I remember a time when it was an annual event that The Wizard of Oz would be broadcast on network television, and if you missed it, you had to wait another year for a chance to watch it. This was before VCRs were mainstream, and there were no options to buy a copy to watch whenever you wanted. That made viewing this movie almost as much of an event as it was when it first landed in theaters back in 1939. Modern audiences don’t fully understand the way things used to be when a film would be in theaters and then disappear, seemingly forever. Television changed that, and home media changed that even more. For me, it wasn’t until The Wizard of Oz received a remaster in 2009 that I ever owned a copy of it and could rewatch it again and again, familiarizing myself deeply with this story that had so enchanted me all those years ago.
To a degree, making a film as readily available as this one now is takes a little of the magic away, especially now that it is so crystal clear on screen that it betrays some of the movie magic. I cannot watch this movie anymore without noticing the trap door in the yellow brick road that the Wicked Witch of the West escapes through in Munchkin land, unsuccessfully hidden by a puff of red smoke, or how every scene in the Land of Oz ends on a painted backdrop just a few feet away from the actors. This stuff was virtually invisible on the small screens of my childhood, but when watched in 4K projected at 150”, it was impossible to miss. Seams and all, though, I would rather see it like this than have the effects touched up with modern CGI; the dated effects are part of its charm.
Most of us are familiar to one degree or another with the story. Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) arrives home to her aunt’s family farm, upset because neighbor and owner of half the county, Almira Gulch (Margaret Hamilton), has had enough of Dorothy’s pet dog Toto (Terry) chasing her cat; this last incident ended with Toto biting her. Almira arrives shortly afterwards with a writ giving her the authority to take Toto away to be destroyed. When Toto escapes her custody, Dorothy takes him and runs away lest Almira returns for him again. Dorothy runs into a traveling stage magician and crystal ball gazer, Professor Marvel (Frank Morgan), who ascertains what she is doing and tricks her into returning home. But a tornado has appeared in the sky and Dorothy’s family, Aunt Em (Clara Blandick) and Uncle Henry (Charley Grapewin), along with the farm hands Hunk (Ray Bolger), Zeke (Bert Lahr), and Hickory (Jack Haley), have already taken shelter in the storm cellar. Dorothy is forced to hide in the house instead but is hit over the head as the tornado comes through, knocking her out.
When she awakes, the house is inside the tornado. Shortly afterwards, it lands in the Land of Oz, a technicolor world where munchkins and witches exist. Her house has landed on one of these witches, the Wicked Witch of the East. Glenda the Good Witch arrives and magically places the Wicked Witch of the East’s ruby slippers on Dorothy’s feet, thwarting the Wicked Witch of the West, who wants the slippers for herself. Glenda then sets Dorothy on a trip down the yellow brick road to the Emerald City to see the Wizard of Oz about getting back home. Along the way, she picks up several new friends, each feeling they lack something to make themselves whole and hoping the Wizard will grant them that item once they see him. Along the way, they will be tormented by the Witch of the West as well as an unexpected task once they finally do meet the Wizard.
It’s hard to believe when watching this film that it is as old as it is. It is coming up on its 90th anniversary, yet it is as fresh today as it was then. There are very few movies from the 1930s that manage to avoid feeling dated, and while there is no doubt this is an older film, it is miles ahead of most everything else that came out around the time. The closest we have to a rival is Gone With The Wind, which also released in 1939 and beat it at the Oscars, but that film, as grand as it is, has very dated views on racial relations and the South’s part in the Civil War. By avoiding politics and worldviews, The Wizard of Oz has a timeless feel to it that Gone With The Wind does not have.
One thing we didn’t know while growing up watching this film is the dark side behind the scenes. In more modern days, much has been said about the treatment Judy Garland went through while filming it. Judy was hired because of contractual issues, beating out Shirley Temple and Deanna Durbin, who was a relative newcomer at the time. Judy Garland has been the subject of much attention in the years since filming in regard to widespread abuse from the studio and other heads of departments, including derogatory comments about her body shape and size. To hide that she was maturing physically, binding tape was utilized as well as Benzedrine tablets to keep her weight down. On top of that, she was also given uppers that gave her giggling fits and downers at the end of the day so that she could get to sleep. The whole shoot had to have been torture for her, but you wouldn’t be able to tell just by watching her performance. All of this left a permanent impression on the young girl and she was never quite able to shake it off into adulthood.
The horror stories were not all about Judy Garland, either. Margaret Hamilton suffered burns when her makeup caught fire; then her stunt double suffered the same fate. Buddy Ebsen, the original Tin Woodsman, suffered a toxic reaction to the makeup from inhaling the aluminum dust and had to quit mid-filming; the studios passed this off as a mere allergic reaction. His replacement, Jack Haley, was given a coating of clown makeup underneath the aluminum to try and protect him but still suffered a severe reaction in his eye from it. Yet they all soldiered on and, with the exception of poor Judy Garland, managed to avoid any long-term effects from the shoot.
All of these things I have learned over the years as I watched and studied this film, and while it should affect my ability to enjoy this movie, it doesn’t. I can feel bad about what has happened behind the scenes but not about the film itself. We’ve all heard “separate the art from the artist,” and that definitely applies on some level in this case. Not once during my viewing of it earlier today was I thinking about any of that stuff. Maybe I should be thinking about it while watching the film, but the movie is so good that I find myself lost in it as it unfolds. Even as an adult, I find myself drawn into what amounts to a very basic story, laughing at the pratfalls of the Scarecrow, the stiffness of the Tin Woodsman’s dancing, and the absurdity of the Cowardly Lion, each demonstrating throughout the picture that what they believe they lack they have had all along. Even scenes like the attack from the flying monkeys that frightened me as a young child work on some level, and I can marvel at the effortless effects of seeing obvious actors swooping in to grab Dorothy and juxtaposed with obvious animatronics flying away in the distance. It’s cheesy, but it’s still effective.
With the release of Wicked, Part One in theaters just a few months ago, and the second half this November, there is a renewed interest in The Wizard of Oz. It’s 86 years old this year, yet the youth of today are still watching it and finding enjoyment in it. That is a tribute to the timelessness of this film and this concept. It has been remade a handful of times and even a sequel of sorts made by Disney in the 1980s, but none of these have captured the magic, the beauty, and the atmosphere of this film, and I don’t think there ever will be a remake that will live up to its legacy. The Wizard of Oz is quite frankly one of the greatest movies of all time.
Academy Award Nominations:
Outstanding Production: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Best Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons and William A. Horning
Best Original Score: Herbert Stothart (won)
Best Original Song: “Over the Rainbow” Music by Harold Arlen; Lyrics by E. Y. Harburg (won)
Best Special Effects: A. Arnold Gillispie and Douglas Shearer
Academy Juvenile Award: Judy Garland (honorary)
____________________________________________________
Release Date: August 25, 1939
Running Time: 102 minutes
Not Rated
Starring: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton, Charley Grapewin, and the Munchkins
Directed By: Victor Fleming
Comments
Post a Comment