Wizard of Oz - Beyond the Yellow Brick Road

Running Head: YELLOW BRICK ROAD

The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the

Yellow Brick Road

Melissa Duncan

Davenport University

Abstract

This essay informs its reader of all things Oz. The Wizard of Oz is arguably one of the most recognizable films not only in America, but the entire world. The key players of this movie have secured themselves a bit of infamy. The production of Oz was grueling and plagued by multiple injuries. This essay informs readers about the making of the movie, the actors in the movie, and many events that occurred during production. Readers will also learn about the actors who were considered for key roles but due to various circumstances did not receive the part. Readers likewise learn the background of Oz and many interesting aspects about this mystical land not known by many.

The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road

"The sum of the square root of any two sides of an isosceles triangle is equal to the square root of the remaining side. Oh, joy, oh rapture. I've got a brain," the Scarecrow exclaims when the Wizard of Oz presents him with a PhD in thinkology. Something must have gone wrong, however, because that rule is wrong. The sum of the square root of any two sides of a right triangle is equal to the square root of the remaining side. This is just one of many things the common viewer of the Wizard of Oz may not know. The Wizard of Oz is arguably one of the most recognizable movie classics of our time, but while it may appear flawless to viewers, the making of the movie was in fact grueling and troublesome.

Summary

The Land of Oz is a fantastic fantasy land that was first introduced to the world by L. Frank Baum in the late nineteenth century. The Wizard of Oz was one of thirteen novels written by Baum about the wonderful Land of Oz and was published in 1900. The story begins on a dreary Kansas farm with a little girl named Dorothy and her dog Toto. A tornado comes through the farmland and sweeps the little girl, her dog, and their house to this mysterious land.

When Dorothy opens her front door, she sees for the first time a world of color. She learns that she is in the great Land of Oz and in Munchkin land, a magical town of little people. She also discovers that her house has landed on top of the Wicked Witch of the East and killed her. Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, appears to thank Dorothy for everything she has done and gives her the Wicked Witch's magical slippers. Unfortunately for Dorothy, this angers the witch's sister, the Wicked Witch of the West. The evil witch promises vengeance and disappears.

Dorothy explains to Glinda that she just wants to go back home to Kansas. Glinda sends her down the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City to see the Wizard; she explains that he might know how to send the little girl and her dog home. Dorothy begins her journey down the path and along the way picks up a few companions. The Scarecrow is just that, a scarecrow, but he can walk and talk. The only thing this new friend lacks is a brain. The next new friend Dorothy encounters is a Tin Woodsman. He is a man made entirely out of tin, but he lacks a heart. The third and final friend the little girl comes across on her journey is a cowardly Lion. Dorothy explains her situation to each of these friends and suggests they come along as well for help from the Wizard.

When the quartet finally reaches the Emerald City, the wizard sends them off to collect the broomstick of the Wicked Witch of the West. Upon reaching the witch's castle, the witch vows to kill Dorothy and all of her friends. She begins by lighting the scarecrow on fire. Dorothy grabs a pail of water to put the fire out and splashes the Wicked Witch of the West and melts her. The group then goes back to Oz only to discover that the wizard is only a man. He gives the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Lion trinkets telling them they have what they have always wanted, but he cannot help Dorothy.

Glinda appears once more and tells Dorothy she has always had the power to go back home. The power to reach home had been inside her all along. She tells the girl to click the heels of her slippers three times and say "There's no Place like Home." Dorothy does so and goes back to Kansas.

Both the novel and the book follow this basic storyline. However, one significant change made from the novel to the movie was that the slippers Dorothy wore were originally silver but were changed to Ruby Red to show off the new wonder of Technicolor (Gjovaag 2006). In an online survey conducted by myself, I asked 276 people if they had ever seen this epic classic. A total of 251 of them had seen movie. The outcome of that question and several others may be viewed as "The Wizard of Oz" at the end of this essay.

Key Players

Chaos started early on for the Wizard of Oz. While only one director, Victor Flemming, is credited with making the movie; in fact, four different directors contributed. Richard Thorpe originally was signed on as director, but after a week of shooting, was fired (Gjovaag 2006). Shortly thereafter, George Cukor took over for a few days before he began directing "Gone with the Wind." Cukor made some key changes in the movie such as removing most of Judy Garland's makeup and her blond wig (Whitcomb 2006). It was then that Victor Flemming took on the directing job and continued doing so until the last three weeks of production. Tension was high with the "Gone with the Wind" production and Flemming was asked to help. King Vidor was then asked to step in with Wizard of Oz. It was he that shot the sepia toned aspect of the movie and went unaccredited for his role until Flemming's death (Whitcomb 2006).

Perhaps one of the most identifiable icons of our time is Judy Garland. Her most iconic role is that of the Wizard of Oz's Dorothy Gale. Judy was only sixteen when she was awarded the role of Dorothy (Whitcomb 2006). She had been contracted with MGM for a little over a year when she was awarded the part of Dorothy. The role almost did not go to the young girl, however. Shirley Temple was briefly considered for Dorothy, but FOX studios