A true classic! I could end it there which I am sure I could do and get away with but feel I should add a little more detail just to flavour this up a bit.
If you have never seen this movie then welcome to our planet how long do you plan to stay on earth before returning home.
I think this is just about to pip Fantasia as the oldest movie on my list as this was released in 1939 a year before Disney’s classic. Back before inflation kicked in this movie was produced on a budget of $2.8m but bearing that in mind this movie went on to make a rather tidy $26.1m at the box office and secured it’s place on TV every Christmas, Easter or Pandemic happening at the time. It starred Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton & Charley Grapewin. I will not continue until I mentioned that Terry played Toto and if you didn’t know Toto comes from TOtable Tornado Observatory. Or the other way around where they named the observatory after the fictional dog. The dog also gave its name to the band Toto and I guess it does rain in Africa at some stage. Oh and the Tri-Critic challenge in this case has been let down by me and IMDb as I mentioned they do not like to score classic famous loved movies very highly and in this case nor do I.. I gave it 76 and IMDb gave it 8/10 and Rotten Tomatoes loved it with a whopping 98% and I can see why. Shall I get to the plot but I really do not think I need to bother do I.
Dorothy lives in a black and white Kansas City farm with farm hands and her auntie and uncle and an evil woman who comes to visit who tries to kill her dog. I may of made that last bit up but this woman is nasty! Well a hurricane, tornado, thing rocks up and takes her house, Dorothy and her dog to a land of colour. The house lands on top of the first person they see which kills that woman instantly!! How is that, for a welcome to a new world? Dorothy and Toto step out of the house and meet some mini people that dance and sing and are called the munchkins who dance by kneeing invisible people in the groin. A fairy appears who gives Dorothy the shoes of the victim of the house landing murder they had just committed and desperate to go home the fairy suggests they follow the yellow brick road which starts in the centre of town and goes all the way to the Wizard of Oz’s castle where he could ensure her safe return. So, with a basket over one arm and a dog in the other, off the murderer dances as she follows the yellow brick road. It is at this point I wonder where the red brick road goes. As there are two roads that begin in the centre of this little town village thing. Check this out where does it go!! WHERE?!?! Sorry I digress. Off down the road she goes collecting three friends on her way that look suspiciously like the three farm helpers from the old black and white days. The three friends are a scarecrow from a field, a tin man rusting in a field and a lion that leaps out from the woods. Each of them have their own issues they are living with. The Scarecrow doesn’t have a brain, whilst the tin man doesn’t have a heart and the Lion is terrified of everything and desperate for courage. Dorothy talks them into believing that the all powerful Oz will grant them all they desire so decide to tag along with her, to meet the Great Oz. Following the murder of her sister, the wicked witch of the west is annoyed that her sister had been killed and seeks revenge on Dorothy and her new friends. Who will win this battle of wills and survive to the end of the movie. Who knows? guess you’ll have to watch it to find out.
OK where should I start with this movie should I mention that Judy Garland developed her addictions during this movie with the producers giving her sleeping pills then she was awoken and given more drugs (Uppers) to get her going for the performance this some 4 hours after the sleeping pills this way the staff had more efficient working week. Maybe I should not mention that the snow in the poppies scene is actually asbestos, ok I won’t mentioned that as that may make the movie look bad. So I definitely won’t mention that Terry the dog got paid more than the munchkins did! Yep that one is true but then again the stories I hear about the munchkins are just as shocking as they were pissed most of the time and were dragged on set where their drunkenness continued with staggering around, falling over and groping the female actresses. At least the stars were safe well maybe not Margaret Harrison who played the evil woman on the bike and the Wicked Witch who was trapped by a faulty trapdoor that only dropped about 50% as far as it should of. This left her upper body exposed to the pyro that burst flames into her face and arms and resulted in a hospital visit. Not being able to reshoot the scene they just used this rehearsal performance in the movie so you get to watch an actress burn every time you watch this evil satanic movie. YOU ARE EVIL!! As I bet you loved this scene didn’t you!!
Ok I am teasing because this is a truly well loved movie and I have to include myself in that bracket as well. The story of good v evil and friends united in the search of self improvement and a return to home and loved ones is a lovely one. The songs will stay with you forever and is probably one of the few movies on my list that I can actually say is a genuine classic. It is just not my type of movie as it is very lovey dovey and it is a musical and I am a metal rocking horror fan and having this on my shelf can dent my reputation. But secretly this is a great movie that should be on your movies to see before you die list!
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