11
The Wizard of Oz
Release date 25th August 1939
Country: USA
Running time: 102 minutes
Genre : Fantasy/ Musical
Starring Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton, Frank Morgan
Screenplay by from the novel by Frank Baum
Directed by Victor Fleming
Dorothy and her pet dog are caught up in a cyclone and transported to the wonderful land of Oz.
This is the greatest fantasy film in Hollywood history. Judy Garland's singing of Over the Rainbow gives the film an extra resonance because it taps into the universal theme of there is no place like home, this adds great poignancy to Dorothy's quest to return home with the help of the Wizard and her friends : the tin man, the scarecrow and the cowardly lion.
The film wasn't a
big box office success at the time but has become a perennial favourite.
Hopefully it will continue to be discovered and loved by each new generation
both by those who are children and those who are simply young at heart.
Ironically Over the Rainbow might not have made it to the final cut of the film. It was almost removed after previews when it was felt this fat kid singing slowed the narrative,thankfully in the end it was retained. The black and white section of the film was directed by silent movie master King Vidor, while Victor Fleming did most of the rest. Richard Thorpe and George Cukor were also involved, the latter insisted Garland threw away the blonde Shirley Temple wig she had been asked to wear and be herself (Temple had been the first choice to play Dorothy but her singing voice was deemed inadequate).
This Technicolor
production was MGM's most expensive film up to that time and the filming had
its problems. Buddy Ebsen was replaced by Jack Haley as the Tin Man when
he reacted badly to the silver paint in the costume, the munchkins were often
unruly and Margaret Hamilton who played the Wicked Witch narrowly escaped
serious injury in the melting scene.
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