In 1914, L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, launched The Oz Film Manufacturing Company to produce films based upon his books. One of the earliest studios in Hollywood, the Oz Film Company built a state-of-the-art production facility. The Company boldly pronounced its intention to be the first studio to shoot only feature films, all including fully composed original scores… at a time when other producers primarily shot shorts accompanied by pre-existing music.
Unfortunately, despite great reviews, the fame of the Oz books, and Georges Méliès-inspired special effects, the Company’s first film flopped. Subsequent features struggled to find distribution. Even a desperate shift into producing shorts could not save the Company. Today The Oz Film Company’s place in cinema history is largely overlooked and its films mostly forgotten.
The Oz Film Company Project is three-fold:
(1) Preservation & restoration of the surviving films
(2) A documentary on the company
(3) A definitive book
An estimated 75% of American silent films are considered lost, and The Oz Film Company’s work is no stranger to that fate. The four Violet’s Dreams shorts are lost. Of the four features, only one partial copy (3 of 5 reels) of The Last Egyptian survives, and The Magic Cloak of Oz only exists in truncated, re-edited forms. On the positive side, The Patchwork Girl of Oz, thankfully, is complete, and His Majesty, The Scarecrow of Oz either complete or very close to being so. However, most of what does survive is 16mm; very few even partial 35mm prints exist.
In January of 2023 I visited the Library of Congress’s Packard Campus to view their Oz Film Company holdings. I had partnered with Dina Massachi, chair of CharlOz, to restore one of the films for screening at her convention. For various reasons, we decided to focus on His Majesty, The Scarecrow. I discovered a goldmine.
The Library had three partial 35mm prints, including at least one for each reel. Reels 2 and 3 came from a safety positive. Reels 1, 4, and 5 existed in tinted nitrate from the 1919 Moovical rerelease of the film–likely the only print made for that rerelease. Finally, the Library had a second nitrate copy of both Reels 4 and 5.
Unbeknownst to anyone until we examined those reels,
that copy was original picture negative, long believed to be lost!
I received fresh 4K transfers of all three prints in late 2023 and spent 2024 working on the film. Despite no large sections of lost footage, the reconstruction reveals that extant copies were likely closer to completion than previously believed. I could only partially restore the film – I had neither the tools nor the time to clean up every scratch and speck of dust – but the major problems have all be fixed and the final film looks stunning.
The restoration premiered at CharlOz in September 2024 to incredible reception, inspiring a groundswell of interest in raising funds, first to preserve the Oz Film Company’s other films. With nitrate constantly degrading, we are working against a ticking clock to save these films before they are lost forever.
Exciting News!
The International Wizard of Oz Club, a 501(c)(3) educational charity,
is now accepting tax-deductible contributions to preserve these films!
More Information • Make a Donation
Please note: On the Checkout Page, you must indicate your contribution
is for the “Oz Film Restoration Campaign” in the Donation Comments box.
Thanks for your support!
Upcoming Screenings of His Majesty, The Scarecrow of Oz
TBD
Interested in screening the restored film? Contact me!
Previous Screenings
January 17, 2026 • Museum of Pop Culture, Seattle, WA
November 16, 2025, 12:00 PM • Silence is Golden Film Festival, DKSG, New Belgrade, Serbia
September 13, 2025 • IMAX Bristol Megascreen, Bristol, United Kingdom
August 9, 2025 • Old Town Musical Hall, El Segundo, CA
May 26, 2025 • Art Theatre of Long Beach, Long Beach, CA
September 29, 2024 • CharlOz Festival, UNC Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
The documentary, Hollywood Baum: The Silence of Oz, will trace the history of The Oz Film Manufacturing Company and explore its place in the twin worlds of Oz and cinema. Delving into the copious research I have accumulated over many years of study, it will feature rare clips alongside interviews with both film historians and Oz & Baum experts alike.
Please click to see the pitch deck or contact me to learn more.
The following is a presentation I gave on The Oz Film Manufacturing Company for OzCon International. I edited it as a short film instead of as a Keynote or Powerpoint – although what you see here is both significantly condensed from the planned film and constructed without interviews.
Much like the documentary, the book will follow the history of The Oz Film Manufacturing Company from conception to dissolution and discuss its standing not only in the worlds of Oz and cinema but also the special place its movies holds amongst Oz films. But where the documentary will provide a visual exploration both unique to the medium and especially relevant to the subject matter, the book will enter a level of detail and in-depth study well beyond the scope of the film.
The Baum Bugle published some of my research in the article “Feeling Woozy: The Marketing and Publicity of the Oz Film Manufacturing Company” in its Spring 2001 issue.
The Oz Film Company Project
Nate Barlow
323.744.1247
ozfilmco@gmail.com
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