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The Wonderful Land of Oz
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Wikipedia article
'The Wonderful Land of Oz' is a 1969 film directed by Barry Mahon. It is a low budget but faithful adaptation of the 1904 novel 'The Marvelous Land of Oz' by L. Frank Baum.
Cast
* Chandos Castle Mahon (credited as Channy Mahon) as Tip
* Zisca Baum as Mombi
* Caroline Berner as General Jinjur
* George Wadsworth as Jack Pumpkinhead
* Gil Fields as H. M. Woggle-bug T. E.
* Michael R. Thomas as the Scarecrow
* Al Joseph as the Tin Woodman
* Joy Webb as Ozma
* Hilary Lee Gaess as Glinda
* Ray Menard as The Gump (voice)
Jellia Jamb and Omby Amby also appear but are uncredited.
Production
Mahon told 'Variety' that he was planning to get Judy Garland to narrate, but eventually she did not. A popular rumor is that Jinjur's Army of Revolt is composed of actors who had previously appeared in Mahon's nudie films. This is, however, not the case. The nudie films were made in New York City, while the children's films were made in Florida. Mahon did not bring any of his former performers to appear in the film.
According to Michael R. Thomas, Hilary Lee Gaess, the actress who played Glinda, had extreme bouts of stage fright.
Mahon and songwriters Linsenmann and Falco re-teamed for 'Jack and the Beanstalk' and 'Thumbelina', both released in 1970. All three films are owned by Jeffrey C. Hogue.
Music
*"The Land of Oz" - Chorus
*"The Powder of Life" - Mombi and Tip
*"I Don't Want to Be a Statue" - Tip
*"Try to Touch a Star" - Glinda
*"On This Great Take Over Day" - Jinjur and Army
*"I've Watched Over You" - Glinda
*"The Land of Oz" (reprise) - Chorus
Another oft-repeated error is the claim that the songs are by Loonis McGlohan and Alec Wilder. This is derived from the fact that they wrote music for the Land of Oz theme park in Banner Elk, North Carolina, released on a vinyl record titled 'The Land of Oz'. Their songs were inspired by 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz', not 'The Marvelous Land of Oz'. The songs for the film were composed by George Linsenmann with lyrics by Ralph Falco.
Release
'The Wonderful Land of Oz' played in Saturday "kiddie matinee"[https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Annotated_Wizard_of_Oz/bpkVEAaUuMkC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%20kiddie%20matinee The Annotated Wizard of Oz - Google Books (pg.lixxi)][https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Brief_Guide_To_OZ/20nBBAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1 A Brief Guide To OZ - Google Books (Chapter 3 Return to Oz)] venues, but was not released on VHS until after it had been issued on DVD, making it something of a lost and often misreported legend. Some sources, such as Allan Eyles's 1985 book, 'The World of Oz', claim that Dorothy Gale accompanied Tip on his journey in this film, but this is not the case. (It is, however, the case in 'Ozu no Mahtsukai'.)
The film was released on VHS in 2001 and DVD in 2002, as a double feature with 'Jack and the Beanstalk', by Something Weird Video.[https://www.worldcat.org/title/wonderful-land-of-oz-jack-and-the-beanstalk/oclc/55802629 WorldCat.org] That it remained unavailable on any home media until the 21st century may explain the rumors published by Eyles and others. It was also commented by RiffTrax.
See also
* List of American films of 1969
* 'Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny'
* List of films considered the worst
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