Back in 1900 a young writer named L. Frank Baum wrote a series of 18 books called, The Books of Oz. One of these books was named The Wizard of Oz. In about 1937 Movie mogul Louis B. Mayer (Of MGM studios) purchased the rights to this book and so began the journey of Dorothy.
The cast included: Judy Garland as Dorothy.
Ray Bolger as The Scarcrow
Jack haley as The Tin Woodsman
Bert Laher as The Cowardly Lion
Margaret Hamilton as The Wicked Witch
Billie Burke as Glenda, the Good Witch
Frank Morgan as The Wizard.......
and a cast of 100’s of little people as The Munchkins.
The movie follows Dorothy from her home in Kansas(filmed in black and white) to Oz (filmed in color.) It is all done in a dream sequence after Dorothy hets hit in the head during a tornado.
Each cast member(except Dorothy) plays a dual role in the movie. One role being the real life person and the other a character in her dream.
During her dream, Dorothy encounters a strange(to say the least) combination of characters on her quest to see the Wizard of Oz for his help in returning home.
She comes across a good witch(Burke) and bad (Hamilton). A scarecrow(Bolger) who is looking for a brain, a cowardly lion(Laher) looking for courage, a tin woodsman(Haley) looking for a heart and the munchkins(played by a cast of over 100 midgets and dwarfs).
When Dorothy finally does get to see The Wizard of Oz he tells her she’s always had the power to return home to Kansas, if she repeats and believes that there is no place like home. He also tells the scarecrow, the tinwoodsman and the cowardly lion they too already have what they are searching for.
This 1930 fantasy has become a classic movie. It has also been on television, at least once a year since 1956.
It took 14 writters, 1/2 dozen directors, Mervyn Leroy to produce and scores of special effect people, musicians, song writers etc to make this movie the national treasure it is today(and will always be.)
The most memorable songs of the movie are:
Somewhere Over The Rainbow.
Ding Dong the Witch is Dead.
Off to See The Wizard.
Follow The Yellow brick road.
The acting by all was great and I would recommend this movie for every family to see.(Although some of the witch scenes may be a little much for the very young.)
So, grab some popcorn, have a seat and be thoroughly entertained.