The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Dorothy Gale is swept away to a magical land in a tornado and embarks on a quest to see the Wizard who can help her return home.

Director:

Victor Fleming

Writers:

Noel Langley (screenplay), Florence Ryerson (screenplay),

Stars:

Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger

Top 250 #148 | Won 2 Oscars. Another 6 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Judy Garland	...	Dorothy
Frank Morgan	...	Professor Marvel / The Wizard of Oz / The Gatekeeper / The Carriage Driver / The Guard
Ray Bolger	...	'Hunk' / The Scarecrow
Bert Lahr	...	'Zeke' / The Cowardly Lion
Jack Haley	...	'Hickory' / The Tin Man
Billie Burke	...	Glinda
Margaret Hamilton	...	Miss Gulch / The Wicked Witch of the West
Charley Grapewin	...	Uncle Henry
Pat Walshe	...	Nikko
Clara Blandick	...	Auntie Em
Terry	...	Toto (as Toto)
The Singer Midgets	...	The Munchkins (as The Munchkins)

Storyline

In this charming film based on the popular L. Frank Baum stories, Dorothy and her dog Toto are caught in a tornado's path and somehow end up in the land of Oz. Here she meets some memorable friends and foes in her journey to meet the Wizard of Oz who everyone says can help her return home and possibly grant her new friends their goals of a brain, heart and courage.

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Plot Keywords:

witch | dog | wizard | home | heart | 

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Taglines:

Mighty Miracle Show Of 1000 Delights !

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Genres:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Musical

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. (1998 rerelease)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 August 1939 (USA)

Also Known As:

El mago de Oz

Filming Locations:

Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,777,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$5,354,311 (USA) (6 November 1998)

Gross:

$14,792,232 (USA) (1 January 1999)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Loew's

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System: The Voice of Action) Dolby Digital (2005 re-issue)

Color:

Black and White (Sepiatone) Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

To compensate for the extreme make-up demands on this film, MGM recruited extra help from the studio mail room and courier service. As most of the Oz extras required prosthetic devices (false ears, noses, etc.), and since application of prosthetics requires extensive training, the recruited make-up artists were each instructed in one area of prosthetic application and then formed an assembly line. Each extra would then move from one station to another to complete make-up application each morning.

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Goofs

The tin man rusts, but only ferrous metals can rust.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Dorothy: She isn't coming yet, Toto. Did she hurt you? She tried to, didn't she? Come on. We'll go tell Uncle Henry and Auntie Em.

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Crazy Credits

The credits say "Photographed in Technicolor", not "Color Sequences by Technicolor", thus making it seem as if the entire film were made in color. It is not known if this was deliberately done to enhance the surprise when the picture turns into full three-strip Technicolor, but it is quite possible. Posters at the time also advertised the film as being in Technicolor, but made no mention of sepia tint or black-and-white. The advertisement for the film's first telecast, however, did say "in color and black-and-white" (the Kansas sequences were shown on TV in black-and-white, not sepia, until the 1990 telecast, when they were restored).

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Connections

Referenced in Hey Vern, Win $10,000 (1987)
There's a segment called "The Wizard of Odd."

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Soundtracks

"We're Off to See the Wizard"
(1939) (uncredited)
Lyrics by E.Y. Harburg
Music by Harold Arlen
Sung by Judy Garland and Ray Bolger

User Reviews

A Wiz of a film, if ever a Wiz there was

The NBC Peacock began unfolding its wings. "The following program is brought to you in living color--with portions in black & white--on NBC." That exclusive intro began my exposure to color television at Grandma's in 1968. When Dorothy stepped out into Technicolor, I'll bet my eyes just popped.

This is the Movie of All Time, folks--a status achieved during its long run as a huge annual TV event during that classic era whose programs now show up on TV Land network. In the 1970s, Peter Marshall once read the answer on Hollywood Squares as to the program seen more times by more people than anything else ever shown on television. It was "Oz." Likewise, no movie has the hold on popular culture that this one does. What lion character ever since (i.e., Snagglepuss) hasn't been an impersonation of Bert Lahr going, "Put 'em up, put 'em uuuuup!"

Few musicals offer an equal combination of lovable music and engaging story. Perhaps "The Sound of Music." Hard to think of many Hollywood musicals where the story gets as serious as it does here when the Witch informs Dorothy that, "The last to go will see the first three go before her...and her mangy little dog too!" Yikes! In contrast, even the best of other Hollywood musicals seem to serve up fluffy, forgettable story lines that are mere backdrop to the song numbers that typically put the plot on hold.

I can't say that "Oz" doesn't have technical flaws or story element inconsistencies. It's just that the astonishing production values all around so overwhelm the shortcomings. The tornado sequence is a 1939 special effects tour de force--incredible. And the Nutcracker-quality musical score offers songs tastefully interwoven with the action. Certain numbers like "Merry Old Land of Oz," I never get tired off, though I like each of the songs.

Oz should be viewed in the lightness of spirit that it deserves. I mean look, we have Frank Morgan as the Emerald City gatekeeper, then seconds later as the cabbie with the Horse of a Different Color, then the Wizard's palace guard, and then the voice of fire-and-smoke Wizard of Oz who bellows, "Step forward, Tin Man!" What other film could put an actor go through 4 quick-changes within 10 minutes to such an endearing result? "Oz" is as magic as those sparkling ruby shoes.

The early Technicolor process utilized triple nitrate negative strips--separately recording each primary color in light. This was done due to the lack of a suitable "color film" in 1939. That would quickly change--but films from years following suffered from hues that faded with the years, even original negatives. Because "Oz" was actually filmed on a black-and-white base film, the negatives never faded. So now we have home videos/DVDs of breathtaking color quality. Now, the tinted filters in the cameras that separated the colors onto the negative strips meant that intense illumination was required, rendering the filming experience miserably hot for the actors involved, especially Lahr. But they all hold up amazingly well.

"Oz" has a valuable message. As the pop group America once said, "No, Oz never did give nothin' to the Tin Man....that he didn't, didn't already have." If we have truly search, we can find within us--or create through trial, like the Lion's courage--what we think we most lack. The Wizard (like the Lord) helps those who find help within themselves.

I feel sorry for the Almira Gulches who can't treasure this film experience. They need to visit the Emerald City to get their own ticking Testimonials and find their hearts.

Didn't bring your broomsticks with you? Well, I'm afraid you'll have to walk.