The Wonderful Land of Oz (1969)
** (out of 4)
Tip (Chan Mahon) and Jack the Pumpkinhead (George Wadsworth) end up in the Emerald City where the poor Scarecrow has been overthrown by an evil woman. With the help from the Tin Man the group sets out to make the city great again.
THE WONDERFUL LAND OF OZ will never be confused with the 1939 classic but I must admit that I found it to be rather charming in its own low-budget, campy way. Director Barry Mahon made a number of sexploitation films in his career but towards the end of it he started making some kid movies. This version of the Oz tale is without question one of the silliest but it's fun, which is the most important thing.
Now, when I say the film is fun I'm not meaning it's some sort of classic because it's far from that. What makes this movie fun is the fact that it's a pretty nutty movie from start to finish. The costumes of the characters are certainly the highlight (or low-light) because they look rather silly but at the same time they're rather addictive simply because it adds a certain weird atmosphere to the picture. Jack the Pumpkinhead is a prime example and I really feel bad for the actor having to walk around with that large pumpkin on his head.
Chan Mahon, the director's son, takes the lead role and he certainly wasn't an actor. He messes up several lines and his line delivery is so slow that you can't help but be mildly charmed by the non- professional performance. The film obviously had a very low budget but this just adds to the rather bizarre atmosphere. The sets are certainly nothing special but this really just comes across as a bunch of friends getting together and filming a low-budget movie with what limited items they have available.
** (out of 4)
Tip (Chan Mahon) and Jack the Pumpkinhead (George Wadsworth) end up in the Emerald City where the poor Scarecrow has been overthrown by an evil woman. With the help from the Tin Man the group sets out to make the city great again.
THE WONDERFUL LAND OF OZ will never be confused with the 1939 classic but I must admit that I found it to be rather charming in its own low-budget, campy way. Director Barry Mahon made a number of sexploitation films in his career but towards the end of it he started making some kid movies. This version of the Oz tale is without question one of the silliest but it's fun, which is the most important thing.
Now, when I say the film is fun I'm not meaning it's some sort of classic because it's far from that. What makes this movie fun is the fact that it's a pretty nutty movie from start to finish. The costumes of the characters are certainly the highlight (or low-light) because they look rather silly but at the same time they're rather addictive simply because it adds a certain weird atmosphere to the picture. Jack the Pumpkinhead is a prime example and I really feel bad for the actor having to walk around with that large pumpkin on his head.
Chan Mahon, the director's son, takes the lead role and he certainly wasn't an actor. He messes up several lines and his line delivery is so slow that you can't help but be mildly charmed by the non- professional performance. The film obviously had a very low budget but this just adds to the rather bizarre atmosphere. The sets are certainly nothing special but this really just comes across as a bunch of friends getting together and filming a low-budget movie with what limited items they have available.