King of Oz in the 1902 stage version of The Wizard of Oz and for the father of Princess Ozma in Baum's 1904 book The Marvelous Land of Oz, as well as in his later works relating to Oz. Lead actress Dorothy Dwan was Larry Semon's fiancée at the time of its filming. The couple would marry upon the feature's release and remain together until Semon's death just three years later in 1928. "L. Frank Baum, Jr." is also given top billing in the film's credits for cowriting the script. That credit refers to Frank Joslyn Baum, Baum's eldest son. Although his actual contribution to the screenplay is doubted by Baum scholar Michael Patrick Hearn, the son may have been involved in the business-related aspects of the production. Reception According to Ben Mankiewicz, who hosted a televised presentation of the film by Turner Classic Movies in 2018, the production was poorly received by critics and audiences in 1925. However, Mordaunt Hall of The New York Times gave the film a favorable review that year, writing "'The Wizard of Oz' can boast of being the type of rough and tumble farce that sends bright faces from the theatre." The Chicago-based publication Photoplay, one of the first American fan magazines devoted to the film industry, highly recommended the adventure comedy to its large readership in 1925, warning "If you don’t take your children to see this, they will never forgive you." The magazine then adds in its review, "Nothing quite so funny as Larry Semon in the role of the Scarecrow has happened in a long time...and the biggest grouch in the world will get a laugh out of Larry's antics with the lions." In yet another review in 1925, the influential New York trade publication Variety describes the film as a "corking picture" for children even though the widely read paper did find the film's overall structure chaotic, some of its scenes far too long or unnecessary, and Semon's use of slapstick gags "hoaked up" and excessive: Variety sums up The Wizard of Oz in its review by noting that "the laughs are there" and predicts the film would be a box office success for Chadwick Pictures and theater owners, especially outside large metropolitan areas. "In small towns and in smaller cities", the paper states, "the picture should mop up." Yet, contrary to Variety’s forecast of financial success for the production,