Otis Ferguson (1907-1943) was an American writer most famous for his music and film reviews in The New Republic in the 1930s. Although he can be seen as a key predecessor to film critics like James Agee, Manny Farber, Pauline Kael and Andrew Sarris, he has also been characterized by Robert Christgau as "the first rock critic"¹ due to his appreciation of jazz and its impact on popular culture. Ferguson died in action during World War II.

Upon its release, Ferguson wrote a notoriously negative review of the classic motion picture The Wizard of Oz. In it, he made the now oft-quoted remark, "It has dwarfs, Technicolor, freak characters, and Judy Garland. It can't be expected to have a sense of humor as well".²

Bibliography

• The Film Criticism of Otis Ferguson, edited by Robert Wilson, with a foreword by Andrew Sarris
• In the Spirit of Jazz: The Otis Ferguson Reader, edited by Dorothy Chamberlain and Robert Wilson

Notes

External links

• An essay about Ferguson from Senses of Cinema

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