The Wizard of Oz (1925 film) The Wizard of Oz (1925 film) The Wizard of Oz is a 1925 American silent fantasy-adventure comedy film directed by Larry Semon, who also performs in the lead role as a Kansas farmhand and later in the story disguised as the Scarecrow. This production, which is the only completed 1920s adaptation of L. Frank Baum's novel "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz", costars Dorothy Dwan as Dorothy, Oliver Hardy as the Tin Woodman in a portion of the film, and Spencer Bell briefly disguised as a less "cowardly" Lion than in the 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer version of Baum's work. The 1925 film,
The Wizard of Oz on television during commercials. Angela Lansbury also narrated a documentary about the making of the film, originally entitled "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 50 Years of Magic" and years later retitled "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic". It was first shown immediately after the movie's 1990 telecast, and is included as a supplement on all the DVD releases beginning with the 1999 DVD release. Jack Haley, Jr., the documentary's director, was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work. When shown on Turner Classic Movies, "The Wizard of Oz" was usually hosted by TCM host Robert Osborne.