The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is an American classic. A story now in its twelfth decade and still with great appeal and currency. The book was written by a Chicagoan, published by a Chicago literary publisher, converted into a comic opera by a Chicago theater producer and made into a movie by a Chicago movie studio. A print of that first movie still exists and someone has posted it on-line (click on picture to view this thirteen minute movie). The movie was produced by Selig Polyscope in 1913 during the short movie era. It was only thirteen minutes in run time which was typical before longer "feature" movies were introduced in 1915. The movie was based upon Fred Hamlin's comic opera not upon the original Frank Baum book; thus, you will see Imogene the bovine instead of Toto the dog and the Witches fight the Wizard for supremacy. The stage musical was the sensation of the decade but it was not faithful to the book like the later MGM movie. Nevertheless, it provides some insight into Fred Hamlin's comic opera.
Unfortunately the possessor of this Selig movie scored the Wizard of Oz with classical symphonic music. That would never have happened in 1913. This movie was originally distributed by General Film Corporation to nickel theater exhibitors. Nickel theaters were rarely over three hundred in capacity and most were smaller. There was no room for a small band much less a symphony orchestra. The movie would have most likely been accompanied by a single piano player or, perhaps, a phonograph. The bigger theaters might have had a Lyon & Healy Fotoplayer which was a multiple player piano that could sound like a small band. A decade later with longer movies in bigger theaters movie producers provided an original score in sheet music for a house band to accompany the movie but not in 1913.
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