The Wizard of Oz (1939)

USA, 1939
97m 31s (UK video, 1986), 97m 42s (UK video, 1995), 101m 35s (UK theatrical)/112m (at premiere)
35mm, black and white (sepia tinted) [“real world” sequences], Technicolor [Oz sequences], 1.37:1, 1.85:1 [re-release prints]
mono, DTS [re-issue], Dolby Digital [re-issue], SDDS [re-issue], English

An American fantasy film directed by Victor Fleming and an uncredited Richard Thorpe and King Vidor. On release, the film was greeted warmly by the critics and won two Academy Awards but was a box office flop , failing to recoup its budget, MGM’s highest to that date. Re-releases were more successful however and the film really came into its own on television. Following its first US broadcast in 1956 and its many subsequent re-broadcasts (often at Christmas), it has become of the best-known and best-loved films of all time.

Plot Summary

Young Dorothy Gale and her pet dog Toto are picked up by a tornado and carried off over the rainbow to the magical land of Oz. Naturally, she just wants to return to her home in Kansas but to get there, she needs to visit the almost mythical Wizard of Oz in the Emerald City. Along the way, she teams up with a Scarecrow who wants a brain, a Tin Man who wants a heart and a cowardly lion who wants courage. Pursued by the Wicked Witch of the West, they head off for Emerald City – but when they get there and finally meet the Wizard, they’re in for a surprise.

Credits

* = uncredited

Crew
Directed by: Victor Fleming; Richard Thorpe *; King Vidor [Kansas scenes] *
© MCMXXXIX [1939] in U.S.A. by Loew’s Incorporated
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer presents. Produced by Loew’s Incorporated. A Victor Fleming production
Produced by: Mervyn LeRoy
Screen Play by: Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf; Irving Brecher *, William H. Cannon *, Herbert Fields *, Arthur Freed *, E.Y. Harburg *, Samuel Hoffenstein *, John Lee Mahin *, Herman J. Mankiewicz *, Jack Mintz *, Ogden Nash *, Sid Silvers *
Additional Dialogue: Jack Haley *, Bert Lahr *
Adaptation by: Noel Langley
From the Book by: L. Frank Baum [The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]
Photographed in Technicolor by: Harold Rosson
Film Editor: Blanche Sewell
Music Adaptation by: Herbert Stothart
Lyrics by: E.Y. Harburg
Music by: Harold Arlen
Recording Director: Douglas Shearer
Costumes by: Adrian
Make Up: Robert J. Schiffer *, Charles H. Schram *, William Tuttle *
Character Make-Ups Created by: Jack Dawn
Special Effects: Arnold Gillespie
Art Director: Cedric Gibbons

Cast
Judy Garland (Dorothy [Gale])
Frank Morgan (Professor Marvel[/Emerald City doorman/the cabbie/guardian of the Emerald City gates/the Wizard of Oz])
Ray Bolger (“Hunk”[/scarecrow])
Bert Lahr (“Zeke”[/cowardly lion])
Jack Haley (“Hickory”[/tin man])
Billie Burke (Glinda[, the Good Witch of the North])
Margaret Hamilton (Miss [Almira] Gulch[/The Wicked Witch of the West])
Charley Grapewin (Uncle Henry [Gale])
Pat Walshe (Nikko[, the Wicked Witch’s head winged monkey])
Clara Blandick (Auntie Em [Gale])
Toto (Toto)
The Munchkins (opening credits); The Singer Midgets as The Munchkins (closing credits)
Gladys W. Allison *
Dona Massin [3rd lion groomer] *
Victor Wetter [army captain] *
William H. O’Docharty [back seat driver] *
‘Little Billy’ Rhodes [barrister] *
Tommy Cottonaro [bearded man] *
Walter Miller [bespectacled munchkin] *
Mitchell Lewis [captain of the Winkie Guard] *
Viola Banks, Betty Ann Cain, Joan Kenmore, Shirley Ann Kennedy, Patsy May, Pricilla Montgomery, Valerie Shepard [munchkin children] *
Billy Curtis, Matthew Raia [city fathers] *

Alternative Titles

Carobnjak iz Oza – Croatia, Serbia
Carodej ze zeme Oz – Czechoslovakia
Czarnoksieznik z Oz – Poland
O Feiticeiro de Oz – Portugal
Der Hexer von Oz – Austria
Ihmemaa Oz – Finland
Ha-Kossem M’Eretz Ootz – Israel
Le Magicien d’Oz – Canada (French), France
O Mágico de Oz – Brazil
El mago de Oz – Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Spain
Il mago di Oz – Italy
O Magos tou Oz – Greece
Oz büyücüsü – Turkey
Óz, a csodák csodája – Hungary
Ozu no mahôtsukai – Japan
Troldmanden fra Oz – Denmark
Trollkarlen från Oz – Finland (Swedish), Sweden
Trollmannen fra Oz – Norway
Võlur Oz – Estonia
Vrajitorul din Oz – Romania
Der Zauberer von Oz – Germany
Das Zauberhafte Land – alternative German

Links

Sequels
Return to Oz (1964)
Return to Oz (1985)
Tin Man (2007)

Extracts included in
100 Years at the Movies (1994)
Precious Images (1986)

See also
Charles Santore Illustrates The Wizard of Oz (1997)
The Dreamer of Oz (1990)
The Hollywood Road to Oz (1990)
I Married a Munchkin (1994)
In Search of Oz (1993)
Oz: The American Fairyland (1997)
We’re Off to See the Munchkins (1993)
The Whimsical World of Oz (1985)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 50 Years of Magic (1990)
Workteams and the Wizard of Oz (1993)

Press

1940

Monthly Film Bulletin vol.7 no.73 (January 1940) p.8
Spectacular fantasy, adapted from the forty-year-old American best-seller fairy story. […] This magnificently produced pantomime is a feast of beauty for eye and ear. It has tuneful songs, graceful dances, and the rich pageantry of its settings lingers in the memory. The opening and closing sequences are in sepia; the remainder in technicolor which has never yet been more artistically or effectively used. The appeal will be quite definitely more to adults than to children. For the latter its outlook is too sophisticated and its humour too mature. It has none of the directness and simplicity which appeal to the child mind. Grown-ups will enjoy too its kindly, optimistic philosophy of life and its pleasant sentiment. The acting is admirable. Judy Garland is exactly right as Dorothy, and gives a striking performance. The adult actors owe much to the genius of the make-up man. They back up his efforts nobly, and are one and all outstandingly good, entering wholeheartedly into the spirit of fantasy in a world of make-believe. – from a review by E.P.

References

Periodicals

• American Cinematographer vol.59 no.2 (February 1978) pp.190-191 – article
• American Cinematographer vol.79 no.12 (December 1998) pp.100-106; 107-110 – illustrated article (Behind the Curtain by George E. Turner; The Restoration of Oz by George E. Turner)
• American Cinematographer vol.80 no.3 (March 1999) pp.100-165 – Illustrated article (A cinematic honor roll by Stephen Pizzello)
• American Cinematographer vol.87 no.2 (February 2006) p.16 – Illustrated DVD review (DVD Playback: The Wizard of Oz by Kenneth Sweeney)
• AMPS no.30 (Summer 1999) p.12 – article (Revivals by Bob Allen)
• Cinema Business no.17 (September 2005) p.34 – Illustrated article (Watch these kids!)
• Cinema Business no.31 (January/February 2007) p.31 – illustrated article (Wizard funding)
• Classic Images no.248 (February 1996) p.34 – Illustrated interview with Harry Monty (Interview with Harry Monty king of the flying monkeys of Oz by Paul Parla)
• Classic Images no.266 (August 1997) pp.40-41 – Illustrated interview (Munchkin memories – Margaret Pellegrini by Robert R. Rees)
• Classic Images no.283 (January 1999) pp.12,14 – Illustrated article (New Technicolor Oz print looks great by David Chierichetti)
• Classic Images no.414 (December 2009) pp.13-15 – illustrated interview with Jerry Maren (Jerry Maren: a short interview with a big talent by Matt Beckoff)
• DGA Quarterly vol.5 no.3 (Autumn 2009) pp.76-78 – illustrated DVD review (DVD Classics: Unsung Hero by Gary Giddins)
• Documentary News Letter vol.1 no.3 (March 1940) p.9 – review
• Empire no.91 (January 1997) p.18 – Illustrated article (Bare necessities: no.26 The Wizard of Oz by Ian Freer)
• Empire no.98 (August 1997) p.23 – Illustrated article (Front desk clips: wiz pink link stink by Neil Jeffries)
• Empire no.151 (January 2002) pp.103-106 – Illustrated article (Retro: The making of The Wizard of Oz by Adam Smith)
• Empire no.195 September 2005) pp.72-73 – Illustrated article (The 10 Most Annoying Movie Characters by Emma Cochrane)
• Empire no.198 December 2005) p.204 – Illustrated DVD review (At home/movies: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Patrick Peters)
• Empire no.201 (March 2006) pp.77-88, 90-101 – illustrated article (201 Greatest movies of all time)
• Empire no.204 (June 2006) pp.150-151 – Illustrated DVD review (At Home/All-Time 100: Month Eight: Family & Animation by Ian Nathan)
• Empire no.211 (January 2007) pp.192-193 – Illustrated DVD review (At Home/Masterpiece no.40: The Wizard of Oz by Angie Errigo)
• Empire no.225 March 2008) pp.152-153 – illustrated article (The top 10: Movie henchman by Simon Crook)
• Empire no.232 (October 2008) pp.124-125 – illustrated article (Apocalypse Now reduced! by Simon Crook)
• Empire no.242 (August 2009) pp.89-113 – illustrated article (1001 greatest movie moments)
• Empire no.246 (December 2009) pp.178-179 – illustrated DVD review (At home/DVD reissues: The Wizard of OZ: The 70th Anniversay Edition by Ian Nathan)
• Entertainment Weekly no.459 (20 November 1998) p.96 – Illustrated review (Friend of Dorothy by OG [Owen Gleiberman])
• Film and History vol.15 no.2 (May 1985) pp.37-45 – article
• Film Quarterly vol.55 no.2 (Winter 2001/2002) pp.2-13 – Illustrated article (What WOZ: Lost objects, Repeat Viewings and the Sissy Warrior by Reid Davis)
• Film Review no.663 (November 2005) p.120 – Illustrated DVD review (Wizard of Oz: SE by Nikki Baughan)
• Filmovy Prehled no.6 (2000) pp.3-4 – credits, synopsis, review
• Films and Filming no.370 (July 1985) p.30 – interview
• Journal of Popular Film & Television vol.18 no.2 (Summer 1990) pp.52-63 – illustrated article (Home sweet movies: from Tara to Oz and home again by Richard F. Selcer)
• Journal of Popular Film & Television vol.20 no.2 (Summer 1992) pp.2-8 – Illustrated article (Bedford falls! The inescapable family in American science fiction and fantasy films by Andrew Gordon)
• Kine Weekly no.1705 (21 December 1939) – review
• Kine Weekly no.2006 (27 September 1945) – review
• Kine Weekly no.2007 (4 October 1945) – review
• Kine Weekly no.2521 (20 October 1955) – review
• Literature/Film Quarterly vol.9 no.4 (1981) pp.241-250 – article
• Literature/Film Quarterly vol.18 no.3 (1990) pp.160-166 – Illustrated article
• Literature/Film Quarterly vol.28 no.4 (2000) pp.312-319 – Illustrated article (The deconstructive search for Oz by Steven Hamelman)
• Michigan Quarterly Review vol.35 no.1 (Winter 1996) pp.9-28 – Illustrated article (Reliquishing Oz: Every Girl’s Anti-Adventure Story by Bonnie Friedman)
• Monthly Film Bulletin vol.7 no.73 (January 1940) p.8 – credits, synopsis, review (by E.P.)
• Motion Picture Herald vol.136 no.7 (12 August 1939) – review
• The Perfect Vision vol.6 no.23 (October 1994) pp.126-129 – Illustrated review (Shoot-out on the yellow brick road by Paul Penna and Paul Schwartz)
• Photoplay vol.53 no.8 (August 1939) pp.21-22, 88 – article
• Photoplay vol.53 no.10 (October 1939) p.88 – review
• Positif no.585 (November 2009) pp.71-73 (France) – illustrated article (Présences du cinéma: Les masques de Dieu by Pierre Berthomieu)
• Premiere vol.19 no.1 (September 2005) pp.103-104,106,108,110 – note (The 20 most overrated movies of all time?)
• Premiere vol.19 no.3 (November 2005) p.111 – DVD review (Classic DVD of the month: The Wizard of Oz Collector’s Ed. by Glenn Kenny)
• Premiere vol.19 no.8 (May 2006) pp.82-87 – Illustrated article (The Write Stuff: The 25 greatest screenplays of all time)
• Radio Times vol.280 no.3655 (29 January 1994) pp.44 – Illustrated article (by Barry Norman)
• Radio Times 6 June 2009 p.42 – illustrated article (Barry Norman’s Greatest Hits by Barry Norman)
• Screen International no.414 (1 October 1983) p.8 – note
• Sight & Sound vol.2 no.4 (August 1992) p.42 – review (A classic case by David Thompson)
• Sight & Sound vol.12 no.1 (January 2002) p.59 – Illustrated DVD review (Home movies: reviews: best DVD pack by GM [Geoffrey Macnab])
• Sight & Sound vol.19 no.12 (December 2009) p.90 – DVD review (Reviews: DVDs: The Wizard of OZ: 70th Anniversary Collector’s Edition by Kate Stables)
• Starburst no.31 (1981) pp.34-38 – article
• Starburst no.281 (January 2002) p.68 – Illustrated DVD review (The Wizard of Oz by Ian Atkins)
• Television Index vol.48 no.36 (6 May 1996) p.140 – credits
• Today’s Cinema vol.53 no.4354 (20 December 1939) – review
• TV Guide vol.48 no.27 (1 July 2000) pp.16-24; 26-28 – articles (Beyond The Yellow Brick Road by Gerald Clarke; Munchkin Reunion by Stephen Cox)
• Variety 9 November 1998 p.31 – Illustrated article (Enhanced reissue proves “Wizard” still works magic by Todd McCarthy)

Newspapers

• Diário de Notícias 31 December 1998 p.47 – review
• LA Weekly 20 December 1996 p.90 – article (L. Frank Baum’s Silent Film Collection by Paul Malcolm)
• The Orlando Sentinel (29 October 1996) p.A2 – article (Really Most Sincerely, Still a Munchkin by Leslie Doolittle)

Books

• 100 Cult Films by Ernest Mathijs & Xavier Mendik pp.230-231 – illustrated review by EM [Ernest Mathijs]
• 500 Essential Cult Movies: The Ultimate Guide by Jennifer Eiss with J.P. Rutter and Steve White p.175 – illustrated credits, synopsis, review
• Armchair Cinema: A History of Feature Films on British Television, 1929-1981 by Sheldon Hall p.64, 184, 223n, 258
• Cult Movies: A Hundred Ways to Find the Reel Thing by Danny Peary pp.390-393
• The Ghost of One’s Self: Doppelgangers in Mystery, Horror and Science Fiction Films by Paul Meehan p.94
• A Green and Pagan Land: Myth, Magic and Landscape in British Film and Television by David Huckvale pp.178
• Horror and Science Fiction Films II by Donald C. Willis p.436
• The Making of The Wizard of Oz: Movie Magic and Studio Power in the Prime of MGM and the Miracle of Production #1060 by Aljean Harmetz – articles
• The Munchkins Remember: The Wizard of Oz and Beyond by Stephen Cox – interviews
• Reference Guide to Fantastic Films by Walt Lee p.546; 547 – credits; still
• Sound Films, 1927-1939: A United States Filmography by Alan G. Fetrow pp.756-757
• The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy by David Pringle (general ed.) p.47-48 – illustrated credits, review
• The Wizard of Oz by Salman Rushdie – articles
• The Wizard of Oz: The Official 50th Anniversary Pictorial History by John Fricke, Jay Scarfone and William Stillman – articles

Other sources

• BFI Southbank Guide September 2010 p.17 – illustrated listing
• BFI Southbank Guide March 2013 p.20 – illustrated listing
• BFI Southbank Guide December 2019 pp.22, 51 – illustrated listings
• BFI Southbank Guide December 2022 p.36 – illustrated listing
• Gannett News Service 26 April 1990 – article (Defusing the Rumor of Oz by Marshall Fine)