The Magic Cloak

Whoa....I guess I need to get around to reading those Oz books by Frank L Baum! I haven't yet, but boy are they different from the stuff you saw in the 1939 film!! This film finds a mythical kingdom without a king. Since the dead king had no heirs, the law says that the 47th person to pass through a certain gate will be their new ruler! And, unfortunately, it's Bud--a kid who would rather spend the country's treasury on toys than do anything to help his new subjects. In the meantime, there's a story about a donkey and other animals that are really people dressed up in odd costumes and there is a plot involving a magic cloak. All of this is pretty weird but also pretty entertaining because it is so incredibly strange and oddly entertaining. Overall, it's a really weird but engaging film that made me smile several times due to it's kitschy style and charm. It's NOT a film, however, to show to those unfamiliar with silent films--it might just be too strange and might scare them away from an awesome genre. Fun and weird.

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.

Magic Cloak of Oz, The (1914)

*** (out of 4)

The fairies of Oz create a magic cloak, which will give one wish to the person who wears it. Once again the production design is very good here with wonderful and magical sets. The story is quite touching and I'm sure kids would love this version just as much as adults. The highlight of the film is the scene where a horse (played by a human in an outfit) is scratching his butt up against a tree and tries to teach a monkey how to do it.

Wizard of Oz, The (1910)

*** (out of 4)

Nice if strange version of the classic tale. The production values here are actually pretty nice and it's a rather strange trip seeing humans in outfits playing the various animals including the lion.

Wizard of Oz, The (1933)

*** (out of 4)

Pretty good Technicolor cartoon based on the book. The animation is rather nice and the scarecrow and tin man are pretty funny here as well. This was the first version to show Kansas in B&W and then Oz in color.

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.