The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)

:For the novel, see The Wonderful Wizard of Oz;

Plot

These opening scenes were the last ones to be filmed. They were filmed from late February - March 16, 1939. Dorothy is an orphan from Kansas, raised by her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. At the beginning of the film, Dorothy is telling the three farm hands about her conflict with a local rich, stern and humorless woman, Almira Gulch (played by Margaret Hamilton, who also plays the Witch of the West). Each hand advises her in his characteristic way, foreshadowing their appearance in Dorothy's dream of Oz. One suggests that it's not smart to walk with her dog Toto near Gulch's property (Scarecrow). The next starts making a passionate speech, straight from the heart (Tin Man), but is stopped in mid-speech by Aunt Em, with his right arm upraised. The last recommends a more aggressive approach, as he would do... then is found to be afraid of hogs (Cowardly Lion).

Related Topics:
Dorothy - Almira Gulch - Margaret Hamilton - Toto - Scarecrow - Tin Man - Cowardly Lion

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Dorothy's dog, Toto, is in trouble for biting Miss Gulch, and Gulch comes to the Gale farm with an order from the sheriff allowing her to take the dog, to be "destroyed". Dorothy's aunt and uncle argue unsuccessfully with Ms. Gulch about the ordeal, and Toto is taken away, as the exasperated Dorothy calls her "a wicked old witch" (foreshadowing her role in Dorothy's dream). Toto escapes by jumping out of Miss Gulch's basket, unnoticed by her. When the dog gets home, Dorothy decides that they should run away from home, because Miss Gulch would be coming back for him.

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Dorothy and Toto begin their journey, and they soon encounter Professor Marvel (played by Frank Morgan, who also the plays the Wizard of Oz, the doorman, the cabbie, and the guard; each of his characters is essentially, in his own words, a "humbug", i.e. a fraud). (Trivia note: His circus-style wagon is parked near a small bridge, a set piece that was also used in a dramatic scene in Gone With the Wind). He leads Dorothy into his trailer, and after sneaking a peek in her basket and finding a family photo, he pretends to see her Aunt Em crying, in his crystal ball. Dorothy is convinced, and she and Toto hurry home. On her way out of the trailer, though, a cyclone begins to form ("a 'whopper', speaking in the vernacular of the peasantry"). When she gets home, her whole family is already down in the storm cellar and cannot hear her stomping on its door. Seeing the tornado approaching (a very convincing special effect, made from a large muslin stocking spinning on a sliding track, accompanied by poweful off-screen fans that nearly knocked the actress off her feet at one point), Dorothy rushes inside the house and gets to her bedroom, but the wind blows the window out of its frame, hitting her in the head and leaving her unconscious.

Related Topics:
Frank Morgan - Doorman - Cabbie - Guard - Humbug - Crystal ball - Cyclone - Storm cellar - Special effect - Muslin - Unconscious

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Although Dorothy is lying senseless, the audience (and Toto) begin to see various objects, stirred up by the cyclone, which appear outside her bedroom window. (There is also a very noticeable edit in the audio track. A three-CD collection of all the music from the film, issued in 1995 with remastered music, contains a fuller version of this track).

Related Topics:
CD - 1995 - Remaster

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Dorothy awakes suddenly, to find that her house is being carried up inside the cyclone. She sees some familiar faces out of the window, including the wicked Miss Gulch. In a dramatic, terrifying moment (underscored by the audio track's sudden and powerful mood change), Miss Gulch transforms into a witch (which witch, though, is a matter of some debate) and her bicycle into a broomstick. She cackles with an Eeeeh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh! (that has since become an English-language icon of fictional witches) and flies away. Minutes later, Dorothy and Toto land in Munchkinland, a county in the land of Oz. (The dramatic footage of the house falling toward the viewer was actually an inverted and time-reversed shot, made by dropping a model house toward a floor painted to resemble sky and clouds.) The movie makes a transition from sepia-tone to vibrant Technicolor as Dorothy and Toto walk out of the house.

Related Topics:
Bicycle - Broomstick - Time-reversed

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Shortly thereafter, Glinda, the Good Witch of the North (played by Billie Burke), arrives in an iridescent bubble. She asks Dorothy whether she is a good witch or a bad witch, and despite Dorothy's repeated explanation, Glinda appears to not quite understand who Dorothy is, nor where she came from. She does inform the child of where she is, and that she killed the Wicked Witch of the East with her house. She introduces her to the Munchkins, a small community of little people who sing and dance thanking Dorothy for freeing them from the Witch's tyrannical reign.

Related Topics:
Glinda - Good Witch of the North - Billie Burke - Iridescent - Wicked Witch of the East - Munchkin

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Mid-song, there is a burst of flame and the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton) arrives. Having heard about the recent death, she wants to know who killed her sister, and to claim her dead sister's powerful ruby slippers. To her horror, Glinda magically moves the slippers to Dorothy's feet. The Wicked Witch makes threats against Dorothy, but Glinda reminds her that her magic is largely ineffective in Munchkinland: "Oh rubbish! You have no power here! Begone before somebody drops a house on you, too!" The Wicked Witch vows revenge on Dorothy and Toto, with her famous "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!"; she disappears in the same way she arrived.

Related Topics:
Margaret Hamilton - Ruby slippers

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The Munchkin Land scenes were filmed from December 10 - 23, 1938.

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On December 23, 1938, during a second filming of her departure from Munchkinland the lift Margaret Hamilton was standing on did not go down fast enough. When the fire started she nearly got caught in it. Her green makeup did catch fire, she was severely burned and she was out of the filming for six weeks, spending time in the local hospital. She returned to the set on February 11, 1939.

Related Topics:
December 23 - 1938 - Hospital

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Glinda tells Dorothy that the only way to get back to Kansas is to follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City, where she can ask the mysterious Wizard of Oz for help. Before Glinda disappears in her bubble, she tells Dorothy never to take off the slippers, and to "just follow the Yellow Brick Road".

Related Topics:
Yellow brick road - Emerald City

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On her journey, Dorothy befriends a supposedly brainless (though very resourceful) talking scarecrow (Ray Bolger), a supposedly heartless (though very kind) tin woodsman (Jack Haley), and a definitely cowardly lion (Bert Lahr). All three of them sing songs detailing their difficult handicaps. They too decide they will visit the Wizard to obtain what they desire, despite the Witch's threats to stop them.

Related Topics:
Ray Bolger - Jack Haley - Bert Lahr

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Two scenes filmed along the way were cut. First was about 2 minutes of Ray Bolger's "If I only had a brain" song scenes. The second one was a scene where the witch follows up on her threat to turn the Tin Man into a beehive. Originally there was a scene with dozens of bees flying around the Tin Man.

Related Topics:
Beehive - Bee

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Just before the group reaches the Art Deco-style Emerald City, the Wicked Witch casts a spell to stop them. She produces a giant field of poppies that put Dorothy, Toto and the Lion to sleep. The Scarecrow and the Tinman (who are not conventional organic creatures and are immune to the spell) cry for help, and Glinda produces a counterspell in the form of a snow shower to wake everybody up. They immediately arrive at the Emerald City, where they are only allowed in after Dorothy proves that Glinda sent her there.

Related Topics:
Art Deco - Poppies - Snow

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Inside the Emerald City, everything is green except for the Horse of a Different Color, who changes colors several times while taking the group to a salon (a special effect reportedly accomplished by coating the horse with different colors of Jell-o). They clean up, and just before they go to see the Wizard, the Wicked Witch flies above the Emerald City, writing words in the sky with her smoldering broomstick, demanding that the citizens "SURRENDER DOROTHY". After some difficulty, the four finally make it to the Wizard.

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(Originally it was "SURRENDER DOROTHY OR DIE SIGNED WWW"; the last few words were cut after the first preview. A lot of the witch's scenes were cut, or script ideas never filmed, because MGM executives felt it made the witch too scary for children. Given the full text of that message, arguably the executives also felt some ideas were too silly.)

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When the party meets the Wizard, they find him to be a terrifying floating head surrounded by fire and smoke. He bellows that he will only help them if they can obtain the broomstick of the Witch of the West. On their way to her castle, flying monkeys, sent by the Wicked Witch, capture Dorothy and Toto and take them to the castle.

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Here was another deleted scene that the witch hints at when she says "They'll give you no trouble; I promise you that. I've sent a little insect on ahead to take the fight out of them" she sends a fictitious bug, "the jitterbug", that bites or stings them, causing Dorothy and friends to dance helplessly until the flying monkeys arrive to take Dorothy and Toto away. It, too, was cut after an early preview. The only archival evidence remaining of this scene is the sound recordings and a backstage home movie filmed during rehearsals. Any original footage appears to have been lost. Some critics have pointed out that the bouncy song was inappropriate to the mood of the scene, as well as "dating" the movie, so that cutting it was a wise decision. In any case, dropping the "beehive" and "jitterbug" sequences leaves the only "humbug" in the movie as the figurative one: the Wizard himself.

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Once Dorothy gets to the witch's castle, the Witch demands the ruby slippers, but it turns out that the shoes actually cannot be removed... as long as Dorothy is alive. In a fury, the Witch orders one of her monkey slaves to kill Toto. The dog, however, escapes, finds their friends, and leads them to the castle to save Dorothy.

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Dorothy, meanwhile, is locked inside a chamber with an hourglass and a crystal ball. When the hourglass runs out, Dorothy will die. As she waits and cries, she sees her Aunt Em in the crystal ball, wondering where her niece is. Dorothy cries out to her aunt, but the image of Aunt Em fades out as the image of the Wicked Witch fades in, cackling and mocking Dorothy, terrifying her; then turning and looking into the camera, continuing her devilish laughter before fading out.

Related Topics:
Hourglass - Crystal ball

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(Originally, during these scenes there was a reprise of Dorothy, in terror, singing "Over the Rainbow" with slightly altered lyrics. It too was cut after an early preview of the film).

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When they finally get inside the castle, they find Dorothy and try to escape (to the tune of Moussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain). The Witch stops them, and once she and her soldiers have them cornered, sets the Scarecrow on fire. Dorothy grabs a nearby bucket of water and, in throwing the water on her friend, she also hits the Witch and causes her to melt down to nothing (presumably dropping through that infamous trap door again), leaving just her dress, her pointed hat, her broomstick, and steam rising. To the travelers' surprise, her soldiers are delighted. They give Dorothy the broomstick and graciously send them on their way.

Related Topics:
Moussorgsky - Night on Bald Mountain

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Originally, the crew returned to the Emerald City to a "hero's welcome", with everyone singing "The Wicked Witch is Dead". This too was cut after early previews. Footage of this scene no longer exists, except for a few frames seen in a later re-issue trailer. Once they are in the Wizard's room they present the broom to a shocked Wizard, who did not expect them to return. He tells them to come back later. Having just defeated the evil Witch, the four feel empowered and bold; even the Lion growls in real, not feigned, anger. The previously "small and meek" Dorothy scolds the Wizard for breaking his promise, and they soon discover, thanks to Toto's exploring, that the Wizard is just a "man behind a curtain" (also played by Frank Morgan), not really a wizard at all, just a "humbug" as he himself admits. The four friends are horrified, but the Wizard (as with his alter ego Professor Marvel) solves their problems through psychology rather than magic. He gives the Scarecrow a diploma, the Tinman a heart-shaped clock (he calls it a "testimonial"), and the Lion a badge of courage.

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He explains to them that his presence in Oz was an accident, that he was lost in (ironically enough) a "hot air" balloon, and that he is, in fact, from Kansas as well (which seems strange since the text on his balloon reads "Omaha", a city in Nebraska). He promises to take Dorothy home in the same balloon that got him there in the first place. He announces to his people that he will leave the Scarecrow, the Tinman and the Lion in charge of the Emerald City. Just before takeoff, though, Toto jumps out of the balloon's basket to chase a cat. Dorothy goes after him, and the Wizard accidentally takes off, unable to get back to the ground, and once again proving to be a humbug: "I can't come back! I don't know how it works!" Given that admission, it's anyone's guess how he would have found his way back to Kansas.

Related Topics:
"hot air" balloon - Omaha - Nebraska

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Just as Dorothy is resigning herself to spending the rest of her life in Oz, Glinda appears. She tells Dorothy that she can use the ruby slippers to return home... both herself and "Toto too!" She didn't tell her at first, though, because Dorothy had to learn a lesson. When her three friends asked what she has learned, a tearful Dorothy replies that, if she can't find what she's looking for in her own backyard, then she never really lost it to begin with.

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Dorothy and Toto say goodbye to their friends, and Glinda instructs her to click her heels together and repeat the words, "There's no place like home." There is a montage of her face, her shoes' clicking heels, and the house again falling toward the camera, all transitioning from Technicolor back into the same sepia tones that had begun the film. She awakens in her Kansas house surrounded by her family and friends. She tells them about her journey, and they tell her it was all a bad dream, although Dorothy protests that it was real. The movie ends with Dorothy hugging Toto and exclaiming to her Auntie Em that there really is no place like home.

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Differences from the book

The film's basic plot is not very different from the original novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, but quite a bit less detailed. Baum originally provided complex back stories for all the characters and locations, which are largely omitted in the film. The book featured several sub-plots (including a confrontation with the belligerent Hammer-Heads and a visit to a town with inhabitants and structures constructed of china) that, though relevant, weren't integral to the main plot. Numerous other abridgments occur: for example, the mice have no involvement with the band's escape from the poppies in the movie; a blizzard is used instead. It is also worth noting that in the original book the enchanted slippers were silver, not ruby. This was changed to show off the film's sophisticated color technology.

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In the movie, Glinda is the name of the Good Witch of the North who returns to show Dorothy how to use the Ruby Slippers to go home. In the book, however, the Witch of the North's name is not given; and Dorothy must journey to visit Glinda, the Good Witch of the South, to learn how to use the silver shoes. Also the Tin Woodsman's name is changed to simply the Tin Man.

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Some fans believe that the book tends to be a lot darker and in some places even gruesome, greatly diverging from the movie. For instance, in the book there is a scene in which the Tin Woodsman chops the head off a tiger. He also uses his axe to chop off all the limbs of anthropomorphized trees, which are not capable of speaking as in the movie. The trees then shake in pain and terror. In the movie, the only time he wields his axe is to chop through the door of the room where the witch is holding Dorothy captive. The fans who have this opinion generally tend to agree that Return to Oz, the 1985 semisequel to The Wizard of Oz, is much closer to the feel of the original books. They blame The Wizard of Oz for spreading misconceptions, the unpopularity of Oz in Return to Oz, and the unlikelihood of producing another movie closer in spirit to the books. It is well to keep in mind that it is only in recent generations that fairy tales have been "sanitized". Baum's seemingly gruesome imagery and violence was on a par with that of standard fairy tales such as the aptly-named Grimm Brothers stories.

Related Topics:
Return to Oz - 1985 - The original books - Grimm Brothers

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The main point of contention with Baum's fans is the ending, which they feel strongly goes against the nature of the original. In Baum's novel, there is no hint that Oz is anything but a real place, to which Dorothy returns repeatedly (she eventually moved to Oz permanently and was joined by her aunt and uncle) in the numerous sequels. A counterargument to that complaint is that in the original cut of the movie, the film concludes by panning under Dorothy's bed, revealing the ruby slippers. Another counterargument would be that in the more widley-distributed version of the film, this was not necessarily an ordinary dream -- her uncle comments that "for awhile there we thought you were going to leave us" -- and that her experience might have been "real", but in another dimension. The movie is just vague enough on that point to leave the door open to such an explanation.

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