The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Director:

Victor Fleming

Writers:

Noel Langley (screenplay) and
Florence Ryerson (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

25 August 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Musical

Tagline:

"The Wizard" Musical Returns By Unprecedented Demand! [UK re-release]

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Wizard | Dog | Witch | Heart | Tornado

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Das zauberhafte Land (Austria) (Germany) (West Germany) [de]
El mago de Oz (Argentina) (Peru) (Spain) [es]
Le magicien d'Oz (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
бНКЬЕАМХЙ ЯРПЮМШ нГ (Soviet Union: Russian title) [ru]
Óz, a csodák csodája (Hungary) [hu]
Carodej ze zeme Oz (Czechoslovakia: Czech title) [cs]
Czarnoksieznik z krainy Oz (Poland) [pl]
Der Hexer von Oz (Austria) [de]
Der Zauberer von Oz (West Germany) [de]
Ha-Kossem M'Eretz Ootz (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Ihmemaa Oz (Finland) [fi]
Il mago di Oz (Italy) [it]
O Feiticeiro de Oz (Portugal) [pt]
O Mágico de Oz (Brazil) [pt]
O magos tou Oz (Greece) [el]
Oz büyücüsü (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Ozu no mahôtsukai (Japan) [ja]
Troldmanden fra Oz (Denmark) [da]
Trollkarlen från Oz (Sweden) [sv]
Trollmannen fra Oz (Norway) [no]

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (Sepiatone) | Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS (re-release) | Dolby Digital (re-release) | Mono (Western Electric Sound System) | SDDS (re-release)

Certification:

Singapore:G | Canada:F (Ontario) | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Iceland:L | Portugal:M/6 (DVD rating) | South Korea:All | Philippines:G | Brazil:Livre | USA:Approved (certificate #5364) (original rating) | USA:G (re-rating) (1970) | Canada:G (video rating) | USA:Passed | New Zealand:G | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:o.Al. | Hong Kong:I | Netherlands:AL (video rating) | Norway:A | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/4 | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

During the haunted forest scene, several actors playing the Winged Monkeys were injured when the piano wires suspending them snapped, dropping them several feet to the floor of the sound stage.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: As the Lion is singing, "If I Were the King of the Forest," and his tail is flopping from side to side, a string cam be seen controlling his tail. Just before the Scarecrow and Tinman put on the Lion's cape, you can see the Tinman remove the wire with a quick yank.

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.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Duck! Rabbit, Duck! (1953)

Soundtrack:

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

a milestone

People talk about The Wizard of Oz as a backdrop to their lives; and how true that is. I just saw it again, DVD, for the first time in--gosh!--20 years. There was a little art house in Lansing Michigan USA that ran it back then, on the popular premise that there's nothing like TWoO on "the big screen." That's the last time I'd seen it, 'til today.

I guess the part that "gets" me about the movie is how the writers made it pretty plain that the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion really already had what they thought they were missing; that their respective problems were in misapprehending their own complete natures. That's a powerful statement for many of us. I found myself most touched in scenes where the Scarecrow was showing wisdom, the Tin Man feeling deeply ("...when I think of Dorothy in that awful place..."), and the Lion...well, maybe accomplishing this effect was harder in his case...what *is* true courage?

Anyway, if you're reading this here, you must be a movie weenie, and you've no doubt already seen the movie, so I'm not going to recite the usual "go see this movie" mantra.

I was just very touching to see this movie again, at this phase in my life.

I will mention a few more things about how I now see this movie as a "growed up" (I'm almost 50): It's interesting how you can see the production values of the time; the lot sets and special effects and so forth. This movie is a powerful example of how a good story overcomes limited means in other areas.

People who look back with disdain on the low-tech chintz of old movies can see in TWoO the magic ingredient; narrative solidity. And I'm not a pollyanna about this: I'm sure the underlying reality behind its making is rife with horror stories of expert disagreement, rewrites, discarding, jerryrigging, and the rest of it. But in the end, something like narrative love won out; and that's the important thing.

Oh: And having Harold Arlen write the music was good luck indeed. And orchestrations which cleverly appropriated very tasty new ideas in composition (polymodalism, non-standard phrasings, etc.) didn't hurt, either!

Geez, this movie is such a little universe....I'd better stop here.