The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Based on the book by L. Frank Baum, this film has delighted audiences for eighty years so far, and will probably continue to do so for many more years to come. It has long been a favourite of mine, and even more so since playing the Tin Man in a school production at the age of twelve.

I'm sure most people are familiar with the plot. Young Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) dreams of a life beyond the simple farm life she lives in Kansas with her Uncle Henry (Charley Grapevine) and Auntie Em (Clara Blandick); a life somewhere over the rainbow.

When neighbour Miss Gulch (Margaret Hamilton) threatens her and her dog - and perhaps her closest friend - Toto for coming into her yard yet again, Dorothy runs away and finds herself meeting a travelling fortune teller who goes by the moniker of Professor Marvel (Frank Morgan).

She wants to run away with him, but he offers to tell her fortune first. He makes her rethink her decision, and she runs back home thinking her Auntie Em is close to death.

Dorothy (Judy Garland).

But she arrives back at the farm just as a twister is coming through. Everyone else is in a panic, and clamouring into the fallout shelter under the farmhouse. She can't find them anywhere, and runs through every room in the house. A window is blown from its frame, knocking her on the head, and she falls onto the bed.

She wakes to discover the house has been picked up by the twister, and is actually inside the storm itself, being carried away.

It finally comes to rest in the magical land of Oz, right in the middle of Munchkinland, a town peopled with little people called Munchkins. The house has actually landed on - and killed - the Wicked Witch of the East.

The Good Witch of the North, Glinda (Billie Burke), tells Dorothy that to get home, she must consult the great Wizard of Oz who lives in the Emerald City, along the Yellow Brick Road. But the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton again) - whose sister was the one killed by Dorothy's falling house - is hot on her tail, wanting the ruby slippers that Dorothy has taken from the dead witch.

Following the road, Dorothy (and Toto) meet three companions: a Scarecrow (Ray Bolger) who needs a brain, a Tin Man (Jack Haley) who needs a heart, and a Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr) who needs courage, things they believe the Wizard can give them.

The Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton).

The screenplay was written by Noel Langley & Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf, based on Baum's classic book. Baum in fact wrote several books set in the land of Oz, but only one other film was ever made: Return to Oz in the 1980s (which I will be reviewing in due course). The script is actually quite a good adaptation, a fairly comprehensive translation of the book to the screen. All of the characters are clearly defined, with very clear character arcs and filled with conflicts, both internal and external.

The casting of the film is very clever, with Dorothy's three companions being played by actors who also play farmhands on the family farm in the real world. Of course, Margaret Hamilton, who plays Miss Gulch, also plays the Wicked Witch of the West, and Frank Morgan (Professor Marvel) also plays the Wizard of Oz (and several other roles in Oz, as it happens). The effect of this is that, when Dorothy does eventually return home - after eighty years, I don't think the term 'spoiler alert' would apply! - one can't really be sure if the land of Oz was indeed real or simply a result of her overactive imagination, a dream that she had after being rendered unconscious by the flying window.

The real appeal of this film, however, has got to be the songs. In fact, the songs - and the story that accompanies them - continues to be so popular that Andrew Lloyd Webber created a whole new stage musical based on the film. His production has a few new songs, but primarily consists purely of songs from this classic film. With music by Harold Arlen and lyrics by E. Y. Harburg, these songs will have you singing along and tapping your feet in time, even if - for some bizarre reason - you haven't heard them before.

Dorothy (Judy Garland) with (from L-R) Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), the
Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr) and the Tin Man (Jack Haley).

As I mentioned above, I have always loved this film. I remember when I was younger that I absolutely loved the expansive and beautiful production design of the land of Oz. However, while watching this again for the purposes of writing this review, I noticed something - something I could have only noticed watching this film in high-definition: most of these enormous set pieces I loved growing up were nothing more than painted backdrops! I must admit, it was a little disappointing, but the essence of the film is still just as delightful as it ever was, and I still found myself enjoying it all over again.

Director Victor Fleming (who was not the only director on the film, as the production endured many obstacles and difficulties on the path to release, but was the final director responsible for the majority of the film that we now know) has created an absolutely wonderful film here, one that will surely continue to entertain audiences for many years to come, as it has done for decades now. It doesn't matter how many times I watch it, I can always find plenty of reasons to watch it again and again and again.

8 1/2 out of 10.