THE FAIRYLOGUE AND RADIO PLAYS OF L. FRANK BAUM

by Richard A. Mills

Originally published in The Baum Bugle, vol. 14, no. 3 (Christmas 1970), pgs. 4–7

Citations

Chicago 17th ed.:

Mills, Richard A. “The Fairylogue and Radio Plays of L. Frank Baum.” Baum Bugle 14, no. 3 (1970): 4–7.

MLA 9th ed.:

Mills, Richard A. “The Fairylogue and Radio Plays of L. Frank Baum.” The Baum Bugle, vol. 14, no. 3, 1970, pp. 4–7.

(Note: In print, this article was supplemented with images that have not been reproduced here.)

Although he was primarily an author of books, L. Frank Baum was involved in many other enterprises during his lifetime—usually as originator of the projects and sometimes as their main financial support. Because of his early involvement in the theater, Baum was always keenly interested in theatrical and cinematic adaptations of his books. For the most part, Baum had complete control over the commercial versions of his writings, two major exceptions being the 1902 stage play The Wizard of Oz and the Radio Plays of 1908. While Baum was on-stage narrator of the Radio Plays, his most active part in their production was the writing of the narration, or “fairylogue” as he termed it (he was, however, deeply involved in the financial arrangements for the production). The rest of the entertainment was largely created by others and consisted of twenty-three “Radio Pictures” (motion picture clips produced by the Selig Polyscope Company and hand-colored by Duval Frères of Paris), one hundred and fourteen colored glass slides (taken from Neill’s illustrations, as adapted by E. Pollack), and twenty-seven musical numbers composed by Nathaniel D. Mann (who did much of the general music work for the Wizard stage play) and played by an orchestra during the performance. The Radio Plays were in two parts. First was “The Land of Oz,” a condensation with minor changes, of The Wizard of Oz, The Land of Oz, and Ozma of Oz, running an hour and ten minutes. A fifteen minute intermission preceded the second part, the forty-minute “John Dough and the Cherub,” taken from Baum’s 1907 fantasy of that title.

To begin each performance, jesters drew back the stage curtain, revealing a solid mirror (on which the films and slides were projected), and Baum entered, dressed in a white frock coat with silk-faced lapels and trousers of white woolen broadcloth. He addressed the audience, telling them he wished to introduce the Land of Oz and its people but, before doing so, would relate how he first heard of Oz. According to a copy of the original script, Baum told his listeners of his belief in fairies (adding that he supposed that they shared his belief) and how, when tired, he would go to a clover field and rest. While thus occupied, he would often gaze at the sky and watch the fairies at play. Eventually, one of the fairies descended and became friendly with him, often telling him stories about fairyland. One time, after they had become good friends, the fairy offered to take him to fairyland for a short while. Baum, of course, accepted, and found himself in the Land of Oz. He stayed there for a time and when he came back to America, he begged the fairy to allow him to write of all that he had seen and thereby let others learn about Oz too. The fairy consented, and Baum started to write the Royal History.

After this prologue, Baum introduced the Oz characters to the audience, bringing on Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, Cowardly Lion, Tip, Jack Pumpkinhead, Princess Ozma, Tik-Tok, the Hungry Tiger, Prince Evring of Ev, Glinda, and the Nome King. Each character (actually a child dressed appropriately) stepped onto the stage, and, when joined by all the others, made his bow. After these characters had exited, a map of Oz slide was then projected; this is the earliest Oz map known. The map was a fairly simple one, showing the land of the Gillikins in the north and, clockwise, the lands of the Munchkins, Quadlings, and Winkies, with the Emerald City in the center of the map. Also shown were a large lake in the land of the Winkies, a castle in Quadling land, and in the land of the Munchkins, the area where Dorothy first arrived in Oz and her path to the Emerald City. Baum, using a long pointer, indicated the different areas of Oz, and suggested that the audience accompany him to the land of Nod. After this rather lengthy introduction, the Radio Plays proper began.

“The Land of Oz” opens with a highly truncated version of The Wizard of Oz. As in the book, Dorothy is blown to Oz by a cyclone, meets the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion, and proceeds to the Emerald City; no mention, however, is made of either Wicked witch. The humbug Wizard manages to satisfy the wishes of the three companions and prepare a balloon to take Dorothy back to Kansas; the balloon escapes prematurely and Dorothy is left behind. She is then sent to Glinda by the people of the Emerald City, and Glinda transports her back to Kansas by a pair of silver shoes (the shoes have no previous appearance in the Radio Plays). A similarly shortened version of The Land of Oz follows, with a change when Mombi escapes from the Emerald City encampment asa griffin; in this version, she is pursued, captured and returned by the Winged Monkeys, rather than by the irate sorceress astride the Sawhorse (the Winged Monkeys had no previous appearance in the Plays). This story concludes and a fairly complete version of Ozma of Oz is unfolded, with only a few minor changes. The first difference is a simple sign replacing the trickily worded one encountered in the book by Dorothy, Tik-Tok, and Billina upon their arrival at the castle of Ev; the new placard merely states that the royal owners are absent. Princess Langwidere is merely indifferent to Ozma’s rescue plans for her relatives in the Radio Play; in the book she is eager for their return. The entire segment involving the Giant with the Hammer and pleas for admittance to the Nome King’s domain is skipped. The rest of Ozma is followed and with its conclusion the Radio Plays stop for intermission.

During the intermission scenes from the latest Oz book, Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, were shown and, for the audience’s elucidation, Baum showed how a book cover illustration was made. The Wizard appeared and greeted Dorothy (these were live actors again) and performed some magic tricks. The couple was then “seized” (while actually slipping backstage) by the artist and “melted” into a picture, which was then placed on the cover of the book. At the same time, William Gillespie and Romola Remus appeared in costume as Tip and Dorothy, respectively, and sold Oz books in the lobby of the theater. As recompense, they were taken out to dinner by the Royal Historian.

After the intermission, a very accurate version of John Dough and the Cherub was shown. Only the ending differs slightly: in the Radio Plays, the old King of Hi-Lo Land has died, and the citizens are arguing about his successor. Chick and John Dough then arrive and the Cherub suggests John as the ideal monarch. The citizens like the idea, and accordingly, John Dough Is acclaimed new ruler of the country.

At the conclusion of “John Dough and the Cherub,” Baum announced that the characters of the second segment of the show wished to appear in a “dissolving transformation scene” and thank the audience for its kind attention. This was done (again with the use of actors) and the performance was over.

The above is a short account of the content of the Radio Plays. The story of their production is an interesting one in its own right.

A large number of players were utilized in the filming, all or most of them children or teenaers. The casting of the roles was rather haphazard; the actors involved got roles by being in the right place at the right time. In the words of William Gillespie, who played the part of Tip, “I was approached on the street by a scout for Selig and was asked if I would like to appear In the movies. I was on my way to a dancing class conducted by the late professor George Birse. The scout accompanied me to my class and hired the whole class after seeing us.” Besides Mr. Gillespie, Romola Remus portrayed Dorothy and Delilah Leitzell was cast as Ozma. (According to Russell P. MacFall in the Bugle, August 1962, Joseph Schrode played both the Cowardly Lion and John Dough, while Frank Burns was the Scarecrow.) Gladys Walton appeared also, in an unknown role, and a wicked witch was cast with an unknown player. (The Oz films were not, incidentally, the first appearance of the group: a Western entitled Nick O’Time was their first cinematic effort.) The director, Francis Boggs, was also in charge of the movies’ production.

The studio, a large glass building, was located in Chicago at Irving Park and Western Streets. Pictures were not taken on dark and overcast days, but when weather permitted, the studio sent out a car to the schools where the cast members were enrolled and picked them up during recess or lunch hour. The children were paid about five dollars a day for their work. Costumes were received as they came into the studio, and they changed in the basement of the building. No make-up man was employed during the filming, and there were no sides or scripts to the films; the script was read to the actors, a walk-through rehearsal was staged, and then the actual movie was made.

Overhead lamps were installed in groups or batteries to light the stage and were ignited by pulling downwards on cords connected to the lights. The camera, a small one for the time, measured approximately eight by twelve feet. It was operated inside by the use of a couple of peep holes and was moved around to suit the action. Special effects abounded throughout the film, of course, and the problems presented by the nature of the stories were ingeniously solved. The transformation of Tip to Ozma, for instance, was accomplished by the technique known as “dissolving.” Tip was filmed waiting for Old Mombi’s enchantment to take effect; the camera was then stopped, he moved off the stage, and Ozma was put into the exact spot he had occupied. The film was then moved back a few feet and  then Ozma was photographed, producing the illusion of transformation. Another example is the simulation of the flight of the Gump. The characters assembled the creature and boarded it; the back drop for this scene was on a roller, like a window shade, and when placed vertically and unwound, gave the effect of motion and flight.

The Radio Plays premiered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on September 24, 1908, and moved on to the Fine Arts Theatre in Chicago on October 1, at prices of twenty-five cents to one dollar. After three evening performances and one matinee, Baum took the Plays on tour, returning to Chicago on October 24 for a week of matinees. Then he went back to the road, closing on the 16^th of December in New York City. While audiences were satisfactory, the show cost more to stage than anticipated and was closed when it was realized that money was being lost.

This untimely closing did not, however, quite finish the saga of the Radio Plays. Selig, which had invested a large amount of money in the motion picture part of the production, received the rights to the film portions after the closing. In an effort to regain its money, it recut the movies and released them as four one-reelers in 1910. They were The Wizard of Oz (March 24), Dorothy and the Scarecrow in Oz (April 14), The Land of Oz (May 19), and John Dough and the Cherub (December 19). The first three drew elements from The Wizard of Oz, The Land of Oz, and in the case of the April 14^th release, Dorothy and the Wizard also.  Either new footage was shot, or when the original Radio Plays were filmed in 1908, movies were made of episodes from the fourth Oz book and not included because of running time. The one-reeler of John Dough and the Cherub was somewhat different from either the book or the Plays: as described by the Moving Picture World, “[Chick] then visits the fairies’ garden and later interviews the Princess Ozma, who makes a prophecy: ‘The throne of Lo-Hi shall vacant be/Until the coming by air or sea/Of an overbaked man and a cherub wee.’ Accordingly John Dough drops into the Land of Oz and meets the Cherub. The prophecy is fulfilled and John Dough becomes the King of Lo-Hi.”

Despite the financial failure of the Radio Plays, they were far from being unsuccessful. For both as an entertainment for young and old alike and as a multimedia presentation of his books, the Radio Plays did indeed succeed. The New York Clipper (Nov. 7, 1908) wrote that “L. Frank Baum has delighted children and grown-ups with his Fairylogues . . .” and the Chicago Tribune (Oct. 3, 1908, p. 10) said of them: “The Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, Dorothy Gale of Kansas, and a number of other pleasantly familiar characters returned to Chicago . . . under interesting circumstances . . .  They brought with them their creator, L. Frank Baum, who . . . won the affections of a good sized audience of children and grownups . . . .  The [Fairylogue] idea is a new one, and with Mr. Baum’s charming whimsicalities as its basis proved to be well worthwhile . . . .  Mr. Baum . . . has secured some motion pictures of real beauty, and, altogether, his program is worth the attention of any youngster who can induce his parents to let him sit up till 11 p.m.”

And so, in conclusion, we may say that with the Fairylogue and Radio Plays, L. Frank Baum devised yet another way into the hearts of his audience, and delighted those who saw the Radio Plays. And what more can be asked as criterion of success?

(Particular thanks go to Mrs. Romola Remus Dunlap and William Gillespie for much of the information used in this article.)

 

 

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