Super-Old School Flix: The Magic Cloak of Oz (1914)

Since nobody demanded it, here's a Silent Film.  I thought it might be fun to put Films in perspective by going back a Century from the last Film I reviewed.  Today's Film is The Magic Cloak of Oz, a 1914 Film actually Produced under the supervision of L. Frank Baum.  It was often accompanied by The Patchwork Girl of Oz, a Film already covered here.  Like many Authors that would come after him, Baum would actually work on the early Films based on his works.  This Short Film is all sorts of crazy.  That's really all there is to it.  The Story involves the titular Cloak, some weird creatures and all sorts of bizarre stuff.  There's not much else to say, so let's dive right in...

So a bunch of Fairies decided to make a Magic Cloak that grants the wearer one wish.  What to do with it though?

Well, the answer lies in seeking out the right source...

A woman moves to Noland when her spouse dies, bringing the 2 kids and their creepy Donkey along.  When the King dies, the kids end up as royalty by sheer random chance and obscure Rules of Succession.  Hurray!

The kid takes to power quickly, as shown by this statement said (mercifully) in jest...

What little Plot there is in this forty-two minute Short (compiled from 5 Reels down to 3) kind of meanders as the Donkey is stolen, escapes and then starts doing this with a Monkey (I think)...

The other take-away from this one is that for as much as Oz seems to be whimsical, life can also be hellish for some!

To complete the nightmare fuel, these creatures take control of the Town (to make Soup) until the Animals work together to expel them...though the Text Cards give credit to the Cloak for no clear reason.

The Fairies take the Cloak back, but only after everything is wrapped up.  Yea?  The End.

Damn- this is weird.  If the Story from Baum's Book is like this, I kind of want to read it.  Weird Animals rescuing little girls from kidnappers!  Rotund mutants that eat buttons!  A magic Cloak made by Fairies who talk to the Man in the Moon!  L. Frank Baum was either super-creative or did lots of drugs!  I'll say this: there are some really neat Visuals for a Film that is over 100 years old.  Many of the Masks tend to dip a bit far into the Uncanny Valley (see above), but still look like they took alot of work.  They can really be creepy as hell!  When this Short actually has a clear Plot, it can be kind of fun.  Unfortunately, it tends to veer off into nonsense quite often.  Given that this Version is supposedly a composite of a 5-Reel Film down to 2 or 3 Reels, that may explain alot.  Since that Footage is lost to time (for now?), I can only judge what I see.  For what it is worth, this is creative as far as the Visuals go, but a bit incoherent as far as any Story goes.  It is free to watch on YouTube, so what's to lose?  Speaking of the Internet, someone found this pamphlet from the Film's early Marketing- neat...

Next up, I jump back to the present.  This time, it is a much-vaunted Film backed by Kickstarter.  Stay tuned...