The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American
Fantasy film and directed by
Victor Fleming (and others) from a script to which
Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, Edgar Allan Woolf contributed, based on the 1900 children's novel
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by
L. Frank Baum, with
musical elements.
It features
Judy Garland,
Ray Bolger,
Jack Haley,
Bert Lahr and
Frank Morgan, with
Billie Burke,
Margaret Hamilton,
Charles Grapewin,
Clara Blandick and the
Singer Midgets as the Munchkins. Notable in its use of special effects, use of
Technicolor, fantasy storytelling and unusual characters,
The Wizard of Oz has become, over the years, one of the best known of all films. Its impact, however, was not nearly as strongly felt at the time of its original release.
Dorothy Gale, a 12-year-old farmgirl, longs for "a place where there isn't any trouble", rather than her mundane
Kansas farmhouse existence. After being knocked unconscious during a tornado by a window which has come loose from its frame, she begins to dream. In her dream, Dorothy, her dog Toto, and the farmhouse are transported to the magical
Land of Oz. There, the Good Witch of the North,
Glinda, advises Dorothy to follow the
yellow brick road to the
Emerald City and meet the
Wizard of Oz, who can return her to Kansas. During her journey, she meets a
Scarecrow, a
Tin Man and a
Cowardly Lion, who join her, hoping to receive what they lack themselves (a brain, a heart and courage, respectively). All of this is done while also trying to avoid the
Wicked Witch of the West and her attempt to get her sister's ruby slippers from Dorothy, who received them from Glinda.
Initially,
The Wizard of Oz was relatively unsuccessful in relation to its enormous budget, although it made a small profit and received largely favorable critical reviews. Made as a film musical, and boasting several songs which became very popular,
The Wizard of Oz became widely embraced, with "
Over the Rainbow" receiving the
Academy Award for Best Original Song and the film itself gaining several
Academy Award nominations, including
Best Picture. American Network telecasts of the film began in 1956, and because of them the film has found an even larger public audience—its television screenings were once an annual tradition and have re-introduced the film to the public, making
The Wizard of Oz one of the most famous films ever made.
[Fricke; Scarfone; and Stillman. The Wizard of Oz: The Official 50th Anniversary Pictorial History. Warner Books, 1989.] The
Library of Congress named
The Wizard of Oz as the most-watched film in history.
It is often ranked among the
top ten best movies of all-time in various critics' and popular polls and it has provided many indelible quotes to the American cultural consciousness.
