American Experience: American Oz

FAIN: TR-269606-20

WGBH Educational Foundation (Boston, MA 02135-2016)
Mark Samels (Project Director: August 2019 to May 2020)
Susan Bellows (Project Director: May 2020 to present)

Production of a two-hour documentary about L. Frank Baum and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

This is a request to the National Endowment for the Humanities for funds to support the production of American Oz, a special presentation of AMERICAN EXPERIENCE for national broadcast on PBS. The two-hour film will tell the story of author L. Frank Baum and the making of his classic novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the movie it inspired and the importance of this iconic work in American life.

Associated Products

American Oz (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: American Oz
Writer: Tracy Heather Strain
Writer: Randall Maclowry
Director: Tracy Heather Strain
Director: Randall Maclowry
Producer: Tracy Heather Strain
Producer: Randall Maclowry
Producer: Rebecca Taylor
Abstract: Explore the life and times of author L. Frank Baum, the creator of one of the most beloved, enduring and classic American narratives. By 1900, when The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was published, Baum was 44 years old and had spent much of his life in restless pursuit of success. With mixed results he dove into a string of jobs — chicken breeder, actor, marketer of petroleum products, shopkeeper, newspaperman and traveling salesman — Baum continued to reinvent himself, reflecting a uniquely American brand of confidence, imagination and innovation. During his travels to the Great Plains and on to Chicago during the American frontier’s final days, he witnessed a nation coming to terms with the economic uncertainty of the Gilded Age. But he never lost his childlike sense of wonder and eventually crafted his observations into a magical tale of survival, adventure and self-discovery, reinterpreted through the generations in films, books and musicals.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/american-oz/
Primary URL Description: PBS.org is the central website for all PBS shows, including AMERICAN EXPERIENCE.
Access Model: open access
Format: DVD

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