizable as part of the series. It centers on a cloak that grants the wearer a wish, but the story jumps around a lot. The best part is when the Rolly Rogues invade the town: these big fat guys look just like what anyone would toss into a movie for comic relief.

It's an OK movie, but the other two in this series were better. Even better still is the 1925 adaptation of Baum's most famous novel, featuring Oliver Hardy as the Tin Man.

A historical note for this one is that Fluff is played by Mildred Harris, who was married to Charlie Chaplin for a few years. Milla Jovovich played her in Richard Attenborough's "Chaplin".