Introduction
Welcome to my corner! This week, I'm sharing my thoughts on the film The Wizard o Oz. The TCM television channel plays The Wizard of Oz every so often. I saw it on the schedule and thought we should get this one written. Enjoy!
The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Meto-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Based on the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming, who left production to take over the troubled Gone with the Wind. The screenplay is credited to Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf but includes contributions from other writers. The film stars Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Billie Burke and Margaret Hamilton. The music was composed by Harold Arlen and adapted by Herbert Stothart, with lyrics by Edgar "Yip" Harburg.
The film is celebrated for its use of three-strip Technicolor, fantasy storytelling, musical score and memorable characters. It was a critical success and was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, winning Best Original Song for "Over the Rainbow" and Best Original Score for Stothart; an Academy Juvenile Award was present to Judy Garland. It was on a preliminary list of submissions from the studios for an Academy Awards for Cinematography (Color) but was not nominated. While it was sufficiently popular at the box office, it failed to make a profit until its 1949 re-release, earning only $3 million on a $2.7 million budget, making it MGM's most expensive production at the time.
The 1956 television broadcast premiere of the film on CBS reintroduced it to the public. According to the U.S. Library of Congress, it is the most seen film in movie history. In 1989, it was selected by the Library of Congress as one of the first 25 films for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant". It is also one of the few films on UNESCO's Memory of the World international register. It was ranked second in Variety's inaugural 100 Greatest Movies of All Time list published in 2022. It was among the top 10 in the 2005 British Film Institute (BFI) list of 50 Films to be Seen by the Age of 15 released in May 2020. It has become the source of many quotes referenced in contemporary popular culture. It frequently ranks on critics' lists of the greatest films in history and is the most commercially successful adaptation of Baum's work.
Plot: When a tornado rips through Kansas, Dorothy (Judy Garland) and her dog, Toto are whisked away in their house to the magical land of Oz. They follow the Yellow Brick Road toward the Emerald City to met the Wizard, and en route they meet a Scarecrow (Ray Bolger) that needs a brain, a Tin Man (Jack Haley) missing a heart and a Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr) who wants courage. The wizard asks the group to bring him the broom of the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton) to earn his help.
Acting: The Wizard of Oz is my favorite title for everyone unless otherwise stated.
Judy Garland played Dorothy Gale. I have mixed feelings about Judy Garland that I've shared numerous times in my column, so I'll just leave it at that for this one. Dorothy was the role that shot Judy to fame but also the role she couldn't get away from. In some ways, her beginning and end all started with The Wizard of Oz. Her four most notable roles are Meet Me in St. Louis, The Wizard of Oz, A Star is Born and Judgement at Nuremberg.
Ray Bolger played Hunk/Scarecrow. His four most notable titles include Babes in Toyland, The Wizard of Oz, Sunny and Look for the Silver Lining.
Jack Haley played Hickory/Tin Man. His four most notable titles are Thanks for Everything, The Wizard of Oz, One Body too Many and Vacation in Reno.
Bert Lahr played Zeke/Cowardly Lion. His four most notable titles include Merry-Go-Round of 1938, The Wizard of Oz, Sing Your Worries Away and Ship Ahoy.
Frank Morgan played Professor Marvel/Wizard of Oz/Gatekeeper/Carriage Driver/Wizard's Guard. I get a kick out of him in everything he's in. And he made a lot of appearances in movies in his time. His four most notable titles are The Shop Around the Corner, The Wizard of Oz, The Cockeyed Miracle and Tortilla Flat. I enjoyed The Shop Around the Corner and Hullabaloo.
Billie Burke played Good Witch Glinda of the North. Her four most notable titles include Dinner at Eight, The Wizard of Oz, Merrily We Live and A Bill of Divorcement. My favorite is the Father of the Bride and Father's Little Dividend.
Margaret Hamilton played Almira Gulch/Wicked Witch of the West. Her four most notable titles are Hat, Coat, and Glove, The Wizard of Oz, 12 Ghosts and Brewster McCloud.
Technical Aspects: Arnold Gillespie, the film's special effects director, employed several techniques. Developing the tornado scene was especially costly. Gillespie used muslin, cloth to make the tornado flexible, after a previous attempt with rubber failed. He hung the 35 ft. (11 m) of muslin from a steel gantry and connected the bottom to a rod.
The Cowardly Lion and Scarecrow masks were made of foam latex makeup created by makeup artist Jack Dawn. Dawn was one artist Jack Dawn. Dawn was one of first to use this technique. [68] [69] It took an hour each day to slowly peel Bolger's glued-on mask from his face, a process that eventually left permanent lines around his mouth and chin.
The Tin Man's costume was made of leather-covered buckram, and the oil used to grease his joins was made from chocolate syrup. The Cowardly Lion's costume was made from real lion skin and fur.
For the "horse of a different color" scene, Jell-O powder was used to color the white horses. Asbestos was used to achieve some of the special effects, such as the witch's burning broomstick and the fake snow that covers Dorothy as she sleeps in the field of poppies.
Final Thoughts: The Wizard of Oz is a classic film that nearly everyone has seen. And, if you're one of the people who haven't seen it yet, what are you even doing? Go and watch it right now! No excuses!
My favorite scene was when Dorothy, Toto, Scarecrow, Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion arrive in Emerald City and get all dolled up.
My favorite quote/conversation is "How can you talk if you haven't got a brain?" —Dorothy.
"I don't now! But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't they?" —Scarecrow.
"Yes, I guess you're right." —Dorothy.
Rated: G
Where to watch it: According to Google, The Wizard of Oz is currently available on HBO Max, Amazon Prime, The Roku Channel, Hulu, Sling TV, and YouTube TV with subscriptions. You can also purchase or rent a digital copy for a few dollars. There's also a DVD copy of the film at the Emil M. Larson Public Library in Clark for you all to enjoy if you choose to.
