Social Allegory and Classic Fantasy; a Beautiful and Memorable Story

Rating: 8/10 (23 August 2005)

"The Wizard of Oz" is a powerful and enjoyable allegory of the United States under right-wing Republican government at the beginning of the Twentieth century. But it is also a complex fantasy that works very strongly as an adventure. It is a dream Dorothy Gale has; she is a twelve-year-old girl in Kansas, being raised by her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, poor chicken farmers. There are three kindly workmen also, but her dog Toto is being sought by mean Miss Alma Gulch, who has been bitten by the little terrier. Unable to get anyone to help, Dorothy runs away just as a tornado is coming. She meets kindly Professor Marvel who gazes into a crystal ball and advises her to go home. She does so but as she arrives, the family is in the cyclone cellar; hit by a shutter, Dorothy is knocked unconscious. When she wakes, she is dreaming, and the house has been carried off by the tornado. Objects whirl by, including Miss Gulch on her bicycle from whose basket Toto escaped earlier; only she turns into a witch on a broomstick. But the house lands safely; and a strange land greets her eyes; female voices sing, garish-hued flowers sprout, and amid ponds there is a yellow brick road and a central plaza. A rainbow-colored bubble approaches; from it steps Glinda, Good Witch of the North. Dorothy finds out her house has killed the Wicked Witch of the Munchkins' land. She has to admit she is no sort of witch; but she becomes the little people's heroine for her deed anyhow. Then out of smoke the Wicked Witch of the West, the other witch's sister, appears and threatens Dorothy. Glinda transfers the dead witch's ruby slippers to Dorothy, warning her to keep them on always. Wanting to get home, Dorothy is advised to follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City where the Wizard can perhaps help. Along her way, as she goes on with Toto, she picks up three companions--a Scarecrow, a Tin Woodman, and a Cowardly Lion. They all need help too--one lacks a brain, the second a heart, the third courage; so they accompany her, hoping to get help also. The Wicked Witch writes, "Surrender Dorothy" on the sky after trying to steal the slippers when poppy fumes fell the quartet; Glinda wakes them by causing a snowstorm whose chill revives the quartet. In the Emerald City, they gain admittance to the palace. The Wizard, a great talking head, knows why they've come and demands they fulfill a mission first--fetch the Wicked Witch's broomstick from her mountaintop castle. With no choice, the quartet heads for Winkieland and their battle. Flying monkeys kidnap Dorothy and Toto; the others follow to rescue her. The Witch demands the slippers for Toto's life. She tries to remove them from Dorothy's feet and is nearly electrocuted. As an hourglass measures Dorothy's life expectancy in red, Toto escapes. He finds the others, who penetrate the castle and rescue Dorothy. They are recaptured. The Witch starts to execute them, setting fire to the Scarecrow. Dorothy throws a bucket of water on him, splashing the Witch, and she melts to nothing. The people there rejoice that they are free of her. Back at the Palace, Dorothy requests their reward. The Wizard balks. Then Toto pulls aside a drape about a booth, revealing a little man frantically working dials and levers--the Wizard. he admits, "I'm a very nice person, but a very bad wizard." He is able to point out to the three companions that they've already got what they were after; their rescue of Dorothy has proved that. He gives them symbolic gifts. Dorothy wants to go home. He offers to take her there in a balloon--that's how he got to Oz. Leaving the Scarecrow and the others in charge, he takes his balloon up. Toto jumps from the gondola, and Dorothy, running after him, is also left behind. But Glinda arrives and tells her the ruby slippers can help--all she ever had to do was want to go home more than anything. Dorothy follows her instructions and finds herself back at home, lying in bed with her Aunt and Uncle tending her and the farmhands looking on anxiously. She tells them about her dream and says, "There's no place like home!; the film fades out on her radiant face. The Kansas portions of the film, were in sepia tone; Oz was always vivid technicolor.This film as fine special effects and vivid production values. Cinematography by Harold Rosson and the production design by Malcolm Brown contributed to its strength. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf along with author L. Frank Baum received major credit for the screenplay. The film was directed by Victor Fleming; King Vidor shot the sepia tone sections. Many contributed to the dialogue; Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg wrote together or separately most of the songs included. The art direction was by Cedric Gibbons, sets by Edwin B. Wilis, costumes by Adrian. Judy Garland had to play a twelve-year-old girl; camouflage was required. Jack Haley was not the first choice for the Woodman, nor several other principals for their roles. But the cast included Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion, Ray Bolger as the Scarecrow, Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch and Miss Gulch, Billie Burke as Glinda, and Frank Morgan as a host of characters including professor Marvel and the Wizard. Charles Grapewin and Clara Blandick were the Uncle and Aunt Em. And the feature was also enhanced by the presence of dozens of little people as Oz's denizens.