Oz The American Fairyland (1997)

The first part tells of the life and works of L Frank Baum along with his career as a writer and filmmaker centering on the creation of Oz This portion continues with the effect of Oz after his death with novelties dolls radio stage and screen adaptions and advertising gimmicks based on his work culminating with MGMs Wizard of Oz 1939 While discussing some of the major alterations between the book and the film such as MGM making Baums reallife adventure a dream The second half is about interpretation of Oz by other artists including Helen Kish Barry Moser Barry Mahon Evelyn Copelman Robert Tonner Robin Woods Michael Hague Lizbeth Zwerger Pavel Arsyenov and Charles Santore The documentary concludes with an analysis of Baums work and its profound effect on American culture