The earliest screen edition of L. A mere 13 minutes are run by frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, but packs its reel of film with moments from the fantasy tale and an array of characters. Manufactured by the Selig Polyscope Co., among the first businesses to transfer its own operations to Hollywood, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz starts somewhat differently than the familiar 1939 MGM variant. Dorothy befriends the Scarecrow and is accompanied on the voyage a number of the livestock in the family farm: a cow and donkey, although by the Scarecrow and Toto. The band of explorers experience a decree from the king, who gives his crown to anyone who can discharge him from the spell of the witch of Oz, as they begin to explore Oz.
The king, from his own admission, is a humbug wants to go back to his home in Omaha, and wizard. The good witch, the Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion, Dorothy and business face the witch Momba down to assist the Wizard. The Wizard of Oz operates on the premise that the audience is familiar with the narrative of Baum, as was common in movies of the period. Therefore this complex plot can be reduced to elaborate setpieces without a lot of narrative explanation, other than a few summarized Oz title cards. The viewers knowledge of the plot of Oz not just helps them fill in the storyline gaps of the 1910 version, but allows them to discover delightful surprises which aren't Present from the Judy Garland adaptation.
Whether a celebration or review of organized labor, it provides a fascinating moment as the Oz I.W.W.'s leave their worktables also engage in an elaborate dance, much to this Wizard's chagrin. Certainly motivated by the 1900 novel by L. Frank Baum, the film variant of Oz was equally influenced by this 1902 stage musical by Baum also Julian Mitchell. Scenes are played out in large unpublished shots that approximate this view of a music hall stage, as opposed to naturalistic settings also an alternation of shots of different proximity and angles. Film pioneers like D.W. Griffith were presently innovating this type of screen Language, but a movie like The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was more of a cinematic contest, and for that reason suited to the tableau approach. The most famous practitioner of such theatrical dream movies can be Frenchman Georges Melies, best known for his 1902 show A Trip to the Moon .
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