10 Things You Never Noticed About The Wizard of Oz

[best12bars]

A lot of Oz book fans (and there were a lot more people who grew up on them in 1939) were not happy that it was "only a dream" in the movie. That was one of the biggest criticisms at the time.

[TheatreDiva90016]

I think the film ending is open to your own interpretation.

And that other ending negates Dorothy's final line, "There's no place like home"

[Kad]

I like the idea that all of Oz was already in herself, representing her own positive and negative feelings and memories.

[best12bars]

Don't get me wrong. I love the movie, and I don't mind anything about the adaptation of the material in the least.

I think it works brilliantly as its own creation, based on the book. And yes, I even like the dream concept.

... but it pissed off purists in its day. Just like people don't like it today when they adapt beloved material for the screen.

[EricMontreal22]

It drove me crazy as a kid (the many other changes didn't, for whatever reason.) But I've come to terms with it :P

[landryjames2]

I never believed for a second that Dorothy didn't really go to Oz (in the movie). I overheard my sister ask my mom once "Did Dorothy really go to Oz?" My mom replied--"Of course." (This could- of course- been because of years of conditioning by me).

Anyway, despite the "purists" I still think the movie is a very faithful adaptation to the book. Very.

[CarlosAlberto]

THE WIZARD OF OZ is one of two films that I keep permanently on my iPad.

[Mister Matt]

In my own mind as a kid, I always justified the ending thusly: Glinda enchanted Dorothy to make her believe it was all a dream in order to teach her a valuable lesson.

[beautywickedlover]

75 years ago today, the movie had its Hollywood premiere. Here are 7 unknown facts about the film.


7 Things You Didn't Know About 'The Wizard Of Oz,' Even If It's Your Favorite Movie

[BobbyBubbi]

Numbers 2, 5 and 9 on the huff list were news to me.

Shameless plug while we're talking Oz-

My friend is shooting a short documentary about one of the pairs of Ruby Slippers that were stolen back in 2005 from The Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, MN-

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/75328422/who-stole-the-ruby-slippers

Not sure when he will be done with it, but I'll keep those interested posted.

[broadwayguy2]

Actually, the Ruby Slipper reveal in ALW's bastardization is the ONE thing he did that I liked, though I question the execution.

[AEA AGMA SM]

The idea of the ruby slipper reveal is also not that original. Well before that production you would often find people on the internet who claimed that they, or a friend, or a friend of a friend (you get the gist) once saw a version of the movie that ended like that, but that the studio cut it and it was never seen again (except by these people who somehow managed to see footage that never existed).

[Tag]

^I can't remember the reveal?? Was it that they were in her closet or something?

[Jon]

The movie of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang pulled the same "dream" crap. In the book, Potts finds an old car and rebuilds it so it flies like a plane and floats like a boat. In the movie, he finds an old car and fixes it up so it looks nice, and drives like a car. He takes the kids and "Truly Scrumtious" on a drive to the seashore, and then he tells them a fantastic story in which the car flies and floats.

[missthemountains]

Thank you guys for a throughly entertaining half hour of interneting about this. Whoever ever caught that the Munchkin hanging is fake has a really good eye. As a long-term Oz fan who has always discredited that rumor, that footage did make me second guess for a second.

I hate that it ends with Dorothy waking up as a dream, I always loved the idea that she had to go through the sky to get there at all. That's why I much prefer Return to Oz, though I know most Oz fans/people in general don't.

Also can we quickly take the time to say that any Oz related film to have come out in the last ten years has royally sucked? I really wish people would just stick to the source material. I've also been saying for years I would love to see a live-action mini series that was actually faithful to the original books. The essence of the original weird and whimsical tone still hasn't been 100% captured on screen yet. The MGM movie is both a blessing and a curse I feel. While it is a wonderful film, it totally constricted anything Oz-related that came out after because of inevitable comparison.

[SNAFU]

One thing that has always bothered me about the film, was that the dousing of the Wicked Witch was a "mistake" for which Dorothy feels to need to appologize for. In the book, it was deliberate!

[NoName3]

[beautywickedlover]

Here's what Dorothy's hair was originally going to look like.




Watch the Story Behind the 'Wizard of Oz' You Never Got to See

[BobbyBubbi]

WOW! Thanks for the link and the photo WickedLover.

I've been a huge Oz fan my whole life (primarily the film, but I've read all the books, too) and consider myself to be pretty informed, but I've never seen a /color/ image of Judy in the blonde wig before. Also the backlot footage of her wearing it is fascinating!

I also never knew some of Margaret Hamilton's scenes were cut/ made shorter. Does any footage of this still exist?

[AEA AGMA SM]

I would guess that none of it does, as by this point it surely would have turned up in one of the numerous DVD or Blu-ray releases. As far as I know the only actual footage that was cut and still exists is the extended dance for Ray Bolger in "If I Only Had a Brain." Anything else is home movie footage, like the Harold Arlen footage of a "Jitterbug" rehearsal that's been overdubbed with the soundtrack recording of the song to give some idea of what the number would have looked like.

[broadwayguy2]

You are right, AEA. Those are the only two things that exist.
The DIC animated series in the early 90s where Dorothy goes back to Oz, the opening credits feature Dorothy finding the slippers in her closet. So, as well everything else he has written, it was Webber borrowing ideas.
I never liked the dream concept and did my best to reason it away in a Narnia fashion - time travels at a different speed and Dorothy's heelicks also returned and restored the house.
MGM's Oz is a "very" faithful adaption? I completely disagree, though it was fair more faithful than their early drafts and earlier film / stage versions.
Most fans lf the book really appreciate Return to Oz, despite it's flaws.

[beautywickedlover]

"You are right, AEA. Those are the only two things that exist.
The DIC animated series in the early 90s where Dorothy goes back to Oz, the opening credits feature Dorothy finding the slippers in her closet."

I used to like that cartoon as a kid, but as I entered my preteens I did not like what the did with it. Adding new lyrics to "We're Off to See the Wizard", "If I only Had a Brain/Heart/Nerve", and "Merry Old Land Oz" almost made me dislike the songs. They also ignored the dream concept. 'Journey Back to Oz' works better as a sequel since Dorothy has a head injury again and before that Aunt Em tells her that but after Dorothy wakes up, she and Aunt Em embrace and everything is all right. She and Uncle Henry never wanted to give her electric shock therapy like in 'Return to Oz'. That movie was much too spooky and dark for me, especially with the Mombi and the Wheelers.

[Tag]

You can also catch a glimpse of the deleted Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead parade scene in the original trailer.
Which you can see at 0:37secs here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNugTWHnSfw

[beautywickedlover]

Here is a photo of the cast and crew having a goodbye party for Victor Fleming. He was leaving to do 'Gone With the Wind' and King Vidor finished this movie.



http://www.thejudyroom.com/oz/photos/pictures/flemingparty.html

ETA: Here is another testing of unused hair and dress styles for Dorothy.



http://www.thejudyroom.com/oz/photos/pictures/dp-20.html

[broadwayguy2]

I *loved* that the DIC cartoon ignored the dream concept. That is the thing that grates me most in the MGM film. The animated series had many flaws, that was not one.

[Tag]

Who's beside Judy in the Fleming pic? Bobbie Koshay in the Dorothy costume? Can anyone shed some light on why there were 2 doubles/stand-ins? Koshay and Caren Marsh? Does a picture exist of all three of them together?