Oz Wiki
(Adding categories)
(4 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
  +
{{IMDb rating|4.1}}
[[image:LandofOz1969.jpg|225px|thumb|right|A promotional poster for the film.]]
 
'''''The Wonderful Land of Oz''''' is a low-budget 1969 film version of [[L. Frank Baum]]'s second [[List of Oz books|Oz book]], ''[[The Marvelous Land of Oz]]''. It has been acclaimed as the worst Oz film ever made.<ref>Marc Berezin, "Oz on a Budget: The Making and Selling of Barry Mahon's ''The Wonderful Land of Oz''," ''[[The Baum Bugle]]'', Vol. 53 No. 1 (Spring 2009), pp. 41-6.</ref>
 
   
 
[[image:LandofOz1969.jpg|250px|thumb|right|A promotional poster for the film.]]
 
'''''The Wonderful Land of Oz''''' is a low-budget 1969 film adaptation of [[L. Frank Baum]]'s second [[List of Oz books|Oz book]], ''[[The Marvelous Land of Oz]]''. It has been acclaimed as the worst Oz film ever made.<ref>Marc Berezin, "Oz on a Budget: The Making and Selling of Barry Mahon's ''The Wonderful Land of Oz''," ''[[The Baum Bugle]]'', Vol. 53 No. 1 (Spring 2009), pp. 41-6.</ref>
  +
==Overview==
 
The movie was written, produced, and directed by Barry Mahon, who made low-budget "nudie" films for the "grindhouse" circuit during the 1960s, like ''Nudes on Tiger Reef'' (1965) and ''Fanny Hill Meets Lady Chatterly'' (1967) among others. By the end of the 1960s, the trend toward more overtly pornographic films drove family-man Mahon away from the genre and into children's pictures. His ''Oz'' film was his first venture in this new genre, though he would go on to make a ''Jack and the Beanstalk'' and a ''Thumbelina'' (both 1970) among other titles.
 
The movie was written, produced, and directed by Barry Mahon, who made low-budget "nudie" films for the "grindhouse" circuit during the 1960s, like ''Nudes on Tiger Reef'' (1965) and ''Fanny Hill Meets Lady Chatterly'' (1967) among others. By the end of the 1960s, the trend toward more overtly pornographic films drove family-man Mahon away from the genre and into children's pictures. His ''Oz'' film was his first venture in this new genre, though he would go on to make a ''Jack and the Beanstalk'' and a ''Thumbelina'' (both 1970) among other titles.
   
 
The ''Oz'' film was made on a skeletal budget of only $50,000. (Mahon also had to offer his distributor $90,000 for advertising and promotion.) Mahon employed many beginners and newcomers in both cast and crew, who received on-the-job training in filmmaking through making the film. It was also a family affair: Mahon's youngest son Channy (Chandos Castle Mahon), then ten years old, starred as [[Tip]]. Channy's mother Clelle was the movie's script supervisor.
 
The ''Oz'' film was made on a skeletal budget of only $50,000. (Mahon also had to offer his distributor $90,000 for advertising and promotion.) Mahon employed many beginners and newcomers in both cast and crew, who received on-the-job training in filmmaking through making the film. It was also a family affair: Mahon's youngest son Channy (Chandos Castle Mahon), then ten years old, starred as [[Tip]]. Channy's mother Clelle was the movie's script supervisor.
   
Unfortunately, Channy Mahon was "an incredibly bad child actor" whose "ill-timed, lethargic performance"<ref>Rob Craig, quoted in Berezin, p. 43.</ref> was the central element in a largely inexperienced ensemble. The film's production values, in terms of sets, costumes, and effects, are crude and primitive.
+
Unfortunately, Channy Mahon was "an incredibly bad child actor" whose "ill-timed, lethargic performance"<ref>Rob Craig, quoted in Berezin, p. 43.</ref> was the central element in a largely inexperienced ensemble. The film's production values, in terms of sets, costumes, and effects, are crude and primitive.
   
 
The movie was quickly forgotten after its initial appearance in the summer of 1969. Yet the modern proliferation of obscure video, aided by the Internet, has brought renewed attention to the film, mainly from those interested in cult movies and the ironic "so bad it's good" outlook.<ref>Berezin, p. 46.</ref>
 
The movie was quickly forgotten after its initial appearance in the summer of 1969. Yet the modern proliferation of obscure video, aided by the Internet, has brought renewed attention to the film, mainly from those interested in cult movies and the ironic "so bad it's good" outlook.<ref>Berezin, p. 46.</ref>
Line 22: Line 24:
 
* [[Glinda]]: Hillary Lee Gaess
 
* [[Glinda]]: Hillary Lee Gaess
 
* [[Ozma]]: Joy Webb
 
* [[Ozma]]: Joy Webb
  +
== Trivia==
  +
*This film came 30 years after 1939's [[The Wizard of Oz (1939)|The Wizard of Oz]]
  +
*Channy Mahon was the director's son
  +
*The [[Sawhorse]] does not appear
  +
*The director had previously made adult films before this one and so it was rumored that the girls in Jinjur's army had appeared in those. However this is not true based on filiming location.
  +
   
 
==References==
 
==References==
 
{{reflist}}
 
{{reflist}}
  +
{{Oz on screen|a}}
 
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wonderful land of Oz, The}}
 
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wonderful land of Oz, The}}
  +
[[Category:Films]]
{{Oz Movies}}
 
  +
[[Category:Live-action]]
 
[[Category:Oz Movies]]
 
[[Category:Oz Movies]]

Revision as of 06:29, 28 June 2018

IMDb rating
Starblank
4.1
LandofOz1969

A promotional poster for the film.

The Wonderful Land of Oz is a low-budget 1969 film adaptation of L. Frank Baum's second Oz book, The Marvelous Land of Oz. It has been acclaimed as the worst Oz film ever made.[1]

Overview

The movie was written, produced, and directed by Barry Mahon, who made low-budget "nudie" films for the "grindhouse" circuit during the 1960s, like Nudes on Tiger Reef (1965) and Fanny Hill Meets Lady Chatterly (1967) among others. By the end of the 1960s, the trend toward more overtly pornographic films drove family-man Mahon away from the genre and into children's pictures. His Oz film was his first venture in this new genre, though he would go on to make a Jack and the Beanstalk and a Thumbelina (both 1970) among other titles.

The Oz film was made on a skeletal budget of only $50,000. (Mahon also had to offer his distributor $90,000 for advertising and promotion.) Mahon employed many beginners and newcomers in both cast and crew, who received on-the-job training in filmmaking through making the film. It was also a family affair: Mahon's youngest son Channy (Chandos Castle Mahon), then ten years old, starred as Tip. Channy's mother Clelle was the movie's script supervisor.

Unfortunately, Channy Mahon was "an incredibly bad child actor" whose "ill-timed, lethargic performance"[2] was the central element in a largely inexperienced ensemble. The film's production values, in terms of sets, costumes, and effects, are crude and primitive.

The movie was quickly forgotten after its initial appearance in the summer of 1969. Yet the modern proliferation of obscure video, aided by the Internet, has brought renewed attention to the film, mainly from those interested in cult movies and the ironic "so bad it's good" outlook.[3]

The movie features songs by Ralph Falco and George Linsenmann.

Cast

Trivia

  • This film came 30 years after 1939's The Wizard of Oz
  • Channy Mahon was the director's son
  • The Sawhorse does not appear
  • The director had previously made adult films before this one and so it was rumored that the girls in Jinjur's army had appeared in those. However this is not true based on filiming location.


References

  1. Marc Berezin, "Oz on a Budget: The Making and Selling of Barry Mahon's The Wonderful Land of Oz," The Baum Bugle, Vol. 53 No. 1 (Spring 2009), pp. 41-6.
  2. Rob Craig, quoted in Berezin, p. 43.
  3. Berezin, p. 46.
Site-logo Films Site-logo
Live-Action adaptations Silent films Fairylogue and Radio-Plays (1908) • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910) • His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz (1914) • The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914) • The Magic Cloak of Oz (1914) • The Wizard of Oz (1925)
Modern films The Wizard of Oz (1939) • The Wonderful Land of Oz (1969) • 20th Century Oz (1976) • The Wiz (1978) • Return to Oz (1985) • The Dreamer of Oz (1990) • The Wizard of the City of Emeralds (1994) • The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005) • After the Wizard (2011) • Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) • The Wiz Live! (2015)
Inspired films Flying Monkeys (2013) • OzLand (2015)
Guest Appearances Inkheart (2008) • Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021)
Animated adaptations Feature films Journey Back to Oz (1974) • The Wizard of Oz (1982) • The Wizard of Oz (1983) • The Wizard of Oz (1991) • Lion of Oz (2000) • Tom and Jerry & the Wizard of Oz (2011) • Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return (2014) • Guardians of Oz (2015) • Tom and Jerry: Back to Oz (2016) • Urfin Jus and His Wooden Soldiers (2017) • The Steam Engines of Oz (2018)
Guest Appearances The LEGO Movie (2014) • The Lego Batman Movie (2017)
Upcoming adaptations Wicked: Part One/Wicked: Part Two (2024-5) • Dorothy & Alice (TBA) • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (film) (TBA) • Toto (film) (TBA)
Short films After Oz (2007) • The Land of Oz (short film) (2015) • Dorothy in the Land of Stars (2017) • Unknown, Lost, or non-English Adaptations