The Yellow Brick Road and Beyond (2009) - full transcript

(Multicom Jingle)

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] It's one of
the most beloved fairytales

of all time.

Since its publication
in 1900, L. Frank Baum's

classic novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

has been translated into
over 40 different languages

and served as the basis
for numerous sequels,

as well as countless stage
and screen adaptations,

most notably the quintessential 1939 film

starting Judy Garland.



- She was just a wonderful girl.

- How can you take your eyes off of her?

She was such a great actor.

- Judy did wonderful pictures,

The Wizard of Oz was superior.

- The first film that had an impact on me

that had music in it was The Wizard of Oz.

- It's riveting, I can watch it any time.

- Every generation has made
that thing a gigantic hit.

- [Narrator] Its popularity
has spawned comic books,

cartoons, television series, fan clubs,

conventions and the classic
song that has become

an anthem for dreamers all over the world.

♪ Somewhere, over the rainbow ♪



- She just brought so much to it,

and you see inside her soul.

- Judy Garland sang a song from within.

She started from the heart of the song

and worked her way out of it.

- [Narrator] In a day and
age of the media franchise,

The Wizard of Oz is
perhaps the most successful

and longest-running.

Its characters, Dorothy,
Scarecrow, Tin Man

and Cowardly Lion are as familiar to us

as our own friends and family.

- People, regardless of
where they are on the world,

know those characters, know that story.

It's as if it was a legend
that has been around

for thousands of years,

and yet it's been around for barely 100,

as an original story and
for far less as a film.

- [Narrator] The Wizard
of Oz is a timeless tale

that has become ingrained
in our popular culture,

due largely in part to its
universal message and appeal.

Who hasn't at one point in their lives

dreamed of some faraway, magical place

in which to escape life's
occasional stresses and monotony?

- It's a story about finding oneself

and the journey that
ensues, and the discovery

that the answers for which we're searching

have always been within us.

- Well it was a wonderful story and it was

a very simple story.

The whole story of The Wizard
of Oz is no place like home.

(dramatic music)

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] You'd have to
search far and wide to find

someone who has never
heard of The Wizard of Oz.

It is an uplifting and endearing fairytale

that people return to again and again.

The story of Dorothy of
her incredible adventures

in the magical land of Oz appeals
to the child in all of us.

Chances are you've read
the novels growing up

or seen the classic 1939
film, which is believed

to be the most-watched movie ever.

But what of the author
of this fantastic tale?

As popular as The Wizard
of Oz is, few know much

if anything about the man
whose life was as colorful

as the stories he created.

(upbeat piano music)

Lyman Frank Baum was born in
Chittenango, New York, in 1856,

the son of a wealthy businessman

who made his fortune in oil.

He and his seven brothers
and sisters grew up

on a sprawling estate where young Frank

was home-schooled until the age of 12.

A sickly child born with
a congenitally weak heart,

the timid and frail
Baum spent a great deal

of time alone or in bed.

Mostly isolated from friends
and peers, Frank kept himself

entertained by indulging in one

of his favorite pastimes, daydreaming.

His overactive imagination
would conjure up

imaginary characters and
places, which helped ease

the loneliness of his
otherwise sheltered existence.

Other times, he wiled
away the hours in his

father's library, avidly
reading among other things

the popular fairy tales
of the Brothers Grimm

and Lewis Carroll.

- There's no doubt that
these were really the years

that laid the foundation
for L. Frank Baum's

future storytelling talents.

- [Narrator] However, his
parents were concerned

about his incessant
daydreaming and timid nature.

So at the age of 12, Frank was shipped

off to military school.

Being thrown into such a strict
and disciplined environment

after the carefree idleness
of his parent's estate

proved too overwhelming
for the frail young boy.

- Various sources have him
suffering a heart attack

or a nervus breakdown at this period.

Whatever the scenario was,

it was enough to convince
his parents to withdraw him

from military school after only two years.

- [Narrator] From then on,
Baum's parent supported

and even indulged Frank's
creative endeavors.

Free to explore his artistic nature,

Baum first tried his hand at publishing.

Using the small printing
press his father bought him,

he and his brother produced several issues

of a local newspaper.

By the age of 16, young Frank Baum became

a published writer.

(car honking)

Soon, the industrious Baum began

to dabble in various careers.

Throughout the next several years,

he made his living as a
journalist, actor, reporter,

traveling salesman and
even a poultry farmer.

Many of these endeavors failed,

leaving Frank to face years
of rejection and bankruptcy.

Yet, throughout it all,

Baum remained optimistic and undeterred.

He continued writing and at the age

of 30 had his first book published.

Over the next several years,

Baum married and moved
with his family to Chicago

where he worked as a traveling salesman

and reporter for the Evening Post.

His imagination as vibrant as ever,

Frank would always find the time

to entertain his four children
and the neighborhood children

with his captivating fairy
tales and nursery rhymes.

He quickly earned himself the reputation

around town as a master storyteller.

It was at his mother-in-law's urging

that Frank began writing down the tales

he told the neighborhood children.

In 1897, a collection of nursery rhymes

entitled Mother Goose
in Prose was published.

The success of which allowed
him to quit his day job

and focus solely on writing.

For his next book, Baum
teamed up with illustrator

and cartoonist William W. Denslow.

The collaboration would
prove highly successful.

Father Goose His Book published in 1899

became the bestselling
children's novel of the year.

But it was their next project
that would catapult them

to fame and their
rightful place in history.

Originally titled The Emerald City,

The Wonderful Wizard of
Oz became an instant hit

when it was first published in 1900.

The enchanting story of
a young girl from Kansas

who gets whisked away by a cyclone

to the magical land of Oz
was based on fairy tales

he had told to his children.

- The sources that Baum used
for his tales were varied.

He himself acknowledged the
influence of the Brothers Grimm,

Lewis Carroll, but he
was aiming for something

a little less horrific and terrifying

than the fear-based morality tales

that European folklore
had given to children.

And with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,

Baum essentially created a new nonviolent

and uplifting fairy tale

that would be appealing to children.

- [Narrator] It was as Baum
said, "A book that aspires"

"to being a modernized fairy
tale in which the wonderment"

"and joy are retained,"

"and the heartaches and
nightmares left out."

(pleasant piano music)

As for Baum's other
sources of inspiration,

he drew upon many images and
events from his own life.

His description of Kansas
came from the three years

spent living in the dust
bowl of South Dakota.

The 1893 World's Fair in Chicago

was the template for the Emerald City,

and the character of scarecrow

was taken from one of his own

recurring childhood nightmares.

- In this dream he was being chased

by a menacing scarecrow

which is pretty terrifying
for any small child.

But as an adult, he managed
to take this terrifying image

and exorcize it by making
him into the lovable

and friendly companion that we remember

from The Wizard of Oz.

The one that Dorothy if you remember,

said that she would miss most of all.

Now the Tin Man's search for
a heart has been compared

to L. Frank Baum's desire to have

a strong and healthy heart,
which eluded him in life.

- [Narrator] And the name Oz?

Historians claim that it simply came

from a filing cabinet labeled O to Z.

Thanks to Baum's enchanting story,

and Winslow's vivid color
plate illustrations,

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

was the bestselling children's
book for two years in a row.

In 1902, the duo set
about adapting the story

as a musical stage play for adults.

Now simply titled The Wizard of Oz,

this new adaptation
debuted to rave reviews.

Aside from music being added to the story,

Baum made additional
changes to the script.

Gone were Glinda the Good Witch,

and the Wicked Witch of
the West as well as Toto,

who was replaced by a cow named Imogene.

- Toto was written out of the stage play

due to the fact that it was
difficult to get a trained dog

to perform on cue during
a live performance.

- [Narrator] The play was a hit.

It soon moved to Broadway,

where it had a successful 293 night run.

From there, it continued as a road show

over the next several years,

but on the heels of success

came the end of a wonderful collaboration.

Disagreements over the stage production,

royalties, and just how
much Denslow's illustrations

had contributed to The
Wizard of Oz's success

led to a parting of company
between the two men.

Frank Baum now began what
would be a lifetime work

of continuing the Oz saga.

His first sequel to the series,

The Marvelous Land of Oz,

was published in 1904.

More sequels were to follow,

as well as Baum producing and directing

various stage and motion
picture adaptations.

Though he would occasionally
grow weary of the series,

and author other fantasy novels,

popular demand would always
find him back in the land of Oz.

(pleasant music)

In 1910, Baum and his
family moved to California.

They resided in Hollywood

on the corner of Cahuenga and Yucca

in a house he named Ozcot.

It was from this cozy two story residence

that Baum lived a quiet, idyllic life,

tending to his garden and
producing one new Oz book a year.

In total, 13 sequels were published.

Another endeavor of Baum's was
to produce a traveling show

called the Fairy Log and Radio Plays,

which was a combination
of live actors and film.

Baum himself would narrate the stories

from on stage while
intermingling with the actors.

- The Fairy Log and the radio plays

which were based on
Baum's first three novels

were unfortunately a commercial flop,

which resulted in Baum having
to file for bankruptcy.

- [Narrator] As part of
a contractual obligation

pertaining to Baum's bankruptcy,

a film entitled The Wonderful
Wizard of Oz was released.

Shot in 1910, this 13 minute short

is one of the earliest surviving
film versions of the novel.

Frank Baum would have no input
in the filming of the short,

which was based more on
the 1902 stage musical

than the original novel.

Dorothy, played by a nine
year old Bebe Daniels,

the Scarecrow, and Toto
get swept away by a cyclone

to the Land of Oz, where
they're soon captured

by the evil witch Mamba.

(pleasant music)

After destroying Mamba the witch,

Dorothy and her friends make their way

to the Emerald City for the
wizard's retirement party.

(pleasant music)

In 1914, Baum formed the Oz
Film Manufacturing Company,

where several films based
on the Oz series were made.

One of the first written
and produced by Baum

was titled The Patchwork Girl of Oz,

which was the seventh
novel in the Oz series

and one of Baum's favorites.

The story is about a
Munchkin boy named Ojo,

and his journey to the Land of Oz

in search of an antidote for his uncle,

who was accidentally
turned into a marble statue

by a crooked magician.

Along the way, Ojo enlists
the aid of Dorothy,

Scarecrow, and Patches,
a ragdoll come to life.

(pleasant music)

- L. Frank Baum is generally credited

as the director of the film,

though there are some
historians that dispute that.

The film is notable for
a couple of reasons.

One, unknown producer
by the name of Hal Roach

who you might remember
from The Little Rascals,

was cast in the role of the Cowardly Lion,

and then unknown comedian
by the name of Harold Lloyd

rounded out the cast as
an extra in a grass skirt.

- [Narrator] Baum's next screen
adaptation in the Oz series

was His Majesty the Scarecrow of Oz,

released the same year as Patchwork Girl.

The film is considered the
best of the surviving films

shot at Frank Baum's production company.

In it, a wicked king
takes over Emerald City,

and forces his daughter Gloria
into an unwanted marriage

with the horrible Googly-Goo.

His daughter however is in love with Pon,

the son of a gardener.

(romantic music)

(ominous music)

In order to stop this infatuation,

the wicked witch Mambi
freezes Gloria's heart

so that she can never love again.

(ominous music)

The scarecrow is
magically brought to life,

and falls in love with
the evil king's daughter.

Along with Pon, Dorothy, and the Tin Man,

the group attempts to thwart

King Krewl and Mambi's evil plans.

(suspenseful piano music)

- His Majesty the Scarecrow of Oz,

which was later reissued
as The New Wizard of Oz

is actually a fairly good film.

It was pretty well received,

but it did fail to make
back its production costs.

There's a surviving print that
does deserve a restoration

because it's actually quite a spectacle

with wild adventures and really amazing

for that time period special effects.

(somber piano music)

- [Narrator] Despite
Frank Baum's hard work

and high hopes for his production company,

it soon proved to be a commercial failure.

The films were poorly received and all

had a difficult time finding distribution.

By 1915, Baum had to cut his losses

and shut down the Oz Film
Manufacturing Company.

The stress and disappointment
over his failed venture

took a toll on Baum's health.

Already ill and plagued with
heart problems his whole life,

Frank Baum suffered a
stroke and died at Ozcot

on May 6, 1919 at the age of 62.

- The man behind the
curtain may have been gone,

but the legacy of Oz was far from over.

- [Narrator] Frank Baum's
final book in the Oz series,

Glinda of Oz, was published
posthumously in 1920.

In 1925, a silent screen
adaptation was released

by comedian Larry Semon.

Though titled Wizard of Oz,

this feature length film
bore little resemblance

to the book it's based on.

(jaunty piano music)

- Larry Semon was this comedic actor

who made his directorial
debut with The Wizard of Oz.

A weird film that really
relies on slapstick

and comedic stunts to pull itself off.

It introduces new characters
and new plotlines.

There's a love triangle between Dorothy

and the Tin Man and the Scarecrow

who are actually farmhands in disguise

and not the actual characters

of the Tin Man and the Scarecrow.

Some of the other departures
from the original story

are that the Tin Man in this version

played by a very young Oliver
Hardy of Laurel and Hardy fame

is actually the villain in this piece.

This was a radical

and strange departure from the original,

and it almost never made
it to the big screen.

The production costs bankrupted
the studio which made it,

which then ceased distribution

to the theaters that had booked it,

and after the premiere of the film

it was pretty much just shelved.

(dramatic music)

- [Narrator] After Frank Baum's death,

his oldest son Frank J. Baum

sought to continue his father's legacy.

He had briefly had a hand in the ill-fated

Oz Manufacturing Film Company
as its business director,

but took on a more prominent role

as keeper of the flame
after his father died.

L. Frank Baum's son's attempts
to continue the Oz franchise

were probably made with
the best of intentions,

but his association with Larry Semon

and the resultant film which
bankrupted the Chadwick Studios

that had licensed the project

didn't leave him in good standing,

and then his subsequent attempt
to trademark the name Oz

led to an estrangement
between himself and his family

and the lawsuit that his
mother launched on him,

she was so angry she eventually
wrote him out of her will.

- [Narrator] In 1934, Frank J. Baum

sold the rights to the
first Wizard of Oz book

to producer Samuel Goldwyn for $40,000.

MGM had been interested in making

a film version of The Wizard of Oz

as early as 1924, but
couldn't agree on terms.

But in 1938, MGM finally bought
the rights from Sam Goldwyn.

This was largely due to the
efforts of producer Mervyn LeRoy

and songwriter Arthur Freed.

When studio head Louis B. Mayer asked

what book would make a good movie?

Both men suggested The Wizard of Oz.

- Snow White and the Seven Dwarves

had been such a huge box office success

that they decided that
all the studio heads

decided that they wanted to
kind of jump on that bandwagon

and go into that fantasy market.

Wizard of Oz was such a popular story

they figured they had a
built-in hit right there.

- It took me five years
to get somebody to do it.

Sam Goldwyn owned it first, you know.

We got it from him.

- [Narrator] Songwriter Arthur
Freed was especially eager

for the rights to the Wizard of Oz story,

thinking it the perfect
breakthrough vehicle

for MGM's young starlet, Judy Garland.

- One of the most famous stories

about The Wizard of Oz
is that Shirley Temple

was actually the first choice
for the role of Dorothy.

This might have been true,

because Shirley Temple was
a bigger box office draw

at the time than Judy Garland,

but she was never really
considered for the part

and there were two reasons for this.

One, she didn't quite have the vocal chops

to handle the role, and we all
know that Judy Garland did.

And two, she was under
contract at 20th Century Fox

at the time, and there was no way

20th Century Fox was gonna
loan out Shirley Temple

to crosstown rival MGM for
a big Technicolor picture.

- [Narrator] 16 year old Judy Garland

was not yet the big box office
draw she would soon become,

but had found success after being paired

with Mickey Rooney in a
string of musical comedies.

MGM and especially Arthur Freed

were confident enough
that Judy had the talent

to tackle such a demanding role.

- I worked with a lot of other people,

but I loved Judy very much,

and we loved working together,

but Judy was a very special person.

And a very special talent.

- When you speak of Judy Garland,

you speak in a very separate way.

There's never anyone
before her or after her

that had the simplicity,
the truth, the beauty,

and the spontaneity,

and once again that killer voice

that just was so arresting
and heartbreaking.

- Anything somebody gave to
her in movement or style,

it was an innate talent

to take it and put life into it

and make it something wonderful.

- She loved to work and she loved to sing,

and she was possibly one of the

greatest talents that
ever lived, in my book.

- [Narrator] Rounding out the
cast as Dorothy's companions

in the Land of Oz were Bert Lahr,

Ray Bolger, and Buddy
Ebsen as the Tin Man.

Ray Bolger was originally
cast as the Tin Man,

much to his displeasure.

He finally convinced Mervyn LeRoy

to let him play the role of Scarecrow,

which was much more suited
to his flexibilities.

- He was what we used
to say eccentric dancer.

If you remember he did a lot
of wobbly knees kind of thing,

and in Vaudeville that was
called eccentric dancing.

- [Narrator] More changes
in the casting came

after Buddy Ebsen was forced to drop out

due to being hospitalized from a reaction

to the aluminum powder
he wore for the part.

Taking over the role of Tin
Man was actor Jack Haley.

Character actress Margaret Hamilton

was slated to play the
Wicked Witch of the West

after Oscar winner Gale Sondergaard

was deemed too beautiful for the part.

- You're a newspaper man from New York.

- How'd you guess that sister?

- You was described to me.

Will Wool can shoot his
mouth off here all he wants,

but not me or anybody else in this town.

This drugstore's run by
the Pravin Watch Company,

and they don't want any
scandal-monger New Yorkers

snooping around.

- Margaret Hamilton comes
out as the Wicked Witch

and she's I'll get you my pretty

and your little dog too,

and she turns away and she disappears

into that red puff of smoke?

It was an old magician's
trick that they were using,

that it was a trap door and
the trap door would lower

and the fire and the smoke would rise

after she was safely under the stage.

What happened though
was they filmed it once

the first time which is the
one that you see in the film.

They all went back from lunch.

They all went to lunch and
they all came back from lunch

and filmed the scene again,

and the second time they filmed it

the trap door fell out from under her,

and the fire went up too early

and it started to melt
the makeup on her face,

which had copper in it.

So her face and her hands
literally started to melt,

and the, someone on set
grabbed her and erased her,

so they started to scrub the makeup off

and she ended up having second
degree burns on her face

and third degree burns on her hands,

because of the makeup,

and if they hadn't gotten the
copper makeup off of her face

it would've seriously
seriously damaged her skin.

- [Narrator] The role of the Wizard

was written for comedian W.C. Fields,

but the actor turned it down,

finding the role too small.

MGM in return found his
asking price too high.

The part would eventually
go to actor Frank Morgan.

- The jacket that Frank Morgan
wears as Professor Marvel

in the opening sequence
in The Wizard of Oz

was a jacket that the costume designer

found in a thrift store,

and while they were on
set he had this jacket on,

and he had his hands in his pocket

and he pulled the lining out of the pocket

and in the lining,
stitched onto the lining

was property of L.F. Baum.

And he's like this is weird,

and they tracked down
L. Frank Baum's widow

and said oh yeah, after he died

I donated all of his
clothes to this thrift shop.

So a jacket that L. Frank
Baum actually owned and wore

is in the film.

- [Narrator] The nationwide
search for little people

to play the inhabitants of Munchkinland

would prove to be one
of the most interesting

casting calls in motion picture history.

♪ We represent the Lollipop Guild ♪

♪ The Lollipop Guild the Lollipop Guild ♪

♪ And in the name of the Lollipop Guild ♪

♪ We wish to welcome you to Munchkinland ♪

- I happened to be working
in Chicago in 1938,

and through the so-called midget grapevine

heard that MGM was going to film

The Wizard of Oz and they're looking for

as many little people as they could find.

And they apparently were looking all over

for more little people,
and I just thought well gee

that might be an interesting experience,

and so I took a leave of absence
from the work I was doing,

and headed out to California

and out to MGM Studio.

And it so happened they only
collected 124 little people

at the time, although they
had hoped to have a lot more,

but so all the little people who showed up

were just hired into the studio.

- It was wonderful
working with Judy Garland.

She was a typical teenager.

She was just a sweet girl.

She was only 16 years old.

Working on The Wizard of Oz,

I thought it was great

because I was only 15 years old,

and I came from a small town in Alabama,

and when I got the word to go out,

an agent contacted me
and wanted me to come out

and oh I was so excited
because I thought gee,

coming from a small town
and going to Hollywood

where all the stars are,
I thought that was great,

and then I was gonna be in a movie.

And I was gonna be a
movie star in those days.

(laughs)

- Out of the 124 little
people who were there,

most of them I had worked
with at other locations

around the world so that it was

shall we say a grand reunion for us.

- Over the years there
have been a lot of stories

about the wild high jinks perpetrated

by the little people on the
set of The Wizard of Oz.

In fact there were so many stories

that there was a movie made about it

called Under the Rainbow,

starring Chevy Chase and Carrie Fisher.

However, most of those
stories were exaggerations,

and Judy Garland herself
may have unwittingly

started the rumors with an
appearance on the Jack Paar Show.

- Well what about the Munchkins?

- Yeah how about that, what?

(audience laughs)

- The Munchkins.
- The Munchkins.

Yeah, well what did the Munchkins do?

- Well they were...
- They're little dwarves.

- They were tiny.
- Yeah?

- Yeah.

- Were they little kids or...
- They were drunks.

- They were little drunks?
(audience laughs)

- They were.

- What'd they, w-w-w-w-what'd they,

you got me stuttering!

(audience laughs)

- Many people failed to
get her sense of humor,

and they took her seriously,

and after that there were even rumors

about a young Judy Garland getting drunk

with the Munchkins on the
set of The Wizard of Oz.

- That's a lot of BS.

She was a typical American
teenager, lovely gal.

Afterwards is something else,

but I mean during the picture

she was just a little angel, you know?

In fact to tell you the truth,

one of the most exciting
things was she got more excited

about the Munchkins than the
Munchkins got excited about her

because don't forget
there was 124 of us there,

and she was always
looking around, you know.

Typical you know,

sightseer you know, but
she was a lovely gal.

- [Narrator] With casting firmly in place,

the next problem facing producers

Mervyn LeRoy and Arthur Freed

was who would direct
such a lavish spectacle?

Initially Mervyn LeRoy felt
he was up for the task.

- I produced that you know,
because you couldn't do both.

It was too big a picture.

Mr. Mayer called me up in the office

and said Mervyn, look
at you can't do both.

And I said yes I can, he said no you can't

'cause I'm not gonna let you.

So he says you produce it, and
we'll get somebody else too.

- [Narrator] Directorial duties

would originally go to Richard Thorpe,

but Thorpe was fired after only two weeks

when rushes of the film were shown to lack

the magical fantasy element
the producers were looking for.

Director George Cukor was
temporarily brought in,

who made small but significant
changes to the script.

Among them, he changed
Judy Garland's appearance

to look more childlike and innocent.

- To quote one of the documentary,

"They made her into the Lolita of Kansas."

You know the blonde wig and the...

Just did not look right.

So I believe Mervyn LeRoy came
in and said chuck all that,

and you know make her into a simple girl.

She's a girl from Kansas.

What are you doing to her?

And that worked beautifully.

- In all there would be about

four directors on The Wizard of Oz.

Victor Fleming is the man

that everybody remembers from the credits,

though he was called away
at the end of filming

to take over from George Cukor

who was directing Gone With the Wind.

The reason for that was
that Cukor was fighting

with Clark Gable, his star,

who had a lot of pull in
Hollywood at the time,

and got mad at Cukor and wanted him fired,

and thus Cukor was fired.

So Fleming went to do Gone With the Wind,

and a couple other directors came in.

Eventually King Vidor, the fourth director

on Wizard of Oz put the
final touches on the film,

but make no mistake it
is Victor Fleming's name

on the credits, and Victor Fleming

was the director of The Wizard of Oz.

- [Narrator] MGM's Wizard
of Oz stayed mostly true

to Baum's classic novel.

One of the biggest changes
made to Baum's tale

was in taking the land of Oz,

which was a real place in the novel,

and making it an imaginary land,

all a fantastic dream of Dorothy's

after she's knocked unconscious.

Creating the elaborate fantasy world of Oz

cost MGM a staggering
2.77 million dollars,

an unprecedented amount for that time.

Only Gone With the Wind
released that same year

would exceed The Wizard of Oz's budget.

- The production of Wizard of Oz

took about 14 weeks and used over 60 sets.

It was also filmed in Technicolor,

which is a process that
produces very saturated colors.

Wizard of Oz is one of the
first Technicolor musicals

that was produced for MGM.

The results were amazing
in the color section.

However, the cost of
Technicolor was very high,

so the entire production was
an extremely costly affair.

- When we first got on the set,

there was so many people
behind the camera,

I couldn't believe it.

There were probably three camera crews

and the big cranes you
know, camera up there

and going back and forth,

and of course the set was gorgeous.

All those artificial
flowers and everything.

Everybody had an assistant, you know.

Some guy picking up a
wire, he had an assistant.

- Toto was a well trained little dog,

but you know what?

He made more money than we did.

We made $50 a week and our room and board

and he made 125 a week.

So he had a better agent I guess.

(laughs)

- [Narrator] The Wizard of Oz

was finally released in August of 1939.

Star Judy Garland attended the premiere

with friend and co-star Mickey Rooney.

The film was met with lukewarm reviews

and was not the financial success

that MGM had been hoping for.

- We went to the premiere,

and a lot of people got up
and walked out and she cried.

She was just torn apart,

because people didn't understand it.

- When Wizard of Oz was first released,

from my understanding that it
wasn't the phenomenal success

that they hoped it would be.

It made money, but it
wasn't a huge success.

It was moderate.

But it made Garland into a star anyway.

- The Wizard of Oz lost
about a million dollars

on its initial release.

All the accolades that
year went to another film,

Gone With the Wind, which was nominated

for a number of Oscars
as was The Wizard of Oz.

It was nominated for five,
including best picture

which it lost to Gone With the Wind.

But then it went on to win
the best original score Oscar

and the best original song
Oscar for Over the Rainbow,

the song that was almost
cut from the film.

And then Judy Garland won a special award

for best juvenile performance.

- They actually originally did pull

Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

After the second preview of the film

there were some high
mucky mucks in the studio

who decided that the song was slowing down

the pace of the film, and
they needed to pick it up.

But originally, or finally
someone came to their senses

and decided to add
Somewhere Over the Rainbow

back into the film which was
obviously a good decision

since it's the most famous
song in cinema history

and an Academy Award winning song,

and definitely the song that
Judy Garland's most famous for.

- [Narrator] Over the
next couple of years,

The Wizard of Oz would
occasionally be reissued

or turn up at various bargain matinees.

But in the early days of motion pictures,

films were generally shelved
after its initial run.

That is, until the advent of television.

By the early 1950s,

about one million homes
had television sets

and the numbers were growing.

Movie theaters began to
see a decline in attendance

as families were now staying home

to watch this new technology

that brought the entertainment

into their very own living rooms.

Eventually, motion pictures

would find their way
onto the small screen.

Broadcasting films on
television had its advantages.

For one, it could reach a larger
and much broader audience.

Films that had not been seen for decades

were suddenly popular again,

enjoyed by a new
generation of movie lovers,

but no other film in history

would enjoy the type of renaissance

that The Wizard of Oz did

after its first television
broadcast in 1956.

- The film did well
enough in a 1949 reissue,

but nobody could've predicted the success

that it would find in the
new medium, television.

In November of 1956 on a Saturday night,

45 million Americans tuned
in to watch The Wizard of Oz

on its national debut on television.

It was broadcast in color,

but most people in the '50s
didn't have color sets.

They had black and white sets,

so they had to watch
it in black and white,

but still it was a hit.

- It wasn't until the TV showings

that it became a classic.

So thanks to TV that the
film is what it is today.

- [Narrator] The film would not
be shown on television again

for another three years,

but once again it was a ratings hit.

Soon after, it would be
re-run at least once a year,

usually during the Christmas holiday.

- New generations were
constantly being introduced

to the film via the re-runs on television,

and with the advent of VCRs and DVDs,

it became a pretty safe bet to say that

at any given moment,
somewhere someone in the world

is watching The Wizard of Oz.

- The Wizard of Oz was the first time

that I ever saw black and
white turn into color,

so you can imagine, you can't imagine

because that color's always
been with you in your life,

but I'd never seen a color film

and I'm seeing The Wizard of Oz.

The Wizard of Oz came out
the year that I was born,

so I didn't see it first run, 1939 came.

So I saw it later, but
it was the first time

that I ever saw color, and I remember it.

The magic of it being
black and white Kansas

and color in Oz.

It was just breathtaking.

It was breathtaking, I'll never forget it.

- As popular as the book is,

it's the film Wizard of
Oz that people think of

when they say Wizard of Oz.

That's partly because of the magic of MGM,

partly because of one of
the most perfect casts

ever assembled for a film,

and also because of the power
of music added to that story.

An incredible score, an incredible team,

and a film that grabs the emotions

of adults and children equally.

- [Narrator] The 1960s saw
The Wizard of Oz go animated

with the short-lived television series

Off to See the Wizard.

The animation trend continued

with the 1974 theatrical
feature Journey Back to Oz,

which was based on L. Frank Baum's

second novel in the series.

In a bit of casting genius,

the voice for Dorothy was provided

by Judy Garland's daughter, Liza Minnelli.

Margaret Hamilton made her
return to the Oz series

as the voice of Dorothy's loving Aunt Em.

The next retelling of the Oz story

would be the most ambitious effort

since MGM's 1939 classic.

(upbeat music)

The Wiz was a successful Broadway musical

featuring an entirely
African American cast.

This retelling of the Oz story

was an updated and urbanized
version of the tale.

The play won seven Tony Awards

during its successful run,

including best musical and best score.

In 1978, production began

on bringing The Wiz to
the motion picture screen.

Motown Productions originally
hired director John Badham

to helm the picture, but Badham declined

after learning that singer Diana Ross

would be taking over the
lead role of Dorothy Gale.

- When I was first directing,

I persuaded Universal to
buy the rights to The Wiz

that I had seen on Broadway

and thought would make
a wonderful musical.

I never did do The Wiz.

And in fact I did Saturday
Night Fever instead.

- Singer Stephanie Mills played Dorothy

in the stage production,

and it was widely expected that she would

take the role in the film.

However, Diana Ross managed to convince

the producer of the film
to cast her instead.

The director, Badham, he felt that

while Ross was definitely
talented enough for the part,

he felt that at 33 she was just a bit

too old to play young Dorothy.

- [Narrator] Directorial duties
would go to Sidney Lumet,

famous for such classics as
Serpico and Dog Day Afternoon.

Alongside Diana Ross in
this extraordinary cast

was Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow.

- And good luck.

- [Narrator] Nipsey
Russell as the Tin Man,

Lena Horne as Glinda the Good Witch,

and the comedic genius of
Richard Pryor as The Wiz.

In this soulful adaptation of
the classic children's story,

Harlem takes the place of Kansas,

New York City is the fantasy land of Oz,

and the World Trade Center towers

are transformed into the Emerald City.

Unfortunately, The Wiz was
met with dismal reviews

and was a flop at the box office.

It did however earn composer Quincy Jones

an Oscar nod for best score.

It also introduced him to Michael Jackson,

whose Thriller album he
would go on to produce.

- Over the years, The
Wiz has actually gained

a kind of cult status,
and is now more popular

than it was during its initial release,

much like the 1939 film.

- [Narrator] It seems
as if there is no end

to The Wizard of Oz phenomenon.

There have been countless
movie adaptations,

movies inspired by The Wizard of Oz story,

fan clubs and conventions
all around the world.

There's even a fan club dedicated
to the red ruby slippers

worn by Judy Garland in the MGM classic.

- Well in the book they're
originally the silver shoes,

or the silver slippers.

When they decided to make a
Technicolor motion picture

they decided that ruby
would be a more vibrant,

interesting color on screen than silver,

and also easier to film.

The original pair of
ruby slippers they made

though were filming orange,

because of the Technicolor process.

So they actually had
to remake the slippers

and they used, the actual slippers

are more of a maroon color

because they filmed red,
bright vibrant ruby red.

So if you see a pair of
the original slippers

like the pair in the Smithsonian,

they're actually a kind of
really dark red maroon color

and that was the decision,

that was the reason they
were made that color.

- The red ruby slippers.

They are probably the holy
grail of movie memorabilia.

There are four known pairs that were used

during the filming of The Wizard of Oz.

Of the known pairs, one resides

in the Smithsonian
Institution in Washington DC,

another pair was stolen
from the Oz Museum in Kansas

and has yet to be recovered.

The other two I believe

are in the hands of private collectors.

There have been books
written about these slippers.

Oz memorabilia is big business.

There is a massive demand and fascination

for all things Oz on this planet,

and I think it's because the story

really has touched people that much.

- [Narrator] There seems no
end in sight for the Oz story.

Most recently, the Broadway play Wicked,

based on the bestselling novel

which tells the story of the
witches in the Land of Oz,

has become a smash hit,

breaking box office records.

There has also been talk

about bringing The Wiz back to Broadway.

The 1939 Judy Garland film
has also seen a strange

sort of revival in recent years.

With underground theaters showing the film

synced to the Pink Floyd
album Dark Side of the Moon.

- There's no really way that they

could have done it intentionally,

because in 1973 when
the album was released,

there was no home copy of the video.

It was only on TV like
every once in a while.

So there was really no way
they could have planned that,

because there's no way they

could have had a copy of the film.

So it's a little like, it's either

they somehow had a copy of the film

which was really unlikely,

or it just is a really
really odd coincidence.

- The members of the band
dismiss it as a coincidence,

but it is kind of trippy
to see how the album

and the film link up
together so seamlessly.

For me it's just another
example of how the film

continues to find new generations of fans.

Year after year, decade after decade,

and it's pretty unthinkable to think that

L. Frank Baum would have conceived

even with his imagination
that this little story

that he told his kids
would still be having

this kind of impact on our
popular culture 100 years later.

It's still going on.

It's like the Yellow Brick
Road just goes on forever,

and this is a story that I
doubt is ever gonna get old.

- Every time you watch it
you just feel good and happy

and child-like and it has that magic,

that lighthearted quality to it

that it's just enjoyable
every time you watch it.

So I think because of
that, it's just an escape,

you know back to your childhood,

back to the world of fantasy,

which sometimes you need.

- At the time, you don't
realize the significance

that it has had over the years.

I enjoy it now because of the very fact

that so many children
still watch it today,

and it seems to have been, shall we say,

an influence on the younger generation,

although a lot of older
people come to me and say

oh I remember it when I
was such and such an age

to see it for the first time.

So it is still a picture
that is, shall we say,

apparently sticks in
the mind of many people.

- The last time I saw a public screening

of The Wizard of Oz,

I found myself in the final scene,

wiping away all these tears
and saying why am I crying?

This is ridiculous, this
is The Wizard of Oz!

But that simple "Oh Auntie Em,
there's no place like home,"

gets you right here whether
you want it to or not,

and what I saw was that
as the lights came up

and everyone else around
me was getting up,

there were handkerchiefs,
Kleenex, wet hands

wiping away eyes all over the room!

It affects people in that way.

(dramatic music)

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