Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily Entertainment GuideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsCannes Film FestivalStar WarsAsian Pacific American Heritage MonthSummer Watch GuideSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Biography
  • Awards
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Noel Langley(1911-1980)

  • Writer
  • Director
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Clip from The Wizard of Oz
Play clip2:12
Nothing But A Coward
Noel Langley was a South African novelist, playwright, screenwriter, and film director. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1961.

Langley was born on December 25, 1911 in Durban, South Africa. His parents were Aubrey Samuel Langley and Dora Agnes Allison. Aubrey served as the headmaster of Durban High School, and had a reputation as a strict disciplinarian and rugby football enthusiast. Noel was a sickly child with an interest in the in the arts. He had a strained relationship with Aubrey, who considered him a disappointment.

Noel attended Durban High School, and graduated in 1930. He next attended the University of Natal, and graduated in 1934. During his college years Langley started writing theatrical plays. His first success was the play "Queer Cargo" (1932), which was produced by the Durban Repertory Theatre in 1932. He migrated to the United Kingdom in 1934, and soon managed to have "Queer Cargo" produced there by Charles Wyndham (1837-1919), the proprietor of Wyndham's Theatre in London. The play run there for 7 months.

Noel started writing plays for the West End theaters. Meanwhile he also started publishing novels. His first novel was the historical satire "Cage Me a Peacock" (1935), set in ancient Rome. It was followed by the novel "There's a Porpoise Close Behind Us", and the children's novel "The Tale of the Land of Green Ginger" (1937) about the son of Aladdin.

Langley found work as a screenwriter for British films. One of his first works being the screenplay of the spy thriller "Secret of Stamboul" (1936), concerning plots for a coup in then modern Istanbul (Constantinople). In 1937, Langley signed a 7-years-long contract with the American film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and moved to Hollywood.

Langley's first American film was the musical "Mayday" (1937), an adaptation of an operetta by Sigmund Romberg (1887-1951). Having some experience as a children's writer, Langley was chosen as a screenwriter for the fantasy film "The Wizard of Oz" (1939). It was an adaptation of a children's novel by Lyman Frank Baum (1856-1919). Langley was credited with attempting to correct the "cutesy and oozy" ideas of his fellow screenwriters. He reportedly disliked the final version of the film, though he conceded that it was not a bad film.

His film career was interrupted by World War II, as Langley joined the Royal Canadian Navy. Following his war service, Langley mainly worked on British films. He directed three films during the 1950s. His last screenwriting credit was for the fantasy comedy "Snow White and the Three Stooges" (1961), featuring the comedy trio of Moe Howard (1897-1975), Larry Fine (1902-1975), and Joe DeRita (1909-1993).

From the 1950s onward, Langley contributed scripts for television series. He continued to write novels and plays. He also wrote a number of short stories, which were published by the magazine "The Saturday Evening Post". In his old age, he worked part-time in drug-rehabilitation.

Langley died in November 1980, at the age of 68. Several of his films continue to enjoy popularity, and his screenplay for "The Wizard of Oz" has received its own adaptations.
BornDecember 25, 1911
DiedNovember 4, 1980(68)
BornDecember 25, 1911
DiedNovember 4, 1980(68)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Add photos, demo reels
  • Awards
    • 1 nomination total

Known for

Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, and Frank Morgan in The Wizard of Oz (1939)
The Wizard of Oz
8.1
  • Writer
  • 1939
A Christmas Carol (1951)
A Christmas Carol
8.1
  • Writer
  • 1951
Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Buddy Baer, Joe DeRita, Carol Heiss, Patricia Medina, Guy Rolfe, and Edson Stroll in Snow White and the Three Stooges (1961)
Snow White and the Three Stooges
5.2
  • Writer
  • 1961
The Pickwick Papers (1952)
The Pickwick Papers
6.9
  • Writer
  • 1952

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Writer



  • Apocalypse Oz (2006)
    Apocalypse Oz
    7.0
    Short
    • screenplay "The Wizard of Oz"
    • 2006
  • Terence Stamp, Anjelica Huston, Andrew Lincoln, Zoë Tapper, and David Leon in These Foolish Things (2006)
    These Foolish Things
    5.5
    • novel "There's A Porpoise Close Behind Us"
    • 2006
  • The Wizard of Oz on Ice (1996)
    The Wizard of Oz on Ice
    7.4
    TV Movie
    • story (uncredited)
    • 1996
  • The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True (1995)
    The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True
    7.5
    TV Movie
    • story
    • 1995
  • Workteams & the Wizard of Oz
    Video
    • screenplay "The Wizard of Oz"
    • 1993
  • We're Off to See... The Most Happy Fellows
    Video
    • story (uncredited)
    • 1990
  • Jackanory (1965)
    Jackanory
    7.1
    TV Series
    • book
    • 1968–1984
  • The Master Builder
    TV Movie
    • English translation
    • 1981
  • Jacques Balutin, Darry Cowl, Jean Lefebvre, Jacqueline Maillan, Maria Pacôme, Fernand Raynaud, and Michel Roux in Au théâtre ce soir (1966)
    Au théâtre ce soir
    7.7
    TV Series
    • play
    • 1974
  • Theatre 625 (1964)
    Theatre 625
    7.6
    TV Series
    • translation
    • 1967
  • Willst Du nicht das Lämmlein hüten?
    9.4
    TV Movie
    • play "Little Lambs Eat Ivy"
    • 1967
  • "The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters" Kurt Russell, Jean Engstrom 1963 MGM
    The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters
    7.4
    TV Series
    • teleplay and story
    • 1963
  • Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Buddy Baer, Joe DeRita, Carol Heiss, Patricia Medina, Guy Rolfe, and Edson Stroll in Snow White and the Three Stooges (1961)
    Snow White and the Three Stooges
    5.2
    • screenplay
    • 1961
  • The Best of the Post (1960)
    The Best of the Post
    7.5
    TV Series
    • writer
    • 1961
  • Shirley Temple in Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958)
    Shirley Temple's Storybook
    7.3
    TV Series
    • adaptation
    • novel
    • 1958

Director



  • The Search for Bridey Murphy (1956)
    The Search for Bridey Murphy
    6.1
    • Director
    • 1956
  • Svengali (1954)
    Svengali
    5.5
    • Director
    • 1954
  • The Adventures of Sadie (1953)
    The Adventures of Sadie
    5.5
    • Director
    • 1953
  • The Pickwick Papers (1952)
    The Pickwick Papers
    6.9
    • Director
    • 1952

Producer



  • The Adventures of Sadie (1953)
    The Adventures of Sadie
    5.5
    • A Langley-Minter Production
    • 1953
  • The Pickwick Papers (1952)
    The Pickwick Papers
    6.9
    • A Langley-Minter Production
    • 1952
  • Trevor Howard in I Became a Criminal (1947)
    I Became a Criminal
    7.2
    • associate producer
    • 1947

Videos6

Nothing But A Coward
Clip 2:12
Nothing But A Coward
Munchkinland
Clip 1:57
Munchkinland
Munchkinland
Clip 1:57
Munchkinland
Meeting the Wizard
Clip 2:35
Meeting the Wizard
I'm Melting
Clip 1:18
I'm Melting
No Place Like Home
Clip 0:53
No Place Like Home
Ultimate Collector's Edition Promotional Clip
Promo 2:11
Ultimate Collector's Edition Promotional Clip

Personal details

Edit
  • Born
    • December 25, 1911
    • Durban, South Africa
  • Died
    • November 4, 1980
    • Desert Hot Springs, California, USA
  • Spouses
      Pamela DeemingSeptember 17, 1959 - November 4, 1980 (his death)
  • Other works
    (6/8/69) Stage: Wrote "Little Lambs East Ivy", performed at the Northampton Repertory Theatre in Northampton, Northamptonshire, England, with Dorothy Wheatley, Nicholas Courtney, Phyllis Montefiore, Philip Lowrie, Michael Rothwell, Peter Wyatt and Kenneth MacDonald in the cast.

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    South African-born novelist, playwright and screenwriter, in Hollywood from the 1930's. He was best known as being one of the writing team of MGM's classic The Wizard of Oz (1939). Langley also wrote a screenplay for a second Oz film, based on 'The Marvelous Land of Oz', which was never produced.
  • Quotes
    [on viewing The Wizard of Oz (1939) for the first time] I saw it in a cinema on Hollywood Boulevard at noon. And I sat and cried like a bloody child. I thought, "This is a year of my life". I loathed the picture. I thought it missed the boat all the way around. I had to wait for my tears to clear before I went out of the theater. [NOTE: Years later he saw the picture again and changed his opinion, stating that although the film was not perfect, he liked it.]

Related news

Contribute to this page

Suggest an edit or add missing content
  • Learn more about contributing
Edit page

More to explore

Recently viewed

Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
Get the IMDb app
Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
Follow IMDb on social
Get the IMDb app
For Android and iOS
Get the IMDb app
  • Help
  • Site Index
  • IMDbPro
  • Box Office Mojo
  • License IMDb Data
  • Press Room
  • Advertising
  • Jobs
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
IMDb, an Amazon company

© 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.