Celebrating Oz

By now you no doubt have heard that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the wonderful classic film, The Wizard of Oz.

It is hard to come by anyone who hasn’t seen and loved this classic film. We quote the famous lines ….”I’ll get you my pretty, and your little dog too”, “Toto, I have a feeling we aren’t in Kansas anymore”, “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain”, and “There’s no place like home” are just a few. And we sing those iconic songs, “We’re Off To See The Wizard”, “Follow The Yellow Brick Road”, “If I Only Had A Brain” and most famous of all “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”.

There are a lot of details we all know about the film version of L. Frank Baum’s children’s classic story. But here are some you may not know:

1.Judy Garland was not the first choice for the part of Dorothy. Shirley Temple was the child star who was the first choice but after it was determined that 11 yr. old Shirley might not have the voice to carry off all the difficult musical numbers, the part was given to then 16 yr. old Judy Garland.

2. Glinda the Good Witch wore that beautiful sparkly pink gown, but it was not original. It was a recycled costume having been first worn by actress Janette MacDonald in the 1936 film “San Francisco”

3. While filming the scene in which Dorothy slaps the Cowardly Lion, Judy Garland got the giggles so badly that they had to take a break in shooting. The director, Victor Fleming, took her aside, gave her a quick lecture, and then slapped her. She returned to the set and filmed the scene in one take. Fleming was afraid that this would damage his relationship with Garland and even told a co-worker he wished that someone would hit him because of how bad he felt, but Garland overheard the conversation and gave him a kiss on the nose to show that she bore no hard feelings.

4. “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” was almost cut from the movie as it was running long and Louis B. Mayer thought it too sad for the film. There were subsequent protests from those who knew this was a “winner” song and ultimately it was left in. It went on to win the Academy Award for Best Song that year.

5. Ray Bolger who played the scarecrow was originally cast as the Tin Man. But he knew his fluid dance style was better suited to the scarecrow and eventually won the director over to his way of thinking.

6. The iconic Ruby Slippers were actually silver in L. Frank Baum’s book but the cinematographer asked for the change as he said “ruby slippers” would show up more with better contrast on the Yellow Brick Road.

7. Margaret Hamilton who played the Wicked Witch of the West sustained second and third degree burns from her green makeup when she made her fiery exit from Munchkinland. It turned out the makeup was copper based, and if it hadn’t been removed immediately it could have proved to be fatal.

8. That “horse of a different color” was actually 6 different horses…yellow, red, orange, green, blue and violet, all colored with Jello.

No matter your age you have no doubt seen this classic many times. Unlike many things, this wonderful movie has only grown in popularity over the years and now holds the distinction of being the most watched film of all time! Maybe this weekend is time to watch it again. Make some popcorn, grab someone you love and be delighted all over again. Queue up the movie, surprise your family, and announce, “We’re off to see the wizard!”