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Just watched "The Wizzard of Oz" again for the eleventyeth time or so. I first saw this one at the Florida Theater on Adams St. when I was about six. I remember that I thought the Witch looked about ninety years older than God then. Today, I watch the film and think, "My God, how young she looks." Times change, huh.
Jack Haley, who played the Tin Man in the movie was the second choice for that role. The part was first offered to a young song and dance man named Buddy Ebsen. Ebsen accepted the role of Tin Man but had to drop out when he found he had a serious alllergy to the metallic make-up required. Then Haley stepped in to replace him. Haley also had a close relationship to Judy Garland when his son, also named Jack Haley, married Judy's daughter, LIza Minnelli, some years later.
And Margaret Hamilton, who played the Witch of the West, had a number of very close calls with the pyrotechnics used on set. Several times she narrowly escaped being set on fire when the flash powder went off.
Anyone got any more trivia on this classic favorite?
With love under will,
Bob, Adastra,
The Wizzard of Jacksonville
Jack Haley, who played the Tin Man in the movie was the second choice for that role. The part was first offered to a young song and dance man named Buddy Ebsen. Ebsen accepted the role of Tin Man but had to drop out when he found he had a serious alllergy to the metallic make-up required. Then Haley stepped in to replace him. Haley also had a close relationship to Judy Garland when his son, also named Jack Haley, married Judy's daughter, LIza Minnelli, some years later.
And Margaret Hamilton, who played the Witch of the West, had a number of very close calls with the pyrotechnics used on set. Several times she narrowly escaped being set on fire when the flash powder went off.
Anyone got any more trivia on this classic favorite?
With love under will,
Bob, Adastra,
The Wizzard of Jacksonville
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Re: Wizard of Oz Trivia
Mon, October 26, 2009 - 10:30 PM"Over the Rainbow" tested badly in preview screenings so it was cut out and then later, upon reflection, reinserted. Good thinking
The ruby slippers were originally silver, as they were in the L. Frank Baum book. But hey, it's Technicolor and ruby looks better. Speaking of - according to some sources, 7 pairs actually existed. The location of 5 is known. If you're sitting on a missing pair, they're worth about 1.5 million. Dollars.
Source www.fiftiesweb.com/movies/w...of-oz.htm -
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Re: Wizard of Oz Trivia
Tue, October 27, 2009 - 12:58 AM>If you're sitting on a missing pair, they're worth about 1.5 million. Dollars.
<--*checks under chair...under bed...under sofa*
Dang.
I wish!
Lot of trivia here:
www.imdb.com/title/tt0032138/trivia -
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Re: Wizard of Oz Trivia
Wed, November 4, 2009 - 10:00 PM>>>Dang.
I wish!<<<
Dear Denisey, the Phantom of Delight,
Please don't despair. It turns out that the pair of Ruby Slippers in the Smithsonian is not a matching pair. The shoes seem to come from two different sets. This has lead some experts to suspect that there is at least one, possibly two pairs out there somewhere that were never counted among the seven pairs known to exist.
And as a bonus of trivia, did you know that the woman you hear in the Tin Man's song, saying "Wherefore art thou, Romeo, is the voice of Adriana Caselotti, who was the voice of Snow White in the Disney animated film, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs?"
With love under will,
Bob, Adastra,
The Wizzard of Jacksonville -
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Re: Wizard of Oz Trivia
Wed, November 4, 2009 - 10:08 PMThanks you for restoring my hope, Bob!
And speaking of shoes:
rubyslipperauction.com/
From Beverly Hills to Berlin; from big screens to home screens, Warner Bros. Entertainment has for the past year been celebrating the 70th anniversary of an iconic American classic The Wizard of Oz with spectacular festivities spanning the globe. As part of this celebration, Warner Bros. Consumer Products in partnership with CRYSTALLIZED™ - Swarovski Elements invited the world's top shoe designers to reinterpret Dorothy's iconic Ruby Slippers for modern times.
“If Dorothy were living in the 21st century, what would she wear?” was the question answered by The Wizard of Oz Ruby Slipper Collection, a creative re-interpretation of one of film's most iconic and revered symbols which has captured the hearts and imaginations of people the world over. Designers, including A. Testoni, Abaete, Alberta Ferretti, Betsey Johnson, Botkier, Christian Louboutin, Diane von Furstenberg, Giuseppe Zanotti, Jimmy Choo, L.A.M.B. by Gwen Stefani, Lisa Pliner, Manolo Blahnik, Moschino, Oscar de la Renta, Roger Vivier, Sergio Rossi, Stuart Weitzman, Tibi, and Tuleh, were granted creative license and access to unlimited CRYSTALLIZED™ - Swarovski Elements to re-imagine Dorothy's design with their own modern vision of the sparkling Ruby Slipper.
Since its debut one year ago in New York City to kick off Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, the Collection has toured more than 20 prestigious destinations around the world, including Los Angeles, Miami, Paris, Tokyo, Dubai and Melbourne. The Ruby Slipper Collection and original design sketches will now be auctioned online by Charity Folks beginning 10:00 AM EST on September 10 to benefit the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. The public has one final chance to view The Ruby Slipper Collection in entirety at the Swarovski CRYSTALLIZED™ flagship store at 499 Broadway in New York City from September 10th — 23rd; the exhibit will be run simultaneously to the online auction.
Also featured in the auction are select pieces from The Inspirations of Oz Fine Art Collection which premiered during the highly anticipated and revered Art Basel Miami Beach 2008. An acclaimed array of artists were among the chosen few selected to re-interpret The Wizard of Oz through their own unique visions and artistic mediums. Included in the auction are one-of-a-kind interpretive works of art including painting, drawing and sculpture from esteemed artisans Angelo Aversa, Romero Britto, Nelson De La Nuez, Todd White and Yakovetic.
The auction will culminate at 10:00 PM on Thursday, September 24, with the Warner Bros. Entertainment Emerald Gala, a glorious event at Manhattan’s historic Tavern on the Green hosted by its owner and CEO Jennifer Oz LeRoy, granddaughter of The Wizard of Oz producer Mervyn LeRoy; introducing Warner Home Video’s new benchmark The Wizard of Oz 70th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition Blu-Ray release on September 29th.
THE WIZARD OF OZ and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © Turner Entertainment Co.
(photo slide show at link) -
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Re: Wizard of Oz Trivia
Wed, November 4, 2009 - 10:50 PMthe first movie adaptation of the frank l baum books was a silent movie from 1925.
from wikipedia:
Wizard of Oz is a 1925 silent film directed by Larry Semon, who also appears in a lead role. The first major film adaptation of L. Frank Baum's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, this film features a young Oliver Hardy as the Tin Man. Although the original title card of the film reads The Wizard of Oz, many prints of the film have a different opening credits sequence which simply read Wizard of Oz.
A toymaker (Semon) tells an intriguing story about how the Land of Oz was ruled by Prince Kynd (Bryant Washburn), but he was overthrown by Prime Minister Kruel (Josef Swickard). Dorothy learns from Aunt Em (Mary Carr) that fat, cruel Uncle Henry (Frank Alexander) is not her uncle, and gives her a note due on her eighteenth birthday, which reveals she is actually Princess Dorothea of Oz, and is supposed to marry Prince Kynd. She, Uncle Henry, and two farmhands (Semon and Oliver Hardy) are swept to Oz by a tornado. Snowball (Spencer Bell, credited as G. Howe Black), a third farmhand, soon joins them after a lightning bolt chases him into the sky.
They land in Oz, where the farmhands try to avoid capture. Semon sees a real but inanimate scarecrow hanging on a pole in a cornfield, promptly dismantles it, and takes its place; Hardy briefly disguises himself as a Tin Woodman; and Snowball is given a Lion suit by the Wizard (Charles Murray), which he uses to scare the Pumperdink guards. Ambassador Wikked (Otto Lederer) is the film's antagonist. He prevents Dorothy's righteousness as the Princess of Oz. Virginia Pearson is Prime Minister Kruel's aide, Lady Vishuss. Frederick Ko Vert, a female impersonator, plays The Phantom of the Basket.
The film departs radically from the novel upon which it is based, introducing new characters and exploits. Along with a completely different plot, the film is all set in a world that is only barely recognizable as the Land of Oz from the books. The film focuses mainly upon Semon's character, who is analogous to Ray Bolger's Scarecrow character in the 1939 version.
The major departure from the book and film is that the Scarecrow, Tin Man (played by Hardy), and Lion are not actually characters, but are in fact disguises donned by three farm hands who find themselves swept into Oz by a tornado. Dorothy is here played by Dorothy Dwan — Semon's wife. Her version of the character is a young, seductive woman who has just turned 18 and who finds herself in the middle of a love triangle between Semon and Hardy. In a drastic departure from the original book, the "Tin Man" is a villain in this version, as Hardy's jealousy over Dorothy leads him to become the henchman for the evil Prime Minister Kruel. Semon vies unsuccessfully for Dorothy's love, losing at first to the farmhand played by Hardy, and then to Prince Kynd.
Some elements of the narrative have their roots in earlier adaptations of The Wizard of Oz. For example, Prime Minister Kruel has a predecessor in King Krewl, the antagonist of His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz. The note explaining Princess Dorothea's true heritage is signed "Pastoria", a name used for the exiled King of Oz in the 1902 stage version of The Wizard of Oz and for the father of Ozma in The Marvelous Land of Oz and later Oz books.
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Re: Wizard of Oz Trivia
Wed, November 4, 2009 - 10:53 PMa list of wizards (other than bob adastra)
The Fairylogue and Radio-Plays is a 1908 multimedia presentation made by L. Frank Baum which featured the young silent film actress Mildred Harris.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a 1910 film, based on the 1902 stage musical, directed by Otis Turner, and may have featured Bebe Daniels as Dorothy.
His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz is a loose 1914 adaptation by L. Frank Baum with so many new ideas that it became the basis for The Scarecrow of Oz.
The Wizard of Oz is a 1921 film, directed by Ray C. Smallwood, never completed.
Wizard of Oz is a 1925 film, directed by Larry Semon in collaboration with Frank Joslyn Baum and notable mostly because it features a young Oliver Hardy. It has almost nothing to do with the original novel.
The Land of Oz, a Sequel to the "Wizard of Oz" is a virtually unknown 1932 film featuring the Meglin Kiddies.
The Wizard of Oz is the 1939 musical film by MGM, directed by Victor Fleming and starring Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, and Jack Haley.
Journey Back to Oz is a 1971 animated film, begun in 1963, the official sequel to the 1939 film.
The Wonderful Land of Oz is a 1969 low budget kiddie matinee version of The Marvelous Land of Oz directed by Barry Mahon.
Ayşecik ve Sihirli Cüceler Rüyalar Ülkesinde is a 1971 Turkish film, directed by Tunç Basaran (known to bootleggers as "The Turkish Wizard of Oz").
Oz is a 1976 Australian rock musical film, also known as Oz - A Rock 'n' Roll Road Movie or 20th Century Oz.
The Wiz was a 1978 movie directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Diana Ross as Dorothy and Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow, based on the Broadway musical of the same name.
Return to Oz is a 1985 film by Walt Disney Pictures, an unofficial sequel to the 1939 film, directed by Walter Murch and starring Fairuza Balk
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005) Starring Ashanti, Queen Latifah, and The Muppets. Miss Piggy played ALL of the witches, Pepe the Prawn played Toto, Kermit the Frog played the scarecrow, Gonzo the Great played the Tinman, and Fozzie the Bear plays the Lion
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a 2011 CGI film directed by John Boorman.
Dark Oz is an upcoming adaptation of the Calibre Comics series, Oz. It is to be directed by Pearry Teo and star Pras Micheal.[1]
Basil Iwanyk has Oz in development
[edit] Television adaptations
Nearly all of these are not, strictly speaking, adaptations of The Wizard of Oz, but are rather adaptations of sequels as well as original films using the Oz characters.
"The Land of Oz" is the 1960 premiere episode of The Shirley Temple Show, known in previous seasons as Shirley Temple's Storybook, and no relation to the Shirley Temple Theatre which showcased old Temple films, this adaptation of The Marvelous Land of Oz was written by Frank Gabrielson and directed by William Corrigan. William Asher produced. The cast included Shirley Temple, Ben Blue, Agnes Moorehead, Sterling Holloway, Jonathan Winters, and Arthur Treacher.
Tales of the Wizard of Oz is a 1961 animated series of short episodes based on the Oz characters from the book.
Return to Oz is a 1964 animated television special sequel-cum-remake of the 1939 film, based on the artistic renderings of the characters in the 1961 animated series.
Thanksgiving in the Land of Oz aka Dorothy in the Land of Oz (1980), animated television special starring Sid Caesar that aired during the Thanksgiving holiday.
A feature-length anime adaptation of the story was made by Toho in 1982 and was directed by Fumihiko Takayama, with music by Joe Hisaishi (known for composing the music to many of Hayao Miyazaki's works). The English version of the movie stars Aileen Quinn as the voice of Dorothy and Lorne Greene as the Wizard. Like the 1939 Judy Garland film version, this anime take on The Wizard of Oz ends the story with Dorothy's trip home to Kansas after visiting the Wizard, and is a musical boasting original vocal songs such as "It's Strictly Up To You," "I Dream Of Home," and "A Wizard Of A Day," all sung by Aileen Quinn in the English version. The lyrics to these songs were by Sammy Cahn and Allen Byrnes. This film was seemingly made with the American market in mind, as it was released in the United States before it premiered in Japan. In the U.S., it was released on video and syndicated to local television stations.
An anime adaptation of four of Baum's Oz books known as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was created in 1986. It consists of 52 episodes and follows the story of Dorothy and her adventures in Oz with the Tin Woodsman, Cowardly Lion, and Scarecrow. It continues on to the story of Ozma and Mombi, and follows through the events of other Oz books. In 1987, HBO purchased the rights to the series and dubbed/edited together key episodes of the series into a series of movies. Production for the English version was done by the Canadian studio Cinar. Actress Margot Kidder was hired as narrator for the series, which aired as a mini-series.
The Wizard of Oz, an animated series based on the 1939 film , was broadcast on ABC during the 1990–1991 TV season. The cartoon featured Dorothy returning to Oz, reuniting with her four friends, and journeying through the magical realm in an attempt to rescue the Wizard from a resurrected Witch of the West.
The Wonderful Galaxy of Oz (Supêsu Oz no Bôken) is a 1990 anime series, involving Dorothy and the gang travelling the "Galaxy of Oz". Truncated to 76 minutes and dubbed for American release as The Wonderful Galaxy of Oz
The Oz Kids is a 1996 animated series featuring the children of the original characters.
Adventures in the Emerald city (Приключения в Изумрудном городе) is a 1999-2000 animated series directed by Alexander Makarov, Ilya Maximov and Denis Chernov.[1][2]
Tim Burton's Lost in Oz is a 2000 television pilot script, written by Tray Callaway with Tim Burton as executive producer. Key scenes were filmed by Michael Katleman.
Lost in Oz is a 2002 television pilot, never broadcast, aimed as an original sequel to the 1939 film
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz is a 2005 telefilm, directed by Kirk Thatcher and starring Ashanti and The Muppets.
In December 2007, RHI Entertainment and Sci Fi released Tin Man. This three-part miniseries, directed by Nick Willing and starring Zooey Deschanel, Richard Dreyfuss, Alan Cumming, Raoul Trujillo, Neal McDonough, Kathleen Robertson, was advertised as a re-imagined version of the Wizard of Oz, and gave the story a heavy science fiction/fantasy emphasis and at first glance, gives only allusive references to most of the original story and the 1939 film.[2] However, the revelation in the third part of Tin Man that the heroine, DG, is a descendant of Dorothy Gale indicates that the series may portray a future version of Oz, rather than a re-imagining.
Ozenders - A Children In Need Episode of EastEnders in which June Brown starred as "Dorothy Cotton", John Culshaw as Ozzy Ozbourne and Adam Woodyatt as "Ian Beale" and the rest of the cast of Eastenders, Mersybeat and Casualty.
The Paul O'Grady Show one of The Paul O'Grady Players Annual Panto's
[edit] Stage adaptations
The earliest musical version of the book was produced by Baum and Denslow (with music by composer Paul Tietjens) in Chicago in 1902, and moved to New York in 1903. It used many of the same characters, and was aimed more at adult audiences. It had a long, successful run on Broadway. Baum added numerous additional political references to the script. For example, his actors specifically mention President Theodore Roosevelt, Senator Mark Hanna, and John D. Rockefeller by name. (Swartz, Before the Rainbow, pp 34, 47, 56) He wrote a version more faithful to the book in 1901, but it has never been produced. Although it included many of the same songs, it featured far fewer interpolations of other songs (which had nothing to do with the story) than the 1902 version did.
The Wizard of Oz is a 1945 stage play using songs from the 1939 film; adapted by Frank Gabrielson for the St. Louis Municipal Opera[3][4]
In 1959, the popular ice skating show Holiday on Ice included a condensed version of The Wizard of Oz. [5] 1959 was also the first year that the MGM 1939 film version began to be shown annually on television. (It had been shown on TV in 1956, but it did not begin to be shown annually until after the 1959 telecast.)
The Wiz is a 1975 musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls, featuring exclusively African American actors.
The Marvelous Land of Oz is a 1981 musical by Thomas W. Olson, Gary Briggle, and Richard Dworsky. The original production, which included Briggle as the Scarecrow, was taped and shown on television.
The Wizard of Oz (1987 - 1989) is an adaptation by John Kane for the Royal Shakespeare Company, also based on the 1939 film and hewing more closely to its script than the 1945 version did; this adaptation played in London's West End and starred Imelda Staunton as Dorothy[3][6]
The Wizard of Oz Live (1989 - 1990) is an arena touring production in celebration of the film's 50th anniversary. The production featured a pre recorded soundtrack. Due to a lack of audience, many of the show's scheduled stops were cancelled towards the end of tour.
The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True is a 1995 concert performance of the RSC's adaptation at Lincoln Center, featuring celebrity actors (such as Jewel as Dorothy, Roger Daltrey as the Tin Man, Joel Grey, Nathan Lane as the Lion, Debra Winger, Natalie Cole, Jackson Browne as the Scarecrow, and Lucie Arnaz )
The Wizard of Oz on Ice (1995 - 1999) is a touring production produced by Kenneth Feld, that toured nationally & internationally around the world.
The Wizard Of Oz on Tour is a 1998 touring production that originally played in the Madison Square Garden theatre in May 1997. Roseanne Barr was cast as the Wicked Witch, followed by Eartha Kitt in 1998, and JoAnne Worley and Liliane Montevecchi in 1999. Mickey Rooney was cast as the Wizard in 1998 & 1999. The production played at Madison Square Garden from May 1997 - May 1999. The touring production ran from May 1998 - late 1999.
Wicked (2003 - Present) is a 2003 musical based on the book Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. It features music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz.
Der Zauberer von OZ is a 2005 stage play with music by Ralf Linke, performed by the Festspiele Balver Höhle
The Wizard of Oz (2008 - Present) is a restaging of the RSC adaptation, first presented at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton. International tour produced by Networks[3] and Columbia Artists Theatricals[4] and starring Cassie Okenka, finalist of Legally Blonde - The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods.
Dothy et Le Magicien d'Oz was a 2009 musical spectacular that played in France. A cast album was generated.
On 23 July 2008, a new stage version of the film opened at Southbank Centre's Royal Festival Hall in London. Directed by acclaimed Artistic Director Jude Kelly, it stars Sian Brooke, Adam Cooper, Roy Hudd, Julie Legrand, Hilton McRae and Gary Wilmot.
Andrew Lloyd Webber will collaborate with Glenn Slater on additional songs for a revival in the West End in 2010. A TV series that follows the search to find a brand new Dorothy will air on BBC. -
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Re: Wizard of Oz Trivia
Wed, November 4, 2009 - 10:55 PMi live about 15 minutes from this place: www.ozmuseum.com/ when you visit me you can check it out. i'll wait in the car.
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Re: Wizard of Oz Trivia
Tue, October 27, 2009 - 7:10 PM"The ruby slippers were originally silver, as they were in the L. Frank Baum book"
As they are in the book and musical "Wicked"
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Re: Wizard of Oz Trivia
Tue, October 27, 2009 - 1:16 AM"In gay slang, a "friend of Dorothy" (occasionally abbreviated FOD) is a term for a gay man.[1] The phrase dates back to at least World War II, when homosexual acts were illegal in the United States. Stating that, or asking if, someone was a "friend of Dorothy" was a euphemism used for discussing sexual orientation without others knowing its meaning. The origin of the term is unknown and there are various theories.[2] A similar term "friend of Mrs King" (ie Queen) was used in England, mostly in the first half of the 20th century.[3]
Most commonly it is stated that "friend of Dorothy" refers to the film The Wizard of Oz because Judy Garland, who starred as the main character Dorothy, is a gay icon. In the film, Dorothy is accepting of those who are different. For example the "gentle lion" living a lie, "I'm afraid there's no denyin', I'm just a dandy lion."[4][5]
Others claim that the phrase refers to celebrated humorist and critic Dorothy Parker, who included some gay men in her famous social circle.
In the early 1980s, the Naval Investigative Service was investigating homosexuality in the Chicago area. Agents discovered that gay men sometimes referred to themselves as "friends of Dorothy." Unaware of the historical meaning of the term, the NIS believed that a woman named Dorothy was at the center of a massive ring of homosexual military personnel. The NIS launched an enormous hunt for Dorothy, hoping to find her and convince her to reveal the names of gay servicemembers.[6]"
More: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friend_of_Dorothy
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Re:hunt for Dorothy
Tue, October 27, 2009 - 2:40 AMJust goes to show , Military intelligence is an oxymoron! -
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Re:hunt for Dorothy
Tue, October 27, 2009 - 11:37 AM>>>Just goes to show , Military intelligence is an oxymoron!<<<
Only in matters that are not military in nature. Military intelligence is actually a highly skilled profession in the military, but it seems to be useless away from the battlefield.
But in reference to civilian concerns, yes, military intelligence really is an oxymoron--like any other form of expertise attempting application to matters outside its specialty. Take a look sometime at B.F. Skinner's attempt to apply behavioral psychology to political science. His book would have been one of Hitler's favorites, if it had been around then.
With love under will,
Bob, Adastra,
The Wizzard of Jacksonville -
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Re:hunt for Dorothy
Tue, October 27, 2009 - 2:06 PMSimilarly...
"I believe that a scientist looking at nonscientific problems is just as dumb as the next guy." - Richard Feynman
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Re: Wizard of Oz Trivia
Tue, October 27, 2009 - 7:54 PM15.7. Where does the Red Brick Road go?
Many people have spotted the Red Brick Road intertwined with the more famous Yellow Brick Road, and asked about this. There is no definitive answer, however. The Munchkin Army enters the city via the Red Brick Road, so that may be the way to the barracks. Also, Glinda's bubble appears to head in that general direction as she leaves, so that may be the way to her home in the north. (This was, in fact, the basis for an amusing story, "Follow the Other Brick Road" by Frederick E. Otto, in the 1989 edition of Oziana, IWOC's annual fiction anthology.) It does appear, however, that Glinda's bubble enters Munchkinland from the opposite direction.
Source thewizardofoz.info/faq15.html
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Re: Wizard of Oz Trivia
Tue, October 27, 2009 - 7:57 PMThe "oil" that was used to lubricate the Tin Man was not really oil. It was discovered that oil would not photograph well, so they used chocolate syrup instead
The Director - Victor Fleming, was working on "Gone With The Wind" at the same time.
The Cowardly Lion's facial makeup included a brown paper bag.
Some of the more minor mistakes in the film may have been left in because there was no time to shoot more accurate takes. This picture wasn't expected to be as big of a hit as it was, and when it went over-budget and took longer than expected to shoot, a lot of pressure was put on the crew and director to finish it. MGM wanted to put Judy Garland in a film with Mickey Rooney, as he was a bigger star than she was (and the studio thought starring with him would help her career), so the crew of the film had to rush to get it all shot and edited so Garland could be released.
Source www.moviemistakes.com/film1418/trivia
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Re: Wizard of Oz Trivia 5/8/2009... Munchkins
Tue, October 27, 2009 - 8:12 PM
ST. LOUIS — Mickey Carroll, one of the last surviving Munchkins from the 1939 beloved film The Wizard of Oz, died Thursday. He was 89.
His caretaker, Linda Dodge, said Carroll died in his sleep at her home in suburban Crestwood. He had heart problems and received a pacemaker in February. Until January, he had lived in his own home in suburban Bel-Nor.
Carroll was one of more than 100 adults and children who were recruited to play the movie natives of what author L. Frank Baum called Munchkin Country in his 1900 book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Carroll told The Associated Press in a 2007 interview that the Munchkins made only $125 a week while filming the movie that would become a classic.
The Wizard of Oz was Carroll's only movie. When it appeared on television in the 1960s, he found a new career at charitable events, retail events and Oz-related events.
"It's not me; it's the movie," Carroll said. "When they see me, they think of their childhood, and it makes them smile."
Carroll was born Michael Finocchiaro on July 8, 1919, in St. Louis. The son of immigrants, he grew up in an Italian neighborhood on the city's north side with a twin sister and four older siblings. All preceded him in death.
Carroll danced at the Muny Theater in St. Louis when he was in grade school, he once said, and in the 1920s worked in Chicago clubs and on the Orpheum Theater vaudeville circuit.
His gift of gab and comedic timing helped his popularity. He warmed up crowds for President Franklin Roosevelt while campaigning in New York City and served as a crowd-getter in President Harry Truman's whistlestop campaign.
He did Phillip Morris live radio ads and appeared in shows with Mae West. He later did radio shows with George Burns, Gracie Allen, Jack Benny and Al Jolson.
But it was his role as one of the Oz Munchkins that defined him.
Carroll played the part of the Munchkinland "Town Crier," marched as a "Munchkin Soldier" and was the candy-striped "Fiddler" who escorted the movie's wide-eyed orphan, Dorothy Gale, played by Judy Garland, down the yellow brick road toward Emerald City.
In the mid-1940s, Carroll returned to St. Louis to run the family business making cemetery monuments. After he sold it in 1996, he filled his time with charity work, Dodge said.
In November 2007, Carroll and six other surviving Munchkins received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Carroll was joined on that occasion by former Munchkin colleagues Ruth Duccini, Jerry Maren, Margaret Pellegrini, Meinhardt Raabe, Karl Slover and Clarence Swensen. Swensen died in February.
At a special screening of the film in 2005 in Los Angeles, Carroll said talking to longtime fans about the movie brought back their childhoods.
"They have tears," he said. "I'll say, 'May the magic of Oz always be with you.' And, 'Follow the yellow brick road!' And they're all excited. I bring back their childhood. Ain't that something?"
www.usatoday.com/life/movi...obit_N.htm
Seventy years after the Lollipop Guild first sang to Dorothy in The Wizard Of Oz, the actors who portrayed the Munchkins reunited
Read more and see the video at www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/1...08.html -
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Re: .. Munchkins
Mon, November 2, 2009 - 9:12 AMOrigins of the Munchkins.... Baum never explained where the term came from, but Baum researcher Brian Attebery has hypothesized that there might be a connection to the emblem of the Bavarian city of Munich (spelled München in German). The symbol was originally a 13th century statue of a monk, looking down from the town hall in Munich. Over the years the image was reproduced many times, for instance as a figure on beer steins, and eventually evolved into a child wearing a pointed hood. Baum's family had German origins: Baum could have seen one such reproduction in his childhood. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munchkins
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Got a Hot One Here
Mon, November 2, 2009 - 9:17 AMI've just been googling "Wizard of Oz trivia" and found a site with a few interesting items. Particularly the story of an amazing coincidence relating to the movie.
The coat that Frank Morgan wears in his Professor Marvel character early in the film was bought from a second hand clothing store for use in the movie. A bit later, someone discovered the name "L. Frank Baum" sewed into the lining of the coat. This was shown to Baum's widow, who confirmed that this very coat had once belonged to the author of "The Wizard of Oz."
Frank Morgan, btw, played a total of 5 roles in the film, most of them very brief cameos. He was Professor Marvel, the traveling seer in his colorful wagon in Kansas just before the tornado episode. In Oz, he was the gatekeeper of the Emerald City, the driver of the taxi pulled by the Horse of Another Color, the guardsman in the Wizard's palace and the Wizard himself.
There is a kind of stranded dialogue in one scene of the movie. As she is sending out the Flying Monkeys to attack Dorothy's party and to bring back Dorothy and Toto, the Witch of the West makes a rather cryptic remark about having sent a little insect ahead to soften the victims up. This usually passes unnoticed, although it doesn't relate to any other scene in the movie and is, therefore, a complete puzzle. Why does she say something that makes no sense in terms of anything actually on the screen? This causes a very strange "continuity error." It's because she is referring to a scene we haven't been able to "scee". ;-) The insect she mentions is called The Jitterbug"; when one bites you, you dance involuntarily, and you can't stop dancing until the effect of the bite wears off. This may be a reference to the tarantula spider that provided the excuse for the dancing mania of Renaissence Italy centered on the city of Taranto, although the spider itself is not an insect. The script included a scene of Dorothy and her friends being bitten (by a flying insect that looked a bit like a mosquito) and forced to dance until they were worn out and easy prey for the Flying Monkeys. This scene never made it into the film and is now available only as a rough-cut in the bonus materials on some of the DVD releases. It's a rather obvious satire on the energetic dances favored by teenagers of that era, one of which was, of course, the "jitterbug", as I'm sure some of us old geezers still remember. Or I wonder if the dance was actually named for the one that should have been in the movie. But the removal of that scene makes the witch's comment about the "little insect" completely incomprehensible.
Oh, yes, the source:
www.moviemistakes.com/film1418/trivia
With love under will,
Bob, Adastra,
The Wizzard of Jacksonville -
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All The Directors
Mon, November 2, 2009 - 8:33 PMWhile Frank Morgan played a total of five separate roles as noted above, the "Wizard of Oz" also has the distinction of having had five directors.
In order of appearance on the set, these were:
1)Richard Thorpe. He shot a couple of weeks worth of footage that was discarded and never appeared in the film. The producers were unsatisfied with his work and removed him from the project. HIs place was taken by;
2) George Cukor. He did no filming whatever. His only contribution was making alterations in the make-up used for Dorothy and the Scarecrow.
3) Victor Fleming came next. He usually is given credit for directing the picture. Certainly the bulk of the scenes were shot by him and his vision had the greatest influence on the movie. He left before finishing the project to go and direct "Gone With the 'Wind".
4) King Vidor then took over and filmed the remaining scenes, mostly the ones from the Kansas portions of the film. But even that doesn't tell quite the whole story of the Directors' Parade.
5)Mervin LeRoy, the producer of the film, is known to have shot some small, transitional scenes, although it is not apparent when this took place.
So there you have the Tale of the Five Directors.
And as an extra tidbit, we know that Margaret Hamilton appeared as two characters in the movie, Miss Elvira Gulch and The Wicked Witch of the West. But she had a third part as well. In the scene inside the tornado, when Dorothy looks out the window, she sees Miss Gulch change into the Witch. Ah, but if you look closely, you can see that she is wearing the Ruby Slippers. It's hard to tell, since this part is not in color, but the shine of her shoes proves it. So in this scene, she was playing the Wicked Witch of the East, who was about to be killed when the farmhouse fell on her. And this gives Ms Hamilton three roles total, and incidentally proves that the Witches of the East and the West were Twin Sisters. What a family that must have been!
Again, the source:
www.imdb.com/title/tt0032138/trivia
With love under will,
Bob, Adastra,
The Wizzard of Jacksonville
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Re: Wizard of Oz Trivia
Mon, November 2, 2009 - 9:13 PMHow to identify the first edition The Wizard of Oz. Also see how the book characters illustrations showed up in the Hollywood madeup characters.
Source:www.metacafe.com/watch/236...izard_of_o
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Re: Wizard of Oz Trivia
Sat, November 7, 2009 - 6:06 PMHenry Gale was Dorothy's Uncle.
Henry Gale is a character on Lost.
Henry claimed he crashed his balloon on the island.
Dorothy made it back to her uncles farm on a balloon.
trivia, or coincidence? -
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Re: Wizard of Oz Trivia
Sat, November 7, 2009 - 6:22 PMdorthy did not make it back to her uncle's farm on a baloon. she got back via the magic shoes. but other than that, your logic is flawless. -
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Re: Wizard of Oz Trivia
Sat, November 7, 2009 - 8:21 PMthanks Bea.
uh, sposed to make it back in the balloon is what I meant to say.
argh!
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