Over the Rainbow - First Oz Experience

In 1900, L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz was published by George M. Hill of Chicago as a children’s novel. Since then, the popular book has been reprinted countless times. It was the first of Baum’s fourteen Oz books. It followed Dorothy and her adventures in the Land of Oz.
Many adaptations of The Wizard of Oz have been produced. The first was a musical produced by Baum and W.W. Denslow. It was shown in Chicago in 1902. It moved to the New York stage a year later. However, unlike the original book, it was aimed at adult audiences. Before the 1939 movie, two other main films were made of the book. The first was released in 1910 and was based upon the works of the 1902 stage production of the book. The second, featuring Oliver Hardy (of Laurel and Hardy), and has virtually nothing to do with the original novel.
In 1938, Walt Disney wanted to produce an animated follow up to his hit animated movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and subsequently wanted Oz. However the rights to the book were bought by Samuel Goldwyn. Goldwyn wanted to star Eddie Cantor as the star of his ‘musical-comedy’ production of the book. However, Goldwyn ended up selling the rights to MGM.
The film was finally released by MGM as a musical-fantasy film. It was directed by Victor Fleming and based upon the 1900 novel. It made a star out of the young Judy Garland. She made famous the song ‘Over the Rainbow,’ which was to be cut from the film after it was said to ‘slow down the film.’ However, the film was a success after costing the studio nearly $3 million; the revenue came back at over $16million which today would be about $1billion. The songs were written by Harold Arlen and EY Harburg and are still widely sung around the world today. The Wizard of Oz is an icon of film and television history. Each year at around Christmas time it would be shown on the television. The first telecast was shown by CBS on November 3, 1956. In the early 1960’s colour televisions became more and more popular. Before these televisions people did not realise that the film went from sepia into colour and when it did it had a great impact on the viewers as it showed the contrast between the dreary, bleak Kansas plain and the colourful Land of Oz.
Oz was the last bit of light before World War II and is now a light in people’s eye’s across the world today.
When Judy Garland died the whole world was shaken and Oz in a way died with her. The last of the main characters, Ray Bolger, who played the Scarecrow, died in 1989.
The film had many differences to the original novel instead of the characters going individually going to the Wizard they went altogether for one visit to see the Great Oz. Another is the Ruby Slippers, in the original novel. The shoes are silver and play a significant part in both Oz and Wicked.
I first saw Oz when I was very young. On a trip to Crosby Village, about two miles from where I live. I was in the Help the Aged charity shop and I was looking at the books and the videos like a usual trip. I saw a video entitled: The Wizard of Oz, an animated feature. I asked my mum if she would buy it for me as I had no money with me and she did. When I got home after visiting all of the other shops, I immediately inserted the video into the VCR and watched it. The film was not the 1939 MGM version but a 1982 Japanese anime feature film. It was in English and followed the story of the book very, very well including the silver shoes and just three Munchkins. It also contained the vicious Kalidahs of the forest.
It contained songs such as “Strictly Up to You” and “Wizard of a Day.” These two songs in particular were the ones in which I remember vividly even after not singing them for at least ten years.
The voice of Dorothy was played by a young Aileen Quinn who later went on to play the title role in Annie. Kristi(n) Chenoweth auditioned to play the role of Annie at the same time as Quinn but narrowly lost out but got the role of Glinda in Wicked just over twenty years later. After watching and ruining the video of the under rated version of The Wizard of Oz, I was given a video of a recorded-from-the-television 1939 version of the Wizard of Oz. When it begun in the sepia tone I thought that this would be a very boring version of the animated film that I had been watching for the past six months, I was obviously wrong…