Frank Joslyn Baum - Wizard of Oz

Wizard of Oz

After the death of L. Frank Baum, Ruth Plumly Thompson was selected to continue the Oz series by publishers Reilly & Lee. Frank Joslyn Baum had some desire to continue the series himself, but he represented his mother, who had turned over the rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to him once she had gotten them back from Harrison Rountree, who had acquired them after L. Frank Baum's bankruptcy, in this decision. After a long separation, Baum divorced his wife in 1921. Baum licensed the novel to I. E. Chadwick and Larry Semon, who created Wizard of Oz (1925). The film that was ultimately created bears the writing credit "L. Frank Baum, Jr., Leon Lee, and Larry Semon", with Lee also credited as title writer, though Frank J. may or may not have actually collaborated on the screenplay. The film bears almost no resemblance to the novel, but certainly seems to borrow on suggestions from His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz. That film has a King Krewl, this film a Prime Minister Kruel. The novel that followed the film, The Scarecrow of Oz, also mentions a deceased King Kynd, and there is a Prince Kynd in this film, to which was added a Lady Vishuss for the new film. The film depicts Dorothy Gale as an eighteen-year-old princess betrothed to Prince Kynd, whose throne is coveted by the Prime Minister and his Lady. A Scarecrow, Tin Woodsman, and Cowardly Lion all appear, but they are nothing more than men who have put on disguises to avoid capture. The film bankrupted the studio, Chadwick Pictures, and it did not get a wide release.

A marriage to Rosine Agnes Shafer Brubeck lasted from 29 July 1932 to her death on 2 September 1934. In 1933, Baum, credited as "Col. Frank Baum" may also have written Ted Eshbaugh's animated short, The Wizard of Oz, or he may simply have negotiated the license.