Wizard of Oz

I don't intend to bash a world acclaimed classic. THE WIZARD OF OZ can't be judged by today's standards. Compared to movies made now, this movie made in 1939 seems pretty tame, and fairly innocuous. Dorothy, the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion are well known characters even by millions who have never SEEN this movie. The message is , and was intended to be, a simple truth. "There's no place like home." While that can be interpreted in more than one way, we presume this to be a GOOD thing.

Let's discuss why this movie is STILL being watched by millions. First of all, there is Frank Baum's story, which inspired the movie. Second there is a cast of many people who can do more than stand in front of a camera and look pretty. Watch the movie! They sing, they dance, they speak like theater actors (more characteristic in 1939)..and they participated until the end of their lives in active promotion for this one flick! For 1939, the budget of 2.6 million dollars was impressive. MGM made its' money back.

Another innovative side of this movie were the spectacular special effects, the amazingly artistic set designs, the choreography, the makeup and the score. Looking back on the special effects, and the way they were produced, I can't help but be impressed. The costumes and the makeup WERE impressive, and each munchkin costume was individually designed.

In addition. this movie has inspired me with 3 decades of Kansas bashing jokes. I don't really have a thing against the State, and the Kansas sky is unique in the universe. But I have designed t-shirts for friends who hail from Topeka with "Dorothy" logos.

"Em. Scr-w you, scr-w Kansas. Taking the dog". Or "If I die, I'll either go to Heaven or Kansas".

****

I probably don't need to review the plot, but it has become a habit. Overdeveloped Dorothy (a 10 year old with breasts), played by 16 year old Judy Garland, comes home to the farm with tales about the "mean old lady" Elmira Gulch (Margaret Hamilton) who has yelled at her because Toto, the spunky little mutt of the flick, has chased her cat. Em and Henry are busy with farm work and don't take time to listen to Dorothy. Elmira, having been nipped by the feisty Toto, comes for the dog. The dog escapes, and runs home to Dorothy.
Dorothy, knowing that Auntie Em will do the "right thing" and give up her dog, decides to vacate the premises. She runs away, meets a dirty old..no a kindly old man who convinces her that Auntie Em is grieving and gravely ill. Torn by guilt, Dorothy rushes home, and arrives about the same time as a tornado. You with me so far?

The tornado picks up the farmhouse with Dorothy and Toto inside and drops it in the land of Oz..right on top of the Wicked Witch of the East. All we see are her grotesquely striped socks, sticking out from under the house. Glinda, the Good Witch of the North comes floating in, and the munchkins come out and dance and sing. The Wicked Witch of the West makes an appearance, and the conflict of Good and Evil is firmly established. A glutton for punishment, Dorothy already wants to get home to Kansas.

Glinda in her infinite wisdom sets Dorothy on the path to Oz, and the wizard thereof, who will help her get home. Here begins the quest. Dorothy's quest for "home" is joined with the scarecrow's quest for "a brain", the Tin Man's quest for "a heart" and the Lion's quest for "courage". Here we go! All the virtues we will need to live a life of value, a brain, a heart and courage. Of course, money wouldn't hurt. Home is roughly equated with the residence of those who love you, in this case Em and Henry Gale, and the 3 friendly farmhands.

An adventure follows, and with it come some of the most well worn cliches of the twentieth century. In life, we are to stay ON THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD. We are to avoid stealing apples, poppy fields, and above all, flying monkeys. We will DEMAND what we want from the wizard. We will find our own way home. I still have echoes of "LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS, OH MY" being passed through cell to cell in my grey matter. I still sing "Over the Rainbow", as I learned it and taught it to my own daughter. So, the movie replays over and over.

NOW, LET ME GIVE YOU A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE ON THE MOVIE

I first saw this movie about 20 years after it appeared in Movie Theaters. I saw it on television in black and white, (surprise! Not everyone HAD a color TV in 1960!) And it scared me, and fascinated me. I still have nightmares about the flying monkeys, and I fear buckets of water, always reliving the "melting" scene.

Without the pleasantly cheerful aspect of "color", which appears in the OZ aspect of this movie, things that now seem mundane were terrifying.
I did not see this movie in color until the mid seventies, when I took my own daughter to Radio City music Hall to view it. I will always believe it is color that removed my terror.

FROM THE MEMORIES OF AN EIGHT YEAR OLD

1) ELMIRA GULCH and the Taking of Toto. While I had some sympathy for the cat Toto chased, and the bite on the old girl's leg, I was terrified for the dog. I had already had a similar experience with a bully in the neighborhood who taunted my dog until he received a well deserved bite. I worried much that Toto would be put to sleep should they return. Em reminded me of my own Grandmother, who also had the ability to inspire guilt in an eight year old.

2) THE MUNCHKINS and their gloating about the smashed up witch. There was something ominous about their presence to me, especially without the reassurance of the bright cheerful colors. The Prussian uniforms bothered me, and for at least a year I suspected that munchkins were masquerading as class mates in my school.

3) THE TWISTER.
Within a year of seeing this movie, I witnessed a small tornado rip across the Rocky River Valley from the front yard of friends we were visiting. Did I fear being picked up and landing in Oz, or worse, Kansas? You bet I did!

4) THE EVIL APPLE TREES that grabbed Dorothy when she went to pick an apple cured me of stealing apples forever.

5) THE EVIL WITCH OF THE WEST As some later friends of mine pointed out, it blew the image of coven participants forever. Glinda , who withheld information from Dorothy did not prove to be much of a role model for "good" witches, either, although I secretly hoped to look just like her when I grew up. I made a magic wand for just that eventuality.

6) THE HAUNTED FOREST was much scarier in black and white. You'll have to trust me on this.

7) THE "RUSSIAN GUARDS" at the WICKED WEST castle were pretty scary, with their voluminous uniforms and their goose-stepping marching around. I thought they were singing about OREO cookies, though.

8) THE FLYING MONKEYS were some of the scariest creatures ever created in a movie studio, for me. Because they never said a word in the flick, were capable of flying, carried Dorothy off to "jail", and stood by the Witch's side nodding their evil little heads, they were the personification of the bad that can happen to you. If I glance up over my shoulder while walking alone in the dark, I am still watching out for flying monkeys.

9) THE MELTING SCENE That still scares me to this day. How COULD such a good little girl do such a thing? Of course, in today's movies, old WW would have been the victim of her own childhood, and on Prozac.

On top of that the "hour glass " haunts me still. I still see those sands drifting through, and will always wonder why she didn't turn the darn thing over. I guess we can't escape the passage of time. Although this movie was one of the most powerful experiences of my eight year old life, I can't say I "love it", because I never did find out about the Good Witch of the South. Where was she when Glinda needed her? Where?