MGM's much-loved classic

Rating: 6/10 (7 September 2003)

Based on L Frank Baum's first book in his Oz series, and using the songs of Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg, with the talents of several directors including Fleming and Vidor, 'The Wizard of Oz' was the high point of MGM's 1939 output, despite originally losing money and almost losing its greatest moment, Judy singing 'Over the Rainbow'.
Dorothy Gale is a pre-teen girl caught in a storm and magically transported, with her faithful dog Toto, from her Kansas backyard to the magical world of Oz, with its yellow brick road and Emerald City. On the way she meets a scarecrow without a brain, a tin man without a heart, and a lion without courage, as well as some rather scary midgets and some flying monkeys. Her journey with her odd new companions to see the grand Wizard of Oz takes the form of a musical odyssey to the green gates.
As Dorothy, the young Judy Garland is exceptionally good ('lions and tigers and bears, oh my!'), while the roles of her three companions are ably filled by Ray Bolger (DVD outtakes show him to be an extremely agile scarecrow in the dance sequence cut from his first meeting with Dorothy); Jack Haley (replacing Buddy Ebsen as the Tin Man and fitting the role to a t); and the incomparable Bert Lahr as the outrageously larger-than-life lion. The music is a trifle repetitive at times (especially the reprises of 'We're off to see the Wizard') but the bright Technicolor of Oz and the spirit of the thing wins over its audience. Love it.