Otis Ferguson

Who was Otis Ferguson?

Otis Ferguson was an American writer best remembered 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" due to his appreciation of jazz and its impact on popular culture. Ferguson died in action during World War II.

The film criticism of Otis Ferguson is praised, and discussed, by contemporary critics Richard Schickel and Wesley Morris in For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism, and also the loss to American criticism upon Ferguson’s death in World War II.

On the release of The Wizard of Oz Ferguson wrote a notoriously negative review. 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".