The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Somewhere over the rainbow
way up high,
there's a land that I heard of
once in a lullaby.

Somewhere over the rainbow
skies are blue,
and the dreams that you dare to dream
really do come true.

A wicked and loveless old woman, Miss Almira Gulch, is determined to have Dorothy's beloved dog, Toto, destroyed and due to her high standing in the community she manages to obtain a Sheriff's warrant permitting her to take poor Toto away. Being that Uncle Henry and Auntie Em are law abiding citizens, they feel that they have no option but to honour the order. Dorothy is utterly distraught and running to her bedroom she collapses onto her bed, sobbing uncontrollably.

Toto, however, has ideas of his own as he stealthily escapes from the wicked women and returns to his beloved owner and friend. Dorothy is tremendously relieved but, she realises that it is not safe for Toto if they stay and so she decides that their only option is to run away.

Before getting very far they happen upon a horse-drawn wagon the side of which is inscribed: "Professor MARVEL, Acclaimed by The Crowned Heads of Europe, Let Him Read Your Past, Present & Future in His Crystal, Also Juggling and Sleight of Hand.". The professor is a fraudulent and has-been fortune teller and carnival showman but he is kind-hearted and concerned with the welfare of the young runaway. He cleverly and subtly changes Dorothy's mind about running away by using his so-called powers to make her realise that she is dearly loved and that her absence will cause much sorrow.

Dorothy and Toto make for home as fast as they can - more so due to the brewing storm. On arrival at the farmhouse, not her adoptive parents (for Dorothy is an orphan) nor the three pleasant farmhands are anywhere to be found. They have already had to seek shelter having attempted a frantic search for their beloved Dorothy. The storm is close now and Dorothy cannot open the locked, storm-shelter cellar doors nor can she make herself heard by her close by, yet faraway, sheltering loved ones above the howling wind. She sees no alternative but to run, Toto in arms, into the farmhouse and seek shelter in her bedroom where a strong gust blows the window frame into her head causing her to fall, unconscious, onto her bed.

Dorothy awakes to find the farmhouse swirling in the sky in the eye of the tornado and on looking out of her bedroom window she is mesmerised by the objects whizzing by: a picket fence; a tree; a chicken coop; an old lady knitting calmly in a rocking chair; a cow; two men, rowing a boat, who doff their hats to the bewildered Dorothy; Miss Gulch madly pedalling her bicycle across the sky. Suddenly, the wicked old woman transforms into an evil, cackling witch complete with pointed hat and cape - her bicycle transforming into a broomstick.

The twisting, swirling farmhouse finally spins to the ground; crash-landing with a sharp jolt whereupon everything becomes very calm and tranquil. The uninjured Dorothy - with Toto in her arms - apprehensively but curiously opens the front door. The ensuing explosion into glorious Technicolor is truly magnificent. Dorothy states it perfectly: "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore. We must be over the rainbow.". Dorothy leaves behind the drab, limited and colourless world of Kansas to explore this strange, new, exciting and boldly coloured magical land that is Oz.

Dorothy instantly becomes an iconic heroine in this new world - at least in the eyes of the Munchkins - as her Kansas farmhouse landed on and flattened the only source of fear and sorrow in the world of this joyous little people - the Wicked Witch of the East. Glinda, the Good Witch of the North comes to investigate the current events here in Munchkinland. She converses with Dorothy to try and ascertain whether she is a good witch or a bad witch (Dorothy must be a witch as she has killed the Wicked Witch of the East in a powerful display). Glinda encourages the Munchkins to come out of hiding by starting to sing: "Come Out, Come Out...". This is the beginning of the most wonderful musical journey as from now on most of the dialogue is contained within gloriously rich songs.

Countless little people apprehensively emerge from everywhere as Dorothy begins to tell - in song - her account of the recent events. The Munchkins (also in song) thank and welcome Dorothy and celebrate the death of the tyrannical Wicked Witch of the East in a series of entertaining ditties.

The celebrations are brought to a premature end though when the Wicked Witch of the West (WWE's sister) makes her fearsome entrance which is in a sharp contrast to the joyous brevity of the now defunct celebrations. The WWW swears revenge on Dorothy but is made to temporarily retreat by Glinda who furnishes Dorothy with the WWE's beautiful and magical ruby slippers - much to the anger of the WWW.

It is now that Dorothy's thoughts return to her loved ones back in faraway Kansas - the place that she had been so desperate to escape from and is now so desperate to return to. Glinda suggests that the best person in all of Oz to ask just how to do such a thing is the omniscient (all knowing) and omnipotent (all powerful) Wizard of Oz.

Glinda and the Munchkins bid Dorothy farewell as she sets of on her journey to The Emerald City where The Great Oz resides. And just how do you get to The Emerald City? Just "Follow the Yellow Brick Road"…

Dorothy's journey is to be an eventful, all-singing, all-dancing, rollercoaster ride. Along the way she will meet with a scarecrow without a brain, a tin man without a heart and a lion without courage. They will skip gaily onwards in a joint quest to ask the Wizard of Oz to help them each with their respective problems.

Their quest will not be easy though as the WWW has other ideas. She will move to exact revenge on Dorothy and anyone in her company (scarecrow et al) for the death of her sister. As if the vile attacks of the WWW are not to be enough to contend with, Dorothy and pals will also have to negotiate the creepy Haunted Forest. Anyway, even if they do reach The Emerald City, is there any guarantee that The Great Oz will (or will be able to) help them?

Symmetries and Prophecies
I find The Wizard of Oz extremely clever in the way it completely mirrors the two worlds of Oz and Kansas whilst at the same time carrying through some common themes. Kansas is a dull, dreary, drab and colourless world where Dorothy has no authority. It is a place of unfairness where heartless bureaucracies must be adhered to(the Sheriff's order permitting Miss Gulch's confiscation of Toto). Conversely, Oz is a weird and wonderful place where everything exists in such glorious colour except for, of course, the all-black WWW, her imposing castle and the dark, fearsome Haunted Forest. Dorothy is more free when in Oz - there are periods when Dorothy joyously skips and sings gaily with her friends who are also her equals (they are all in need of one thing for their happiness - a common goal). She is able to do such things without a care but the WWW continually attempts to put a stop to their fun. This is reflective of the way that her happy way of life in Kansas is invaded by wicked people - Miss Gulch - and by rigid rules.

Oz is a land where Dorothy is a somebody and not just a pleasant little girl that is smaller (in age and therefore authority) than those around her like in Kansas. The Munchkins are all smaller than Dorothy giving a visual display of her sudden increase in importance. She was loved and cared for in Kansas but that's just it - cared for. The events in Kansas concerning Toto led Dorothy to realise that she has no say in things and for her to superficially doubt whether she is loved at all. In Oz she is revered and loved (albeit in a different manner) as a national heroine and this is displayed to her in no uncertain terms. In Oz she has the power to quash such evils as the WWE and the WWW which is something that she was powerless to do to the evil-minded Miss Gulch back in Kansas.

Now on to some prophecies and common themes. The movie begins with Dorothy running to tell her aunt and uncle about how Miss Gulch hit Toto with a rake for chasing "her nasty old cat" (obviously a cat being an essential ingredient to being a witch). Her aunt and uncle ignore her and so Dorothy takes her case outside to the farmhand named Hunk. A very prophetic exchange occurs where he tells her to use her brain and avoid Miss Gulch's place and that her head ain't made of straw. Needless to say that Hunk becomes the scarecrow in Dorothy's Oz adventures.

Next, whilst Dorothy tightrope-walks a pigsty fence-top she goes on to talk to Zeke about problem. He advises her to have courage "walk right up to her and spit in her eye. That's what I'd do.". Dorothy falls into the sty and Zeke rescues her before fainting at the thought of his act of bravery. Dorothy remarks: "Why Zeke, you're just as scared as I am!" and Hunk teases: "What's the matter? Gonna let a little ol' pig make a coward out of ya?". Obviously Zeke goes on to become the cowardly lion who certainly is afraid of the WWW/Miss Gulch contrary to what he says.

The similarities between the WWW and Miss Gulch are simply those of appearance, mannerisms and attitudes. Miss Gulch is a witch in all but the ability to perform evil magic - she is a Kansas witch.

Professor Marvel is, for myself, the most interesting character. He is kind at heart and well meaning but is a fraud and a failure. It seems that his only true friend is his faithful horse - Sylvester. Professor Marvel is obviously unable to really read the past, present or future other than through the deductions he makes from Dorothy's appearance (her suitcase would suggest either a trip or a runaway) and from the contents of her case (he rifles through it to find a photograph of Dorothy and her Aunt Em). He still, nevertheless, is a wise man and his real talents are subtlety, covert kindly persuasion and wisdom. He remains just the same when he appears later as the Great Oz. The wizard is a fraud also but specialises in tricking people - in Kansas as a carnival showmen so that he can earn his keep and in Oz as a great and seemingly magical ruler that is able to live rather more luxuriously. Professor Marvel also makes an appearance as: the angry and quirky doormen who at first refuses Dorothy and pals entry to The Emerald City as they rang the supposedly out of order doorbell; the joyous cabby that transports the foursome through the Emerald City, on a cart pulled by a "horse of a different colour", to the doorway leading to The Great Oz; and as the guard of the gates of the residence of the Great Oz himself who is very reluctant to let them see him. The Great Oz takes these other three jobs on as a means of protecting and preserving his free meal ticket by not allowing anyone to see The Great Oz and therefore preserving the belief, mystery and wonder.

There are many interesting stories, anecdotes and myths about The Wizard of Oz. I will outline a few here…

Early on in the project, Buddy Ebsen was cast as the Scarecrow and Ray Bolger was cast as the Tin Man. However, Bolger complained that he had stipulated in his MGM contract that if MGM ever produced The Wizard of Oz, he wanted to play the Scarecrow. So, the two actors switched roles.

This was not a good move for Ebsen as, after several weeks of filming, he became very ill. He had developed a serious allergic reaction to the aluminium powder in his tinman face makeup and very nearly died. He was replaced with Jack Haley but remains on two songs that had already been recorded and were not redone

There are many myths about why the movie begins in black and white (actually sepia tone - hence the beige colour) and then goes on to Technicolor. One is that colour was invented a short way (about 20 minutes) through production. This begs the question of why the movie returns to sepia turn in the final three minutes. Another myth is that they could not afford to have the whole movie shot in colour (Technicolor costing at least three times as much as b/w as red green and blue must all be shot onto separate film and later superimposed during projection). Despite the fact that the movie's required budget increased quickly - apparently becoming MGM's most expensive to date - this is nonsense. For me it seems obvious that the change from sepia tone to colour and back is, on a basic level, to produce the immediate visual contrast between the two lands and furthermore to provide the different worlds contrasts that I detailed above.

The popular film was adapted from L. Frank Baum's venerated children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (published in 1900) and this explains the opening title: "For nearly forty years this story has given faithful service to the Young in Heart; and Time has been powerless to put its kindly philosophy out of fashion. To those of you who have been faithful to it in return...and to the Young in Heart...we dedicate this picture..". The Wizard of Oz was first made into a silent film in 1925, with comedian Oliver Hardy (Laurel and Hardy) portraying the Tin Woodsman.

Professor Marvel's shabby, Prince Albert-style coat had been selected from a rack of old clothing purchased by MGM. When Morgan turned out the pocket one day, he found the name of L. Frank Baum sewn into the lining, and both Baum's widow and the Chicago tailor who made the jacket later verified that it had belonged to the author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz many years before. The coat was presented to Mrs. Baum when filming was complete.

The word "Oz" was invented by Baum as he looked around his office and noticed the letters on the bottom draw of his alphabetically arranged filing cabinet: "O - Z".

I am sure there are many of these interesting stories but I will leave you with the cast and song lists…

Cast
Judy Garland ... Dorothy Gale
Frank Morgan ... Professor Marvel/The Wizard of Oz, Doorman, Cabby, Guard
Ray Bolger ... Hunk/Scarecrow
Bert Lahr ... Zeke/Cowardly Lion
Jack Haley ... Hickory/Tin Man
Margaret Hamilton ... Miss Almira Gulch/Wicked Witch of the West
Billie Burke ... Glinda, the Good Witch of the North
Charley Grapewin ... Uncle Henry
Clara Blandick ... Auntie Em
Pat Walshe ... Nikko, the captain of the winged monkeys
The Singer Midgets ... The Munchkins
Terry ... Toto

Musical Score
Over the Rainbow
Come Out, Come Out...
It Really Was No Miracle
We Thank You Very Sweetly
Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead
As Mayor of the Munchkin City
As Coroner, I Must Aver
Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead
The Lullaby League
The Lollipop Guild
We Welcome You to Munchkinland
Follow the Yellow Brick Road/You're Off to See the Wizard
If I Only Had a Brain
We're off to See the Wizard
If I Only Had a Heart
We're off to See the Wizard
If I Only Had the Nerve
We're off to See the Wizard
Optimistic Voices
The Merry Old Land of Oz
If I Were King of the Forest
The Jitterbug [cut from final movie]
Over the Rainbow [cut from final movie]

David Anderson