The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914)

I would guess some people don't realize that The Wizard of Oz is based off of a novel by L. Frank Baum, but I would guess that most people don't realize it wasn't the first movie based off of those books. Hell, L. Frank Baum had his own production company called The Oz Film Manufacturing Company which cranked out quite a few of them. Including the little gem I watched called The Patchwork Girl of Oz, which as far as I can tell is the first feature full length movie based of of the books, though I may be wrong. Either way this movie is strange. How strange you ask? Imagine dropping acid while watching a Terry Gilliam movie where all of the audio has been replaced with intertitles and organ music.

Strange.

You won't find Dorthy or Toto or The Wicked Witch of the West in this version. You will however find The Cowardly Lion, Tin Man, as well as the Scarecrow. Though instead of the fun lovable characters you know some of them have been replaced by something straight out of your nightmares.

Not Ray Bolger.

So is the movie good? Well, kind of. It's a mix of odd, good, and terrifying. The movie is about Ojo, a young girl who travels out with her father? ,I'm not sure how he's related, to her to find food. Upon the way they follow a mule to a magician's house who's making a patchwork girl. Shortly after making the patchwork girl Ojo accidentally turns three people to stone and then has to find the ingredients to make a cure. Unfortunately for her some of the ingredients are illegal and procuring them manages to get her in trouble with the law in the land of Oz.

It's all very strange. I realize it's hard to tell a story when all you have are title cards that pop up every few minutes and the rest of the story has to rely on the actions of the actors to convey what is happening. So that being said The Patchwork Girl of Oz is a good movie, but holy hell is it occasionally like a bad acid trip.

Also it has more black face than the 1939 version.

3 Birthday Fish out of 5

Squid.