Always a delight

Rating: 10/10 (18 December 2010)

This rightfully ranks on the list of most folks' 10 best of all time. I grew up with it on annual re-runs (in the fog of my brain they were always hosted by Danny Kaye) that were a big deal every Easter. The film itself is full of ironies: it was released in August, 1939 to an indifferent audience and bombed. Producer Mervyn LeRoy was so financially damaged he swore never to put another cent of his own money in another movie. No adaption of Oz has ever been a hit in it's initial release. The film didn't achieve it's classic status until it was recycled on TV in the 50's (more irony: the vast majority of the first TV audiences viewed it in blazing black & white, taking out much of it's color transforming wallop). The back story production drama is well documented and only adds to the film's mystique. Unlike so many movies of our childhood, it remains as delightful as ever. It's an honest 10/10.