The Wizard of Oz
(1939, U.S.) Loew's/MGM 101 minutes (released on August 15)
Story: L. Frank Baum (from his book)
Screenplay: Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, Edgar Allan Woolf
Lyrics: E.Y. Harburg
Music: Harold Arlen
Character Make-Ups Created by Jack Dawn
Costumes: Adrain
Art Director: Cedric Gibbons
Produced by Mervyn LeRoy
Directed by Victor Fleming
With: Judy Garland (Dorothy), Frank Morgan (Professor Marvel/Wizard), Ray Bolger (Hunk/Scarecrow), Bert Lahr (Zeke/Cowardly Lion), Jack Haley (Hickory/Tin Man), Billie Burke (Glinda), Margaret Hamilton (Almira Gulch/Wicked Witch of the West), Charley Grapewin (Uncle Henry), Pat Walshe (Nikko), Clara Blandick (Aunt Em)
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It is impossible to watch THE WIZARD OF OZ nowadays, even after an absence of several years, and see it objectively. Its every move is buried so deep into layers of memory, watching it again is more like recalling a vivid childhood dream or, indeed, recalling a moment of vague memory than seeing a piece of film or a work of art, or even hearing a story told.
A 1995 documentary, "The Wizard of Oz: Forty Years On TV" celebration telecast featured some weird outtakes of a spooky, cut dance number called "The Jitterbug," done in front of the ugly monster trees, an ugly scene which makes you realize how fragile is the final cut of a movie. The simple insertion of another piece makes it completely unfamiliar. (Supposedly, they were gonna cut the "Over the Rainbow" number out for being too dull. Talk about cutting out the heart of a picture. Sounds like an early John Carpenter mindset working there: "Take out all the good shots, will ya?")
As you watch THE WIZARD OF OZ in a trance cast over you at childhood and still unshakable, you wonder: is this a great film, a perfect film, or just a mediocre film that has become legend by relentless repetition over the years? Is it actually an example of cultural brainwashing that you can't find anybody who hates this movie? Could the same effect be produced by another film of similar theme and quality? What makes a classic a classic? The same things about WOZ that scared one as kid still make one uneasy today, which is odd.
Judy Garland as Dorothy looks now as she did back then; a goofy, ageless parody of young girlhood. Her bizarre presence simply defies a specific age. She could be a fat ten-year old, or a badly costumed thirty-year old. She is as unsexy as one could imagine, someone's homely sister or daft mother, and as such, comes across more as an alien in drag than a girl/woman. Thus, she becomes a parody of youth, instantly immortal and endearing.
But what would be necessary to view THE WIZARD OF OZ with complete objectivity? An erasure of memory? A long period of abstinence? Deprogramming?
Regardless, THE WIZARD OF OZ is part of the Kiddie Matinee canon, having two successful re-releases during this period, in 1970 and 1971. (Even more fun was the 1998 digital re-release. The rare treat of seeing a GOOD movie on the big screen in the 1990's was a real "Wow!")
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the following additional information about THE WIZARD OF OZ has been provided by Kevin S. Butler:
THE WIZARD OF OZ first aired on the CBS Television Network on saturday night, November 3,1956. The first host/performer of the film's broadcast on CBS TV was Red Skelton and his daughter, Valentina. Skelton and his daughter mc'd the film's broadcast as a Victorian storyteller and his daughter (and as themselves) in 1959.
The second hosts/performers were Mr.Richard Boone (TV's "Palladin" on HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL)and his son Pete. Boone and his son did their hosting chores while Boone was on location for his show HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL in 1960.
The third hosts/performers of the film's broadcast were Dick Van Dyke, his former wife Marge and their kids, including their son Barry, who would later appear with his famous father on DIAGNOSIS MURDER. Van Dyke and his family hosted the show in 1961 and again in 1962.
The next-to-last host/performer/narrator of the film's broadcast was Danny Kaye. Kaye would pre-tape his hosting segments and they were rerun from 1964 through 1968.
The 40th Anniversary broadcast of the film on CBS TV aired in 1996. Angela Lansbury was the last host/narrator of the film's broadcast on CBS TV. Lansbury's hosting segments were actually part of a documentary to honor the film's 50th Anniversary (in terms of it's original theatrical release in 1939) in the fall of 1990. Her hosting segments were shown on CBS TV again in 1996 and one more time on the Turner Classic Movies Cable TV Network in 2000.
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According to the Jay Scrafone/John Frick 50th Anniversary book about THE WIZARD OF OZ, Judy Garland's daughters, Liza Minelli and Lorna Luft, and Bert Lahr (who played "Zeke" and "The Cowardly Lion" in the film) hosted the very first broadcast of the film on CBS TV, when OZ was screened on the last broadcast of FORD STAR TIME on saturday night, November 3,1956. However, most TV/Film history books have stated that the film was first shown on TV without a host/performer/narrator. Also, a back issue of TV Guide from early November, 1956 does not list an on-camera host/performer/narrator. So, with the exception of Scarfone & Frick's book, it's hard to determine whether Garland's kids and Lahr mc'd the first broadcast of the film.
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Most of the "small" performers who played the Munchkins in THE WIZARD OF OZ couldn't speak English, so their voices were dubbed by other actors. Pinto Colvig, the voice of Walt Disney's "Goofy" and "Grumpy", and Dave & Max Fleischer's "Gabby", did the voices of the Mayor and the Judge Munchkin City.
Video/DVD availability: VHS, DVD (MGM Home Video)
Follow the Yellow Brick Road!
THE WIZARD OF OZ, Queen of the Kiddie Matinee!
