The Wizard of Oz movie- Page 2

[luvliza89]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 9:38pm

There is not a moment of my life that I can recall, that I didn't love all things Oz. The movie (of course), the Baum books, the Thompson books, the collectables, etc. Oz has been my world for a full 18 years. We are both very happy together :)

Oz bedroom love <3

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 9:41pm

What a marvelous collection!!!

*applauds*

I'm glad to know there are others out there on BWW who share my passion.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 9:42pm

I have to say that after I saw Wicked, I put on The Wizard of Oz and fast forwarded to all of the scenes featuring Elphaba (that's right, I'm calling her Elphaba now!!!!) and thought, "You poor kid."

[BlueforBroadway]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 9:47pm

I love the munchkins and that whole scene. I know it word for word and love singing along with the movie.

It's always been my favorite.

Love "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". First time I heard it, I went off and starting singing it and my brothers said I sounded just like Dorothy.

Always wanted to find a place where there isn't any trouble.

[Emcee4ever]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 9:53pm

Do you know about the Jitterbug? It was a cut scene that took a lot of money to make. The Jitterbug is referenced in the film when the witch says 'I've sent a little insect on ahead to take the fight out of them!'

The Jitterbug itself was going to be a pink, furry mosquito like creature that bit Dorothy and company and made them do a frenzied, jivey dance in the Haunted Forest.

Here's the script of the cut scene, and videos of it.


(Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion are walking forward thru Haunted Forest. The Jitterbug lands on the Lion's nose.)

Lion:
(yells and growls) What's that? What's that? Take it away- take it away- Take it away! (cries)

Tin Man:
Hold still- hold still-- (slaps Jitterbug away)

Dorothy:
(jumps as the Jitterbug bites her leg) Oh! Something bit me, too!

Tin Man:
Now come on - you're acting silly -- (yells as the Jitterbug lands on his neck, Dorothy takes bug off)

Scarecrow:
Oh, come on now - everybody -- (yells as bug bites him, Scarecrow jumps in the air, falls to ground, and jumps up again)


(the trees quiver and make noise.)


Singing:


Dorothy:
Did you just hear what I just heard?

Lion:
That noise don't come from no ordinary bird.

Dorothy:
It may be just a cricket
Or a critter in the trees.

Tin Man:
It's giving me the jitters
In the joints around my knees.

Scarecrow:
Oh, I think I see a jijik
And he's fuzzy and he's furry
I haven't got a brain
But I think I ought to worry!


Tin Man:
I haven't got a heart
But I got a palpitation.

Lion:
As Monarch of the Forest
I don't like the situation.

Dorothy:
Are you gonna stand around
And let 'em fill us full of horror?

Lion:
I'd like to roar 'em down --
But I think I lost my roarer.


All run around, then huddle together.


Tin Man:
It's a whozis.
Scarecrow:
It's a whozis?
Lion:
It's a whatzis.
Tin Man:
It's a whatzis?
Lion:
Whozat?
Tin Man:
Whozat?
Scarecrow:
Whozat?


Dorothy dances and sings.


Dorothy:
Whozat?
Who's that hiding
In the tree top?
It's that rascal
The Jitter Bug.
Should you catch him
Buzzin' round you
Keep away from
The Jitter Bug!


All dance.


Dorothy:
Oh, the bats
And the bees
And the breeze in the trees
Have a terrible, horrible buzz.
But the bats and the bees
And the breeze in the trees
Couldn't do what the Jitter Bug does.
So be careful
Of that rascal
Keep away from--

Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion:
--The Jitter Bug! Oh, the Jitter-
Oh, the Bug
Oh, the Jitter-
All:

Bug-bug-a-bug-bug-bug-bug-bug-a-boo!


(Lion runs over by a tree. The tree catches hold of Lion's tail. Scarecrow runs to release the tail, and the tree grabs Scarecrow. He gets free and runs to Dorothy held by another tree. Tin Man starts to chop at the tree, and a limb of the tree hits him over the head. He staggers and throws the axe, as they are singing...)


All:
In a twitter
In the throes

Scarecrow:
Oh, the critter's
Got me dancin' on a thousand toes.

Tin Man:
Thar she blows!


(All dance with each other, as the trees move in rhythm with the music.)


(The music stops as the army of the Winged Monkeys flies over the Haunted Forest, and the four look up. The Winged Monkeys fly down into the forest to capture the four.)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbA83Fqfh8E&mode=related&search=

Here's a school video of the Wicked Witch singing it XD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4PAdRvWxJ8&mode=related&search=

[mateo]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 10:01pm

I am glad jitterbug was cut- it dates the film like crazy. Not that the art deco Emerald City doesn't- but this even more.


When I was younger I was fascinated by the Blonde wig and everything to do with "Thorpe Footage."

[AStack75]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 10:04pm

They included "Jitterbug" in the Wizard of Oz in Concert. I didn't realize until now that that was actually a deleted scene of the original movie.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114964/

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 10:20pm

This is probably one of my favorite movies. I loved it since I was three. And I idolized Ray Bolger (so much that, when I was little, every time he would sing "I fi only Had A Brain, I would get up and the dance and sing).

[StageManager2]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 10:39pm

Hey, paisans!

I actually still have a cassette of little me singing "Over the Rainbow" a cappella into the tape recorder. At the time, I didn't know the entire lyrics, so it's kinda funny listening to me make up words as I sing along.

Mattbrain: That's blasphemy!

Updated On: 10/22/06 at 10:39 PM

[thejcm]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 11:13pm

mateo - do you know of any good online places to read about/look at things about the "Thorpe Footage"? I too have always been fascinated by it but I never know where to start to look for anything about it other than the 3disc dvd that I got for Christmas.

[Caroline-Q-or-TBoo]

Posted: 10/21/06 at 11:14pm

I know... I know... how weird am I!?!?!

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/22/06 at 9:39am

Yes, I agree with the decision to cut The Jitterbug sequence out of the film. In addition to the trendy dance "dating" the film, the song would have slowed the plot to a screeching halt, which is something they so smartly had avoided throughout the picture. So, it was a wise decision to remove it. The only stupid decision was throwing the negative (and even all prints of it) away! I would love to have seen it as a "curiosity," particularly since they spent SO much time and money on it. There is a brief peek at a rehearsal of the number, shot by Harold Arlen who was taking home movies on the set. You can find that on the DVD releases, but that's it. Even that short bit of film shows me the number wasn't necessary, no matter how fun it is to see them all dancing around and "cutting a rug," as it were. (Kind of a mood-killer in the Haunted Forest as well!)

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 10/22/06 at 11:03am

Wasn't there also a big musical production number showing Dorothy and her friends returning to the Emerald City with the broom of the Wicked Witch? Supposedly it was cut from the finished film because it would have made the film too long. Is there any footage of that number that has survived? Out-takes are so much fun to see or at least to hear about.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/22/06 at 11:41am

No footage, sadly... except for one solitary shot of the "triumphant procession" (as it was called) in one of the film's trailers. If you blink, you miss it. But it's there. You'll see the crowds in the Emerald City cheering, while a marching band of life-sized "toy soldiers" (again, as they were called) plays "Ding Dong, The Witch Is Dead." The audio track exists for part of the chorus section, as well as a Winkie audio test (since the Winkies in the witch's castle kick the reprise off). They've been cobbled together along with a few production stills of the lost scene for the DVD releases.

Again, as nice and elaborately expensive as it was, it's not needed, and it introduces a mood of levity that doesn't work at that point. Even though the foursome has killed the witch, they still haven't presented her broomstick to the Wizard, and the "party time" atmosphere is a bit premature for them and their cause. It ain't over yet, as the saying goes... and this joyous scene pretty much indicated that it WAS over. I can see why they cut it for several reasons, not just length.

But, I still can't see why the footage was destroyed though! This scene (like the Jitterbug) took weeks of rehearsal, and it cost a lot to film.

The best explanation that anyone can offer is that film studios weren't thinking in terms of "legacy" or historical preservation back then. Not remotely. They were releasing modern films for modern audiences. Everything was done "for the moment." It wasn't until many years later that they realized some of these films would be viewed as timeless classics, and could be re-released for new generations to enjoy and fall in love with. And by then, it was too late to go digging around the trash bins for things like discarded footage.

Updated On: 10/22/06 at 11:41 AM

[Emcee4ever]

Posted: 10/22/06 at 1:22pm

Anyone notice how ugly the Ruby Slippers look on the Wicked Witch of the East? I know there were different pairs of Ruby Slippers, but they look ugly on her feet.



But they look great on Dorothy's feet!



Updated On: 10/22/06 at 01:22 PM

[StageManager2]

Posted: 10/22/06 at 4:26pm

best12bars: While I am glad they cut "The Jitterbug" (never cared for the song -- you're right, it would've slowed down the movie tremendously) I would've preferred that they left the reprise of "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead!" (titled "Ding-Dong! Emerald City" on the soundtrack I own) because it brings the movie full circle, in a way.

The medley is started by the Winkie who'd given Dorothy the broomstick (in the original novel, the Winkies had been held captive by the witch) and then the scene jumps directly to the Emerald City, where the citizens of Oz are joyfully/gratefully escorting Dorothy and her friends to the Wizard's throne room in a scene reminiscent of Munchkinland.

WINKIE:
Hail! hail! The witch is dead
Which old witch? The wicked witch
Hail! hail! The wicked witch is dead

Hail! Hail! The witch is dead
Which old witch? The wicked witch

(Emerald City)

CITIZENS OF OZ:
Hail! Hail! The wicked witch is dead
She's gone where the goblins go
Below, below, below
Yo-ho! Let's open up and sing
And ring the bells out
Ding-dong! The merry-oh
Sing it high, sing it low
Let him know the wicked witch is dead

Ding-dong! The witch is dead
Which old witch? The wicked witch
Hail! Hail! The wicked witch is dead

Ha! Ha! Ha! Ho! Ho! Ho!
And a couple of tra-la-las
Ha! Ha! Ha! Ho! Ho! Ho!
The merry old land of Oz

She's gone where the goblins go
Below, below, below
Yo-ho! Let's open up and sing
And ring the bells out

You're off to see the Wizard
The wonderful Wizard of Oz

Let him know the wicked witch is dead

Hail! The wicked old witch is dead

* * *

On that same note, I also wish they'd kept the "Over the Rainbow" reprise. Dorothy was supposed to have sung it while she was being held captive in the witch's castle. (Apparently, Judy's tearful performance was deemed too heart-breaking.)

DOROTHY:
Someday I'll wake and rub my eyes
And in that land beyond the skies you'll find me
I'll be a laughing daffodil
And leave the silly cares that fill
My mind behind me.

If happy little bluebirds fly
Beyond the rainbow,
Why oh why can't I?

Updated On: 10/22/06 at 04:26 PM

[roquat]

Posted: 10/22/06 at 5:03pm

Strangely enough, the original authors said they were not specifically echoing the "jitterbug" dance craze (which hadn't really begun yet.) The number was cut, not only for length, but because the comedy in it diluted the terror of the journey to the Witch's castle. Yet there's a seam in the editing; when the Witch orders the monkeys to bring her Dorothy, she says, "They'll give you no trouble, I promise you that! I'll send little insects on ahead to take the fight out of them!"--a specific reference to the Jitter "bugs", which the editors forgot to take out.

Another seam (for hopeless Oz trivia buffs like luvliza and best12bars)--in the book, the Witch controls the monkeys by means of a magical Golden Cap. This concept remained in the movie at first--after the Deadly Poppy Field scene, there was a scene where the Witch used the Golden Cap to summon the monkeys and told them to fly to the Poppy Field and steal the slippers. In the finished film, the notion of the Golden Cap was cut out, but in the fragment of the scene that remains ("Curses! Curses! Somebody always helps that girl!") the head Monkey hands the Cap to the Witch, who flings it across the room as she cries "Woe to those who try to stop me!!!!"

[punk ballerina]

Posted: 10/22/06 at 6:07pm

Its a good movie. The first time I saw it when I was 5, the flying monkeys scared the daylights out of me.
But no, I'm over it!

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 10/22/06 at 6:16pm

I never understood the appeal of this film. It's horribly miscast (Judy Garland is about 12 years too old), and the musical sounds like it was written by a first year music student. The colors are garish, and the effects, even for 1939, are laughably cheap. On top of that, the story is utterly ridiculous, and the characters are all so annoying. I think it's only popular because they showed it on television for so many years, and it just became a habit. People like to remember things from their childhood, even if they are really poor quality snore-fests like THE WIZARD OF OZ



























Just kidding!

[StageManager2]

Posted: 10/22/06 at 6:18pm

Please! You wanna talk "poor quality snore-fests"?

I present you Exhibit A: the OKLAHOMA! movie.

Updated On: 10/22/06 at 06:18 PM

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 10/22/06 at 6:23pm

Why are you turning this thread into an OKLAHOMA!-bashing thread?

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 10/22/06 at 7:36pm

StageManager2, thanks for the details on "Ding Dong Emerald City". I never knew any details about the cut number before.

JohnBoy2, having referred to myself as a curmudgeon for disliking DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRALS on another thread, I was about to lable you that way too until I saw your disclaimer at the bottom of your entry. As for the garish colors, remember this was early technicolor with slow film that had really bright colors under lots of light. It is said that the temperature on the sets reached over 110 degrees under the hot lights. Imagine the poor Cowardly Lion. As for the special effects, I think they are pretty terrific: the tornado scene; the images going by the window, especially the transition of Miss Gulch on a bicycle into the witch on her broomstick, as the house travels to Oz; the transition from sepia-tone to technicolor when Dorothy opens the door in Oz; the arrivals and departures of the good and bad witches; the flying monkies; and the fire and smoke surrounding the dis-embodied Wizard in the throne room. I have to admit, I am having fun writing all of this, not having seen the film in many years.Maybe I should buy the DVD set which has been talked about on this thread. What does it consist of?

[Luvinbroadway]

Posted: 10/22/06 at 8:08pm

Best 12bars,
PLEASE be my husband..I always love your posts..but your love for OZ...I'm fainting!
:)

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/22/06 at 8:21pm

Luvinbroadway---happily so!

And roquat! I haven't seen you around in quite a while. As anyone who knows the "Oz" books will tell you... this is a hard-core fan! Just look at his "name!"

Glad to have you back among us!

And SM2 and all others... I'm glad I'm not the only Oz geek around.

I guess above all else, this shows me the power of great storytelling. It has bonded so many people together over many generations. And the passion that it generates among all of us... well, that's the main reason I joined BWW to begin with. To share that passion with other people.

Hugs to all.

[Raviolisun]

Posted: 10/22/06 at 8:38pm

I remember being little and running up the stairs when the Wicked Witch of the West came on. There's a reason why she was named one of the best villains in cinema history.