The Wizard of Oz - 1939

<p>A Kansas farm girl swept by a tornado into the magical land of Oz teams up with a Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion to seek help from the Wizard, only to learn she had the power to go home all along.</p><p><strong>SHOW ESSENTIALS</strong></p><p>Director:Victor Fleming (uncredited: Cukor, Vidor, Thorpe, Taurog)</p><p>Stars:Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Billie Burke,Margaret Hamilton</p><p>Studio:MGM  | Runtime: 101 min  |  Released: Aug 25, 1939</p><p>Format:Sepia B&amp;W (Kansas) / three-strip Technicolor (Oz)</p><p>Awards:Best Original Song (&quot;Over the Rainbow&quot;) &amp; Best Original Score;inaugural National Film Registry inductee (1989)</p><p><br></p><p><strong>TRIVIA</strong></p><p>Ray Bolger swapped roles with Buddy Ebsen to play the Scarecrow; Ebsen&#39;s Tin Man aluminum-dust makeup poisoned his lungs and he was hospitalized and recast without explanation — his voice survives in the group vocals of “We&#39;re Off to See the Wizard.”</p><p>W.C. Fields turned down the Wizard over pay; Frank Morgan took it. Gale Sondergaard, cast as a glamorous Witch, dropped out when the role became the familiar green hag, and Margaret Hamilton stepped in.</p><p>Five directors touched the film: Richard Thorpe (fired for rushing scenes, and for giving Garland a blonde wig and baby-doll makeup), George Cukor (briefly reset her look), Victor Fleming (left to rescue Gone with the Wind), and King Vidor (uncredited, shot the last ten days — including “Over the Rainbow”).</p><p>Margaret Hamilton suffered second- and third-degree burns when a fire effect misfired; her stunt double, Betty Danko, was later injured in a similar smoke-effect accident. Winged Monkey performers were hurt when their rigging wire snapped.</p><p>Bert Lahr&#39;s real-fur Lion costume weighed about 90 pounds and became a sauna under the lights; crew dried it out nightly. Garland reportedly found the ruby slippers painful and wore soft rehearsal shoes off-camera.</p><p>The tornado was a 35-foot muslin windsock with fuller&#39;s earth blown at it. The Tin Man&#39;s “steam” was talcum powder; his joint oil was chocolate syrup. The “horse of a different color” was colored with gelatin, filmed fast before it could belicked off. </p><p>Asbestos created the Witch&#39;s broomstick flame and the poppy-field “snow.”</p><p>MGM nearly cut “Over the Rainbow” as too slow and sophisticated for children; it went on to win the Oscar. </p><p>The film lost money on its 1939 release and didn&#39;t turn a profit until a 1949 re-issue. Its 1956 TV premiere drew a 53% audience share and helped make it, per the Library of Congress, the most-viewed film in history.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>CONTACT</strong></p><p>ThePodTalkNetwork@gmail.com  | ThePodTalk.Net  |  YouTube: @FadetoChat</p><p></p>