Dorothy Gale is swept away from a farm in Kansas to a magical land of Oz in a tornado and embarks on a quest with her new friends to see the Wizard who can help her return home to Kansas and help her friends as well.
An eight-year-old troublemaker must protect his house from a pair of burglars when he is accidentally left home alone by his family during Christmas vacation.
Snobbish phonetics Professor Henry Higgins (Sir Rex Harrison) agrees to a wager that he can make flower girl Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn) presentable in high society.
Director:
George Cukor
Stars:
Audrey Hepburn,
Rex Harrison,
Stanley Holloway
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.Written by
Dale Roloff
Amazing Sights To See ! The Tornado . . . Munchkinland . . . Horse Of A Different Color . . . Startling Balloon Ascent . . . Flying Monkeys . . . Trees That Talk And Throw Apples See more »
Some viewers who never read the novel have become confused about Glinda and have postulated that she was not a friend of Dorothy. They use conflicting statements made in the movie--i.e., in Munchkinland Glinda tells Dorothy in reference to the Ruby Slippers, "Their magic must be very powerful or she wouldn't want them so badly." Then at the end Glinda tells Dorothy she has had the means to go home all along--"just click your heels together three times and say, 'There's no place like home'." The problem here is that the movie combined two different people, the two Good Witches of Oz. In Munchkinland the witch was actually the Good Witch of the North, Gillikin country, to whom L. Frank Baum never gave a name. She was very old, traveled by bubble and did not know anything about the Ruby Slippers. Glinda was the Good Witch of the South, Quadling country, and was the one who helped Dorothy get home. Dorothy traveled to see her after the Wizard took off in the balloon. Glinda, who had red hair, sent Dorothy right home shortly after their first and only meeting. No mystery. Two different people. The movie changed a lot, for its own reasons. See more »
Goofs
At the end of the Tin Man's song, the oil can bounces out of Dorothy's basket, but in the next shot, she pulls the oil can out of the basket and uses it to oil the Tinman. See more »
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.
See more »
Crazy Credits
In the opening credits, The Singer Midgets, who portray the Munchkins, are not billed under their real name, but as simply The Munchkins. In the cast list at the end, they are billed as The Singer Midgets. None of the actors who play Munchkins are given an individual credit. In the posters and advertising publicity for the film, the group was billed as The Munchkins. See more »
Alternate Versions
From 1968 to 1984, on NBC-TV and CBS-TV airings of the film, the film was edited to sell more commercial time. As the amount of commercial time on network television gradually increased, more scenes were cut. According to film historian John Fricke, these cuts started with solely a long tracking shot of Munchkin Land after Dorothy arrives there. The rest of the film remained intact. Also according to Fricke, more wholesale cutting of the film took place when CBS regained the TV rights in 1975. By the 1980s, the other excised shots included: the film's dedication in the opening credits, continuity shots of Dorothy and Toto running from the farm, establishing shots of the cyclone, the aforementioned tracking sequence in Munchkin Land, the establishing shot of the poppy field, and tiny bits and pieces of the trip to the Wicked Witch's castle. CBS, which had shown the uncut version of the film in 1956, and again from the films first telecast until 1968, finally started to show it uncut again beginning in 1985, by time-compressing it. Network airings in the 1990s were uncut and not time-compressed; the film aired in a 2-hour, 10-minute time period. See more »
I remember watching this movie when they would air it once a year on CBS a few years back. Now it is shown on a couple of different networks quite frequently. This is a wonderful film for the whole family. Who wouldn't want to take a journey to the magical land of Oz?
I think that it is terrific how well this movie has held up over the years. It's going on sixty-two years since it was first released and yet, it is timeless. It is great to look back on a film that was made in the thirties, and compare it to the movies made in this day and age. This is a film that will just be something that stays around forever.
The Wizard of Oz is enjoyable for people of all ages. Everything about it brings a smile to my face. Wouldn't it be wonderful to just magically be transported to a land of talking trees and little munchkins? Of course it would be. The flying monkeys, a talking lion, the astounding ruby slippers, and everything else adds a special kind of magic to the screen.
The atmosphere and setting is magnificent. This is one of the things that makes the film so stunning. Anyway, the forest, the witch's castle, and even the farm is really well laid out.
I don't think that the casting could have been done any better. Judy Garland shines as the innocent Kansas girl. Her dancing and singing just brightens the whole story up. The lion, tin man, and scarecrow perform amazingly also. Everyone involved down to the littlest munchkin acts so well.
Even though this is a movie for everyone, it is categorized as a children's flick. The writing is good with very simple lines and problems, but slightly complex so we're not falling asleep of boredom.
What's left to say? Other things like the wardrobe, special effects, musical talents, and even the famous yellow brick road, are so well put together. Oz gives us an idea of what an almost perfect world would be like. No matter how old this movie becomes and we still look back on it, we'll still be able to enjoy at least one thoughtful movie. Classics never die. (Hence the name.)
126 of 158 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
I remember watching this movie when they would air it once a year on CBS a few years back. Now it is shown on a couple of different networks quite frequently. This is a wonderful film for the whole family. Who wouldn't want to take a journey to the magical land of Oz?
I think that it is terrific how well this movie has held up over the years. It's going on sixty-two years since it was first released and yet, it is timeless. It is great to look back on a film that was made in the thirties, and compare it to the movies made in this day and age. This is a film that will just be something that stays around forever.
The Wizard of Oz is enjoyable for people of all ages. Everything about it brings a smile to my face. Wouldn't it be wonderful to just magically be transported to a land of talking trees and little munchkins? Of course it would be. The flying monkeys, a talking lion, the astounding ruby slippers, and everything else adds a special kind of magic to the screen.
The atmosphere and setting is magnificent. This is one of the things that makes the film so stunning. Anyway, the forest, the witch's castle, and even the farm is really well laid out.
I don't think that the casting could have been done any better. Judy Garland shines as the innocent Kansas girl. Her dancing and singing just brightens the whole story up. The lion, tin man, and scarecrow perform amazingly also. Everyone involved down to the littlest munchkin acts so well.
Even though this is a movie for everyone, it is categorized as a children's flick. The writing is good with very simple lines and problems, but slightly complex so we're not falling asleep of boredom.
What's left to say? Other things like the wardrobe, special effects, musical talents, and even the famous yellow brick road, are so well put together. Oz gives us an idea of what an almost perfect world would be like. No matter how old this movie becomes and we still look back on it, we'll still be able to enjoy at least one thoughtful movie. Classics never die. (Hence the name.)