Judy! Judy! Judy!

Rating: 9/10 (24 October 2019)

The all time favorite children's classic that has stood the test of time (80 years at this writing). Only MGM with it's vast resources could have undertaken such a massive project. It took six different directors to bring it to the screen with victor Fleming taking the credit.
"The Wizard of Oz" is the story of a wide eyed young girl named Dorothy (Judy Garland) and her fantasy visit to the mythical land of Oz where she meets several characters that have gone on to be legendary.
Dorothy lives on a dusty little farm somewhere in Kansas with her Auntie 'Em (Clara Blandick) and Uncle Henry (Charlie Grapewin) and their three farm hands, Hunk (Ray Bolger), Zeke (Bert Lahr) and Hickory (Jack Haley). She is having trouble with local busy body Miss Gulch (Margaret Hamilton) who wants to take her dog Toto away for digging up her garden. When Miss Gulch arrives to take Toto away the dog escapes and returns to Dorothy. Dorothy decides to run away to escape "the old witch".
As she walks down the road, Dorothy comes upon Professor Marvel (Frank Morgan) who advises her to return home just as a fierce storm approaches. She arrives back at the farm to find that the others have taken shelter and she is unable to join them. As the tornado blows in, Dorothy is knocked unconscious and begins to dream.
She dreams that the farm house is taken by the wind and dropped (on the wicked witch of the east) in a magical land called Oz. There she meets good witch Glinda (Billie Burke) who introduces her to the munchkins a group of little people who immediately hail Dorothy as a hero fro having disposed of the wicked witch of the east. The wicked witch of the west (Hamilton) suddenly appears and threaten to "get you my pretty". Dorothy becomes frightened and wants to return home. Glinda counsels her to travel to the land of Oz and ask the Wizard of Oz for help. So, she's off to see the Wizrd.
Along the way, Dorothy meets a scarecrow (Bolger) who has no brain and decides to join Dorothy on her journey. Next they meet a Tin Man (Haley) who needs lubrication and a heart. He joins the other two. The Wicked Witch appears and again threatens Dorothy. As the trio moves along, they meet up with a cowardly lion (Lahr) who lacks courage. He joins up with the others and off they go down the yellow brick road.
Arriving at Oz they have to get by the Gatekeeper (Morgan) to gain entry. On entering the city they are taken by carriage driven by a driver (Morgan again) to the Wizard's castle. The guard (Morgan again) eventually admits them where they finally encounter the Wizard (you guessed it, Frank Morgan). He sends them on a mission to capture the Wicked Witch's broom and bring it back to him whereupon he will bestow a brain upon the scarecrow, a heart upon the Tin Man and a badge of courage upon the cowardly lion.
Unfortunately, Dorothy and Toto are captured by the witch but Toto manages to escape. The scarecrow, tin man and lion go to rescue them and......................................................................
Shirley Temple, who was a bigger star than Garland at the time was considered for the role of Dorothy. She at the age of 10 was more age appropriate for the part.. Garland was 16 at the time and although too old for the part, had a better singing voice and anyway, she was already under contract to MGM. Buddy Ebsen was original cast as the Tin Man but had to withdraw when his lungs became infected by the aluminum dust used in the Tin Man makeup. He can be seen in some of the early promos for the film. In spite of it all, it's hard to imagine anyone other than the final cast in their respective roles.
The farm scenes were all shot in sepia and the Oz sequence in glorious Technicolor which has been in recent years, restored to it's original brilliance. The film made a major star out of Judy Garland and the rest as they say is history.