Wizard of Oz Turns 77 today, August 12

“Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore. We must be over the rainbow!”
~~ Judy Garland, playing Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz film, 1939, American actress, singer and vaudevillian (June 10, 1922 – June 22, 1969).

The Wizard of Oz turned 77 years old August 12th. Happy Birthday to you. This 1939 American fantasy adventure film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was first released on August 12, 1939.

To honor the 75th anniversary back in 2013 aspecial 3D version was released Nationwide on September 20, 2013 for 1 week only to celebrate this milestone. (See The Wizard of Oz 3D Youtube Trailer.)

Based on the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum the film starred Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, and Frank Morgan, with Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton, Charley Grapewin, Clara Blandick and the Singer Midgets as the Munchkins.

Surprisingly, the initial release of The Wizard of Oz was not a box office hit and barely broke even. According to IMDb.com, the film earned roughly 3,000,000 and had a huge budget for that time, estimated at $2,777,000.

What appeared to save this film was, of course, what else – technology – particularly with the use of Technicolor, along with the fantasy storytelling, musical score, and unusual characters. Gradually The Wizard of Oz has become one of the most well known films and part of American popular culture.

It also featured what may be the most elaborate use of character make ups and special effects in a film up to that time. With this gradual popularly, came huge earnings, adjusted in 2012 to $239,190, 498 (source: IMDb.com).

THE ICONIC RUBY SLIPPERS

According to a Forbes article in 2008, Inside the Search for Dorothy’s Slippers, the ruby slippers worn by Dorothy during The Wizard of OZ are now among the most treasured and valuable of film memorabilia.

Multiple pairs were made for the film, and of them five pairs are known to have survived; one pair was stolen in 2005 and has never been recovered. Interesting to note that in L. Frank Baum's original novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Dorothy actually wore Silver Shoes however it was changed for the film to ruby to take advantage of the new Technicolor film process.

MUSICAL SELECTIONS AND SOUNDTRACK

Music in The Wizard of Oz was highly acclaimed for musical selections and soundtrack. Music & lyrics were by Harold Arlen and E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, who won the Academy Awards for Best Music Song for "Over the Rainbow."

Also, Herbert Stothart, who composed the instrumental underscore, won the Academy Award for Best Original Score.

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What was your favorite part of the original film?

Did you see the 3-D version that was released on the 75th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz? 

RESOURCES: 
▲   The Wizard of Oz, Warner Brothers http://www.thewizardofoz.warnerbros.com
▲   The Wizard of Oz on Wikimedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wizard_of_Oz_(1939_film)
▲   The Wizard of Oz on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/TheWizardOfOzMovie
▲   The Wizard of Oz on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/channel/HC62C4ngurVs4
▲   The Wizard of Oz photo stream on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/TheWizardOfOzMovie/photos_stream Warner Bros. studio screening of The Wizard of Oz 75th anniversary in 3-D!
▲   The Ruby Slippers: Inventing an American Icon, The Lemelson Center, http://invention.smithsonian.org/resources/online_articles_detail.aspx?id=593

All photos courtesy of Wikimedia.org unless otherwise indicated.
This blog is an updated report of the original Wizard of Oz 75th Anniversary posted on August 12, 2014.
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