Off Shore Muse

The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Based on the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming, who left the production to take over the troubled Gone with the Wind. It starred Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale, Ray Bolger as the Scarecrow, Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion, Jack Haley as the Tin Man, Billie Burke as Glinda, the Good Witch of the North and Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West and Frank Morgan as the Wizard. The music was composed by Harold Arlen and adapted by Herbert Stothart with lyrics by Edgar "Yip" Harburg.

Margaret Hamilton was a former schoolteacher and worked as a character actress in films for seven years before she was offered the role that truly defined her public image. Hamilton appeared in films and made frequent cameo appearances on television sitcoms and commercials. She never put herself under contract to any one studio and priced her services at $1,000 a week which is $21,200 in today's money.

On December 23, 1938 Hamilton suffered a second-degree burn on her face and a third-degree burn on her hand during a second take of her fiery exit from Munchkinland in which the trap door's drop was delayed to eliminate the brief glimpse of it seen in the final edit. Hamilton had to recuperate in a hospital and at home for six weeks after the accident before returning to the set to complete her work on the film. She refused to have anything further to do with fire for the rest of the filming. Garland visited Hamilton while she recuperated at home. Later in life, Hamiton would comment on the role of the witch in a light-hearted fashion. During one interview, she joked with these words..

I was in need of money at the time. I had done about six pictures for MGM at the time and my agent called. I said, 'Yes?' and he said 'Margie, they want you to play a part in the Wizard. 'I said to myself, 'Oh boy, The Wizard of Oz! That has been my favorite book since I was four.' And I asked him what part and he said, 'The Witch' and I said, 'The Witch?!' and he said, 'What else?'

The release date for the film was August 25, 1939. The Wizard of Oz is celebrated for its use of Technicolor, fantasy storytelling, musical score and memorable characters. It was a critical success and was nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture and winning Best Original Song for Over the Rainbow. The 1956 television broadcast premiere of the film on CBS reintroduced the film to the public. According to the U.S. Library of Congress, it is the most seen film in movie history. MGM sold the rights to televise the film for $225,000 (equivalent to $1.93 million in 2023) per broadcast! It was first shown on television on November 3, 1956. It was a ratings success with a Nielsen rating of 33.9 and an audience share of 53%. It was repeated on December 13, 1959 and gained an even larger television audience with a Nielsen rating of 36.5 and an audience share of 58%. It became an annual television tradition. The UK television premiere was on December 25, 1975. The estimated UK television audience was 20 million! The first DVD release was on March 26, 1997 by MGM/Turner. On October 19, 1999 The Wizard of Oz was re-released by Warner Bros. to celebrate the film's 60th anniversary. The film was released on Blu-ray on September 29, 2009 for its 70th anniversary. The film was presented in theatres on June 5, 2022 and June 6 2022 to celebrate Judy Garland's 100th birthday.

Arnold Gillespie, the film's special effects director employed several techniques. Developing the tornado scene was especially costly. Gillespie used muslin cloth to make the tornado flexible after a previous attempt with rubber failed. He hung the 35 feet of muslin from a steel gantry and connected the bottom to a rod. By moving the gantry and rod, he was able to create the illusion of a tornado moving across the stage. Dorothy's house was recreated using a model.

The Cowardly Lion and Scarecrow masks were made of foam latex makeup created by makeup artist, Jack Dawn. Dawn was one of the first to use this technique. It took an hour each day to slowly peel Bolger's glued-on mask from his face, a process that eventually left permanent lines around his mouth and chin. The costume for Bert Lahr was made from real lion skin and fur. Due to the heavy makeup, Lahr could only consume soup and milkshakes on break, which eventually made him sick. After a few months, Lahr put his foot down and requested normal meals along with the makup redos after lunch!

The Tin Man's costume was made of leather-covered buckram (stiff cotton) and the oil used to grease his joints was made from chocolate syrup.

Asbestos was used to achieve some of the special effects such as the witch's burning broomstick and the fake snow that covers Dorothy as she sleeps in the field of poppies.

An original pair of the ruby red slippers on display

at the

Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

Because of their iconic stature, the ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in the film are now among the most treasured and valuable film memorabilia in movie history! Dorothy actually wore silver slippers in the book series, but the color was changed to ruby to take advantage of the new technicolor process. MGM's chief customer designer was responsible for the final design. Five known pairs of the slippers exist. Another, differently styled pair, and not used in the film was sold at auction by actress Debbie Reynolds for $510,000 in June of 2011.