THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) was MAGICAL!!! - Movie Reaction and Review!!!

[@RolyPolyOllieReactions]

This movie was so magical! I understand now that this wasn't the first colour movie but it was still so impressive! Some of the effects were legendary and the songs were so catchy! Can't wait for Return to Oz! Thanks for watching! Have a great day! :)

[@RLucas3000]

If you enjoy catchy songs, and have already seen all the Harry Potter movies, be sure to watch the three free Very Potter musicals. You don’t have to edit them for copyright

[@bennyadamlockhart9691]

Hi Oliver, I like the forward of the wizard of oz starting in 1939 with World War 2 1939 to 1945.

[@tltatt]

The Wizard of Oz is one of my favorite movies and I loved your reaction. I'm really looking forward to Return to Oz, but be aware Return is a sequel to the original novel and not the 1939 musical film. Also, Return is not a musical. Even so, I really like Return to Oz as a great children's fantasy film.

[@RolyPolyOllieReactions]

@Benny Ford She would have loved the movie!

[@RolyPolyOllieReactions]

@@tltatt I will keep this in mind! Thank you!

[@joshnorris6238]

I live in Kansas and can confirm that we are still in sepia tone.

[@majkus]

"When Dorothy stood in the doorway and looked around, she could see nothing but the great gray prairie on every side. Not a tree nor a house broke the broad sweep of flat country that reached the edge of the sky in all directions. The sun had baked the plowed land into a gray mass, with little cracks running through it. Even the grass was not green, for the sun had burned the tops of the long blades until they were the same gray color to be seen everywhere. Once the house had been painted, but the sun blistered the paint and the rains washed it away, and now the house was as dull and gray as everything else." - The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

[@evanhughes1510]

East Kansas is pretty green actully

[@VonPatzy]

I was obsessed with this movie as a young kid and grew up in Alaska - but my paternal grandparents were in Kansas. My mom remembers me sobbing on a flight to see them and holding my red blanket. She was confused because I loved my grandma more then anyone on planet earth. Turns out I was staring at my blanket because I wanted to catch the moment it lost its color as our plane landed.

[@joshnorris6238]

@@VonPatzy lol! That's hilarious

[@AlanCanon2222]

The struggle is real. Here in Kentucky, as everyone knows, the grass is exactly the same blue color as the sky, and navigating gets to be a problem as you can well imagine.

[@baronvg]

The transition from sepia B&W to full vivid color through that door has got to be up there as most amazing/influential/game changing moments in cinematic history.

[@trekkiejunk]

The quick cut inside the house just before she opens the door to the color world, was actually filmed in color. They had her wear a white and brown dress, and set dressed the house really drab, so it would come across as Sepia tone. I'm not sure if they painted Judy's skin though, as the shadows may have hid it.

[@thomasbradley4505]

@@trekkiejunk they actually had Judy’s stand-in open the door. They filmed her from the back. If you notice as she opens the door, she backs up out of frame, then Judy steps into the frame and takes it from there

[@plastique45]

@@trekkiejunk It was her double and yes, they did paint her skin.

[@tofersiefken]

This is one of the movies that was on television annually as I was growing up in the '70s. When I was in 6th grade I read the novel on which the movie is based. It is even more amazing and fantastical than this vision portrays. Other annual movies that I grew up with include Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971). Both are "G" rated musicals which include fun dance numbers, bigger than life protagonists, and a cast of quirky characters.

[@robovike]

Same. Late fall was the annual airing of this film, late summer was the airing of Grease, and I think Sunday nights were airings of the Carol Burnett show. All were must-see TV.

[@Peg__]

Yup! They would air Oz and the musical "Annie". Looked forward to the annual showing on TV, since VCRs were not a thing yet. Lol

[@Alan_Hero]

I like that you often react to older, forgotten classics, as opposed to what's necessarily hip and happening today. I am an old soul, I would much rather sit down to watch Gone with the wind or this as opposed to a Marvel movie. Keep up the great work

[@RolyPolyOllieReactions]

Thank you!!!

[@suave-rider]

hip... is that a 1940s expression?

[@stevejoshua9536]

Gone With The Wind, which by the way, was released the very same year.

[@davidfox5383]

It's hard to think of The Wizard of Oz as forgotten, since movies and TV shows still reference it. But it does appear that so many from the younger generation have not seen it, and I'm very grateful to the reactors on KZbin that have taken the time to watch it and keep films like this and others from this era alive.

[@Lensmaster1]

@@davidfox5383 the general young people aren't aware of even classic Hollywood movies. Old movies to them are from the 80s. So it is good that people like Ollie put them out there.

[@johnnehrich9601]

The actual crow that mocks the scarecrow was played by Jimmy the crow, a well-known trained bird seen in many Hollywood movies at the time. He appears in It's a Wonderful Life filmed a few years later.

[@patrickmurchison9145]

Was Jimmy in "The Birds" or had he retired or died at that point?🤔😄

[@johnnehrich9601]

@@patrickmurchison9145 Dr. Google answered. He was actually a raven, appearing in over 1,000 films. His first movie was You Can't Take it with You in 1938, directed by Frank Capra, who used him in every movie he made. His last appearance was in a movie in 1954. What happened to him after that isn't known but his human companion (trainer) died in 1956. The birds was 1963. It is said he could do anything an 8yo human could.

[@patrickmurchison9145]

@@johnnehrich9601 Cool!!! Thanks!!

[@itsjuliescottyay]

Actually, there were lots of feature films that were in color prior to this, but the way they introduced the color in this one is still one of the best moments ever. That was definitely Judy Garland’s actual voice, she is still considered one of the greatest singers that ever lived.

[@johncartermusic5777]

The Wizard of Oz is the ultimate chick flick. It's a movie about two women trying to kill each other over a pair of shoes.

[@torontomame]

Best comment ever! 🤣😂

[@trekkiejunk]

@@torontomame --Well, except it is an old joke from someone's stand-up act. I can't remember's whose though.

[@SobiTheRobot]

"A young woman arrives in a new place and kills someone immediately. She teams up with three strangers to kill again."

[@edwardrenefette7119]

Fun fact: If you look closely at the wallpaper in Dorothy’s Kansas bedroom you’ll see that it’s covered in poppies which foreshadows the poppy field in Oz.

[@Joeysaddress1966]

Yes Ollie….you are basically Dorothy. 😊 You should check out Judy’s albums. One of the finest voices ever. And you better believe in Oz!!

[@trekkiejunk]

@ Joey McDaniel -- Which ones do you like most? I always wished she recorded something a little more jazzy, but most of what i have heard has been more string-ballad heavy. Some of "That's Entertainment" with Nelson Riddle is ok. And yes, i know Carnegie Hall is legendary.

[@Joeysaddress1966]

@@trekkiejunk to be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever heard a Judy recording that I didn’t love. She has an amazing range and excellent control of her voice.

[@oliverbrownlow5615]

@@trekkiejunk I love the studio albums she did for Capitol, which include *Miss Show Business* (1955), *Judy* (1956), *Alone* (1957), and a fascinating original concept album called *The Letter* (1959), written especially for her by Gordon Jenkins.

[@Joeysaddress1966]

@@trekkiejunk so what’s your favorite Trek? It’s TOS for me. Was hooked in ‘66 as a kid. Loving Strange New Worlds!

[@skywaymanaz]

Ollie you should review Judy. It’s about Judy Garland’s final tour in England. Flashbacks show scenes from this film too.

[@majkus]

This is probably the most well-documented film production ever. Just about anything you want to know about, there are five books to tell you.

[@flarrfan]

I hope Ollie will be interested enough to read it. The Buddy Ebsen story and poor Margaret Hamilton's brush with fire are just two of them. And wonder if anyone will ever react to "Under the Rainbow"....

[@thomasbradley4505]

Over the years I think I read all of them. I was in an advanced class in junior high school, and we had to do a presentation on any subject we wanted. I did mine in the making if The Wizard of Oz. 😁

[@brandonflorida1092]

"Over the Rainbow" was written for this movie, as was the rest of the music, by Harold Arlen.

[@capricemadrid5353]

That song was almost cut from the movie because LB Mayer hated it.

[@brandonflorida1092]

@@capricemadrid5353 Good thing cooler heads prevailed. Mayer did respect Arlen, though. He would often call him "my genius."

[@PixelatedH2O]

@@capricemadrid5353 And it won an Oscar

[@Angelicwings1]

Yes it’s her voice. From a very young baby Judy Garland performed and always had a voice beyond her years. Until this movie they were trying to work out what to do with her cause she wasn’t a “bomb shell” and wasn’t a certain Temple. So this was major for her. Also the witch used to be a primary school teacher

[@janleonard3101]

Judy Garland was one of the greatest singers of all time. That is all.

[@brettg274]

Oliver, it’d be cool to see you react to a few other old movies, black and white: “12 Angry Men” - some of the best writing and acting you will see, engages from the start. “King Kong” - original version, one of the first adventure blockbusters, follow it up with Peter Jackson’s remake. “Night of the Hunter” - killer thriller with some artsy style, starring Robert Mitchum. “Treasure Of The Sierra Madre” - Humphrey Bogart in a compelling story about greed.

[@ursamellis264]

I second 12 Angry Men!

[@majkus]

In the film, there is no real time or opportunity to set up the witch's allergy to water, although her affinity for fire may be a bit of a clue. In the book, Dorothy is enslaved for many days, but we are told that the witch did not dare to steal her shoes even when Dorothy was bathing, because she was too afraid of water (and did not enter her room at night because she was afraid of the dark).

[@NetanelWorthy]

It’s interesting that you mention the trap door. This was actually the scene of a really bad accident on set. Things malfunctioned, and the actress that plays the witch was very badly burned.

[@MrTbk1701]

I’m glad you said this I was going to but I’m glad you did.

[@les4767]

The first vanish was the only one to have fire in it for this reason. The rest of them used only smoke.

[@DigiVixen]

@@MrTbk1701 Same. Also, fun fact, the wicked witch was also a substitute ballet instructor for my Mom's class when she was young. And that's how I knew about the burn accident.

[@lauracorbett4577]

@@DigiVixenthey said Margaret Hamilton had an accident from the burn where she disappears she had to be in the hospital for a few days and after she recovered she asked the director that in parts where she disappears if they could use smoke instead of fire

[@davidfox5383]

My favorite film of all time, along with 2001: A Space Odyssey! Growing up in the late 60s and early 70s, in middle class suburban Texas before recorded media, the annual network showing of this movie was as important to us kids as birthdays and Christmas. To answer your question about the witch melting: it is not explicitly mentioned that water will kill her, but heavily hinted in "Over the Rainbow" when Judy sings (and yes that is her voice, which she was famous for all her life and the song WAS written for the film) "where troubles melt like lemon drops"! There are many making-of books and videos...the tornado was a 30-foot tall spinning muslin sock running on an upper and lower rail with dust poured into it so it came out of the bottom. It was then rear projected onto the live-action. You will get lots of views and trivia (and misinformation, like hanging Munchkins) on this...because the movie is SO well loved. I'm glad you enjoyed it so much as an adult, Oliver!

[@RolyPolyOllieReactions]

I'm glad you enjoyed the reaction! This movie was so magical and I hope it sticks around for many future generations to come!!!

[@oliverbrownlow5615]

The killing of the witch by water comes from the book, but it would certainly have been a surprise to first time readers or viewers of the film who hadn't read the book, because the traditional way of killing a witch was by fire.

[@billolsen4360]

Are you the same David Fox who founded Midwest Restaurant Supply?

[@davidfox5383]

@@billolsen4360 Not me.

[@d.-_-.b]

Sad fact: For the snow in the poppies scene they used asbestos.

[@radwolf76]

Your comment about there never being a direct remake of this one has an interesting twist. This IS the remake. Dorthy's adventures in Oz had been previously put to film in both 1925 and 1910.

[@danielwarrenguitar]

So different seeing this as an adult - so much is foreshadowed and the Wizard of Oz seems much more like the primary villain.

[@barrybuckingham6604]

Loved your comments. You should look up a little more about Judy Garland. She was definitely not dubbed. She was one of the biggest musical stars of the 20th century.

[@bigjsmashman4958]

She was using the water to put out the fire on the scarecrow. She did not know it would harm the witch.

[@gallendugall8913]

Never been a remake? Check out the terrible Michael Jackson remake "The Wiz"

[@Wellch]

The Wiz sucked.

[@darr12100]

It was an adaptation of the stage play of the same name.

[@torontomame]

I loved The Wiz. It has flaws, but I think the good moments outweigh the bad.

[@oliverbrownlow5615]

It's not as good as the 1939 version, because nothing is, but I think it's quite fascinating in its own right for its unique production design, for a cast that includes a who's who of black actors and singers, and above all for Mabel King's movie-stealing performance as the Wicked Witch, Evilene.

[@gallendugall8913]

I'll admit the music was good, and the performances were great, but the visuals make it unwatchably bad. Unrelentingly bleak industrial slum chic? No, that was awful. Sets, makeup, wardrobe are uniformly repulsive. Yeah, they were moving from the country to the city, but that doesn't mean everything needs to be painted in shades of grim-dark. There is more to a city than horrific industrial decay and pollution. Just as there is more to the country than pleasant rolling hills and wooded glens. The Wiz is just a pervasively and pointlessly ugly film.

[@applcinamn]

Scarecrow & Tin Man didn't get poisoned by the poppies because they're not flesh and blood beings. "Horse of a different color" is an old expression that, when used in conversation, basically is equivalent to "well, that's totally different then." The film just took the literal interpretation. The actor Frank Morgan actually played 5 roles in the film: Professor Marvel, the Wizard, the doorman who let them into Emerald City, the horse-carriage driver and the sobbing castle guard. The last identifiable cast member who passed away (about 5 years ago) was the Munchkin who handed Dorothy the lollipop, Jerry Maren.

[@raymeedc]

The witch against which all witches have been measured since.

[@billolsen4360]

"and you little dog too!" really makes her evil in the eyes of kids

[@headrushindi]

This film was revolutionary in so many ways in it's day. The largest production that MGM had ever attempted, and by all definitions of the term. The most brilliant.The finest of the finest were hired to help create this. From the stellar wardrobe, to the Incredible art direction , sets, and groundbreaking effects.The reason the film looks so clean , is that this is the most cared for and cherished film of all time. This version was digitally mastered and cleaned in ultra HD, bringing it back to the condition that moviegoers would have seen in the theaters in 1938. The Tornado scene that you spoke of was a stroke of genius. You should go watch the making of the Wizard of OZ. it goes into detail of how all the incredible physical effects were created. Its was a film born of massive talent and love . That is why it stands up today under scrutiny , as one of the greatest classics of all time .

[@VonPatzy]

I love that you watched this so close to the muppet movie. Two ICONIC movie intro songs about rainbows! Note: I was obsessed with this movie as a young kid and grew up in Alaska - but my paternal grandparents were in Kansas. My mom remembers me sobbing on a flight to see them and holding my red blanket. She was confused because I loved my grandma more then anyone on planet earth. Turns out I was staring at my blanket because I wanted to catch the moment it lost its color as our plane landed.

[@geraldpatterson3903]

1939: The Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind....set the benchmarks for so many productions until 2 years later when Citizen Kane ended up becoming THE STANDARD by then rookie amateur director Orson Welles

[@WUStLBear82]

The film was designed to take full advantage of 3-strip Technicolor, but it wasn't the first film to use that process, and feature films in earlier color processes date back to the early 1920s during the silent era. But because Technicolor purged its storage vaults in the late 1940s when studios didn't see any value in most of their old films, many of the early color films are only known in B&W prints made from compositing the B&W negatives, or are lost entirely. But there are definitely 1930s color films still around. And the diminishing of visible grain was actually produced during the Technicolor process. The sepia tone of the B&W scenes was a dye applied to the B&W positive.

[@DogwafflDan]

There were also many atempts to use a 2 strip color process during those years. It suffered from not having the full range of colors that 3 strips made possible. As for the sepia tone, I clrealy remember that there was a restoration of the film and re-release in theaters in the 90's that removed the sepia tone in favor of straight gray tones.

[@WUStLBear82]

Yeah, 2-strip came first and used green and red filters with the positives then dyed blue-green and orange-red so some colors couldn't be reproduced correctly. Three-strip died out as color negative film originally developed for still photography became available in higher speed that could adequately capture unblurred motion. Martin Scorsese's film _The Aviator_ changes color grading as the movie progresses to represent the dominant color process in Hollywood film-making at that time.

[@johnredhd]

I'm 65 yo. We watched it every year on TV, but we didn't get a color TV until 1969. Btw, Margaret Hamilton is the best witch ever.....

[@trekkiejunk]

The "brown" in the black and white footage is called "Sepia" or "Sepia Tone." Early photography of the mid 19th Century usually looked that way. Since audiences were already used to "grey-based" black and white films, they wanted to make the bookend scenes appear even more antiquated to the audience. At the time, audiences probably had photos of their grandparents in sepia tone, so it would convey the message of being antiquated to the modern 1939 audience.

[@johnnehrich9601]

Sepia was a slightly different method of developing film which actually held up longer over the years. It was also liked as it gave a warmer tint. But being more resistant to fading, it was the sepia ones that survived the best and fostered the connection of vintage. Sepia is the name in Greek or Latin of a type of cuttlefish whose ink sac is brownish but the name is only connection to the photographic process.

[@alex.bradford]

I would love to see you react to "Oz the Great and Powerful" which is a Disney Made prequel to this movie!

[@HuntingViolets]

Oh, yeah, Garland was famous for her voice, and so is her daughter, Liza Minnelli. You should check out more movies with each of them (Minnelli hasn't made as many).

[@bobbuethe1477]

"Cabaret" and "Arthur" were Liza's two standout movies.

[@SWLinPHX]

No, Judy Garland is considered one of the best female vocalists of the 20th Century. That was all her, although she had a sad life, eventually succumbing to her longtime addiction to drugs which the studios started her on as a child.

[@auntvesuvi3872]

Thank you, Oliver! Since you asked about the backstory of the 'Witch of the East' be sure to catch the Broadway musical WICKED (which is currently being made into a movie) for some insight into that character, among others. 🌈 If you want to see more performances from the incomparable Judy Garland (yes, that's her actual voice) try MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS (1944), A STAR IS BORN (1954) and I COULD GO ON SINGING (1963). ❧ I'm glad you'll be watching RETURN TO OZ (1985) as well. I think it might've been better as a musical... but I love the main actor, Fairuza Balk. She went on to have some notable roles I'll suggest when you post that reaction. #RolyPolyOllie #VictorFleming #GeorgeCukor #MervynLeRoy #TheWizardOfOz #TheWizardOfOz1939

[@randysmith7045]

i just typed that but i added the Pirate for him to watch

[@randysmith7045]

Judy singing the christmas song in Meet me in St. Louis is her 2nd best song ever, right after Rainbow

[@auntvesuvi3872]

@@randysmith7045 She had so many good ones, huh, Randy?

[@oliverbrownlow5615]

A couple of the many other great Judy Garland movies are *Easter Parade* (1948) and *In the Good Old Summertime* (1949).

[@auntvesuvi3872]

I adore both of those, Oliver. 🐰

[@VonPatzy]

Your take on the witch is exactly the premise of the book “wicked” that the musical was based on (worth picking up if you are a reader). Just a perspective flip “which” can mean everything to a story. Protagonists are just who an author decides to stan.

[@hashtagfilm]

Fantastic reaction man. Absolutely loved it. PLEASE react to Return to Oz. It's the complete opposite of the first, and it feels more like a horror film. It's severely underrated. And it technically is the closest to the books and the visual style of the books.

[@katwithattitude5062]

When I was a kid the witch and the flying monkeys didn't bother me. What terrified me was the tornado, and even now in my 60s I have to fight back panic every time we have a tornado warning. Fortunately I've never seen a real one.

[@yikesgina]

LOL I WAS TERRIFIED OF THE WITCH. On behalf of Toto mostly. 😂😂

[@morganghostbusters-egonfan]

The Wizard of Oz is such a classic movie

[@Lucas-Stl]

12:35 Think of the land of Oz like that of a compass with the Emerald City at its heart. In the original series of Oz books, written by L. Frank Baum, the Land of Oz was divided into four quadrants and each was designated a particular color: Winkie Country = Yellow, Gillikin Country = Purple, Munchkin Country = Blue, and Quadling Country = Red. Therefore, the red brick road goes towards the Quadling Country.

[@incredibleadventures1027]

"Browney greys" LOL. I guess everything is a colored grey. Brownie grey is called sepia tone

[@a35362]

4:30 "Is this her actual voice? Because it's beautiful." *heavy sigh* Yes, honey. That IS her actual voice. She had that voice when she was only 16 years old. She was one of a kind.

[@MargaretLaFleur-j5j]

She’s Judy freaking Garland!!!!

[@Orcl1100]

Check out two of Judy’s films. A Star Is Born. She inexplicably lost the Oscar to Grace Kelly. And her last film. I Could Go On Singing. The hospital scene is a master class in acting

[@MargaretLaFleur-j5j]

I love that scene where Judy’s dressed in red, and sings “By Myself.” What a phenomenal talent she was!

[@jordang2241]

Fun fact my grandma was actually friends with the actress who played the wicked witch and she said she was one of the nicest people she's ever met and one of the biggest animal lovers ever 😂

[@MargaretLaFleur-j5j]

That’s so cool. Margaret Hamilton was said to be a lovely woman.

[@johnandrews3151]

Gone With The Wind, also filmed in 1939, was also filmed in color! Gone With The Wind was seen by more paying costumers than any other movie in history, however, The Wizard Of Oz has been seen by more people on television than any other movie in television history! Even more than Gone With The Wind!

[@mxmxpr]

Of the numerous pre-Oz color feature films mentioned in the comments, I haven't spotted Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). Yes, animated, but obviously the film itself was color and the impact was tremendous. It was a key impetus for M-G-M doing Oz. There were many color animated shorts from Disney starting in 1935.

[@hennamontana222]

From the moment this film starts, with that incredible theme dropping to start the credits, it is a masterpiece. Easily the best intro of all time.

[@MargaretLaFleur-j5j]

It literally takes my breath away. Then again, it’s Judy freaking Garland!

[@endymionstcyr8224]

I like the Wicked Witch way better than her Kansas equivalent Elmira Gulch. The Horse of a Different Color was coated in something akin to a sequence of different gelatin in various colors.

[@johnfraley8544]

Read The Making of the Wizard of Oz by Aljean Harmetz. Very informative. No blue screen. They used rear projection a lot. Tornado was a huge sock. One effect on a pool of mercury. Cast changes. Illness, injury. A lot of amazing stories of how I was made.

[@wolf9walker]

Actually there was a kind of remake, called the wiz 1978

[@MargaretLaFleur-j5j]

I saw that on Broadway in 78 I think. I was not impressed.

[@glen1ster]

The tornado in The Wizard of Oz was made with chicken wire wrapped in muslin cloth which was spun along a track while dust and a wind machine were applied to it.

[@Oiyuki]

The water thing isn’t mentioned earlier in the movie. But considering how incredibly popular, the books were at the time, it would’ve been common knowledge that the wicked witch can be defeated with water.

[@MargaretLaFleur-j5j]

That witch must have had some terrible hygiene issues.

[@SWLinPHX]

The beginning and end are not "black & white", they're sepia-toned, which is the brown-tint you see in old photos or faux-aged photos.

[@mxmxpr]

The tornado was a cylinder of muslin attached to a gantry over the miniature set, with fans blowing Fuller's Earth up through the bottom. Some raw footage survives. The completed shots were projected rear screen behind the farmhouse set, through which big wind machines were blowing dust and debris - very powerfully... you can see one shot where Toto can hardly stand. kzbin.info/www/bejne/d6nVfWBpZdGNrNU

[@karenhall4645]

I remember in the 80's before this movie was put on VHS it was shown on TV once a year and that was always such an event. And can you believe Somewhere Over the Rainbow was almost cut out of the movie!

[@mxmxpr]

The witch flying out of the castle was a miniature, with wire removal done in post-production. It really wasn't the dark ages of visual effects, but a golden age. Arnold Gillespie was a genius and it was the likes of him and Ray Harryhausen who masterminded all of the techniques that inspired later generations, who just improved on the same methods over the decades. The horse was a simple effect: they used Jell-o mix and colored him! In the first shot you can see the horse trying to lick it off.

[@amandaasbury7524]

knowing what jello is made of, that's extra messed up,lol

[@stevetheduck1425]

Hiding wires (such as for numerous scenes with flying monkeys, both miniature and full-size) was done in-camera by lighting the scene carefully and dulling down the wire to not make reflections. No computers to later remove wires back then, what is usually called wire removal today.

[@richwagener]

The Adventures of Robin Hood with Errol Flynn is a great 30s technicolor film. Also, I don’t think you’ve done a swashbuckler.

[@davidcarnevale8885]

Always a classic! Been looking forward to this one Ollie

[@RolyPolyOllieReactions]

Hope you enjoyed it!

[@VirtualBabe29]

Fun fact: the coat Professor Marvel was wearing was bought at a 2nd-hand store (now known as thrift stores). It was originally the property of author L Frank Baum.

[@dawint123]

Sorry, that's a myth..

[@milou66]

I got into a fight with my friend over Return to Oz because she was in love with Wizard of OZ forever, but she never read the books, so she didn't get that it was an adaptation of the next two books.

[@reverts3031]

Color film was around long before sound. It's rare, but there are some silent movies that are in color or in shades of color. Color film of the era was not only very expensive, but it was also prone to burning up while going through a projector while being shown. The operator would hopefully come to the rescue, stop the film, edited out the burned pieces and continue the movie. The movie "Gone With The Wind" was in color and came out the same year as Oz. Another color film from the time is The Adventures of Robin Hood. Good stuff!

[@ThePinkDragon]

i love OZ The Great and Powerful

[@TJinMO]

I'd really love to see your reaction to one of the documentaries about the making of the film. Your surprise and perspective will be memorable, even if I don't get to see. I would recommend one, but every time I see a new one I'm still mesmerized. Also, I have seen the scene where it looks like a guy hangs himself in the background. Back in the VHS days, I advanced frame by frame. That is what it looked like!

[@maximillianosaben]

This movie will only get better and better the more you watch it; really doesn't get old.

[@WarReactors]

The sepia to color effect was actually practical, Dorthy's stand in had sepia colored clothing and the inside house set was painted sepia, the whole scene was filmed in color. I have an explanation at the end of a reaction mashup on my channel.

[@trekkiejunk]

I knew most of what you typed there, except for the Dorothy part. That was a stand-in wearing the brown dress, not Judy? I didn't know that. Your name fascinates me, and i'm going to have to check out your channel.

[@richardwilliams9271]

There is a documentary called the marvellous land of oz narrated by angela Lansbury, this tells you everything about the making,

[@MargaretLaFleur-j5j]

Excellent documentary. RIP Angela. You are greatly missed.

[@itzakpoelzig330]

They've had color films since 1895, but at that time they were hand-colored. Artists had to go in and paint every frame of the film using tiny paintbrushes. In 1903 the first 'natural color' process was invented, meaning that the film itself developed color. The first commercial natural color film, 'A Visit To The Seaside', came out in 1908. It was a short, just eight minutes long, meant to be shown with other shorts, as was normal at the time. In 1912 a full length documentary in natural color, called 'With Our King And Queen Through India', was released. In 1914 the first feature length narrative film in natural color came to theaters, entitled 'The World, The Flesh, And The Devil.' So, when 'The Wizard of Oz' debuted, color films had already been around for 44 years.

[@randysmith7045]

3 Judy Garland films you must watch . Meet me in St Louis. The Pirate and A star is born. i'd love to see your reaction to these.

[@stevenklinden]

Others may have said this already, but color was actually used in film going back as early as c. 1900, when a lot of movies (e.g. many of those by George Melies) were painstakingly hand-colored after being shot on black and white film. Another early technique was tinting, where a single color was applied to each scene, so that while everything was still monochrome, outdoor day scenes were yellow, night scenes were blue, etc. The first use of natural color - i.e. color captured directly in filming rather than applied after the fact - was a short documentary film from 1908 called A Visit to the Seaside. It used a process called Kinemacolor, a "two-color" process that reproduced reds and greens pretty well but didn't really capture blues. One of the more famous movies to use this early two-color process was The Phantom of the Opera, which is mostly in black and white but has a ball scene filmed in two-strip Technicolor. In the 1930s, a new and much better color process was created by Technicolor, using three colors instead of two, and thus able to more faithfully replicate all the colors seen by the human eye (which has three types of cone cells). There were a few movies that used this process earlier, but The Wizard of Oz was the first really big production to use the new three-color Technicolor. So while it's not technically the first color film, it was still unlike anything people had seen before, and the richness of color would have been pretty amazing to people at the time.

[@oliverbrownlow5615]

The Nelson Eddy-Jeanette MacDonald film version of Victor Herbert's operetta *Sweethearts* (1938) features Frank Morgan (The Wizard) and Ray Bolger (The Scarecrow) together in a Technicolor feature film a year before *The Wizard of Oz.*

[@kevind4850]

Technicolor actually dates to the early 1900s with the first color Technicolor feature appearing in the late 1910s Silents era, and the process has continually been improved since. The oldest surviving full Technicolor feature is 1922's _The_ _Toll_ _of_ _the_ _Sea_ and the earliest Technicolor Process 4 version (which the _Wizard_ _of_ _Oz_ used) appearing in 1935 including _The_ _Little_ _Colonel_ (with Shirley Temple) and _Becky_ _Sharp_ (with "Good Witch" Billie Burke). Of course, Technicolor was hardly the only color process out there then or now. _The_ _Wizard_ _of_ _Oz_ really took advantage of the possibilities of creating a fantasy feeling by amping up the saturation and using hyper-natural color in the sets. _Gone_ _with_ _the_ _Wind_ was also Technicolor - 1939 was a great year in cinema.

[@kaykutcher2103]

The original a star is born from 1937 too is an earlier one that pops into mind. On a side note I've recently found a few two colour flicks and really been liking that look. Not sure what it is though it's like 3d minus the nausea and headaches. The king of jazz from 1929 is a perfect example of this.

[@billolsen4360]

4:40 Yes, Judy Garland had a great singing voice. Did live performances & cut records throughout her career while acting too. She did a great job acting in "Judgement at Nuremberg" with Spencer Tracy and Richard Widmark. 4:45 The "actor" for Toto was named Terry. The little Cairn Terrier who was in a bunch of movies, including appearing as Rainbow in (sniff) the movie "Fury" with Spencer Tracy in 1936. 7:30 You should be able to find a documentary on youtube about make the Wizard of Oz, complete with explanations of how they constructed the special effects. The earliest full length color movie I've ever seen was an odd futuristic film "Things to Come" from 1936. 12:59 I think the Munchkins were all played by adults and I'm still petty angry at them for not sending at least two of their soldiers along with Dorothy for protection on her way to the Emerald City...they had enough gratitude to put a bust of her in their Hall of Fame, but not enough to provide guards for her hike to see the Wizard.

[@melenatorr]

As for the tornado/cyclone: The "tornado" was a thirty-five-foot-long muslin stocking, photographed with miniatures of a Kansas farm and fields. Gillespie rigged up a gantry crane, rotated by a motor, that traveled the length of the soundstage. The base of the tornado was fastened to a car below the stage, where the crew moved it along a track. Ray Bolger, who was a good friend to Judy Garland, was a famous eccentric dancer. Here's a sample: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pou5Z36Zo72Nb8k The Tinman was supposed to have been played by Buddy Ebsen, who later became famous as Jed, on "The Beverly Hillibilles" and "Barnaby Jones", but the makeup was toxic and almost killed him. Here's something of what we might have seen: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g4iVlIaEmrJ1mLs Margaret Hamilton, who was the Wicked Witch, in real life, was a lovely lady (a lot of famous movie villains were sweethearts in real life). She had been a kindergarten teacher before her acting career, and was always concerned about the children's reactions to her character. That great appearance and disappearance in Munchkinland was almost fatal to her because of badly handled effects. Oh, yes, that was Judy Garland singing! She was known as the little girl with the great, big voice. She has one of the unmistakable singing styles and expressions in movie history. A sample: kzbin.info/www/bejne/m2KQdmWuh72Igrc (that's Mickey Rooney, who worked a great deal with her. Here he's playing lyricist Larry Hart in the movie "Words and Music"). One of her most famous moments: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i6vcgYCIpJ2Ni7M

[@thomasbradley4505]

Vocally and appearance-wise, judy was at the top of her game in Meet Me in St Louis. Her version of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas (which was written for the movie) is the best version ever. And she and the director Vincent Minnelli fell in love during the making of the movie, and you can tell by the way he shot her and made her look gorgeous.

[@oliverbrownlow5615]

*Things to Come* (1936) was originally made in black and white. I suspect you've seen a colorized version.

[@rendalconstantineau1680]

For the Munchkins, only about a dozen of them were children, they also hired over 100 little people to play Munchkins.

[@tofersiefken]

Check out "The Wiz" (1978) starring Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Richard Pryor, Nipsey Russell, Ted Ross and many more. It is a musical re-imagination of the story.

[@goodowner5000]

I think the Production Design and Costume Design in '78's "The Wiz" is marvelous- it gets faulted for various reasons, but on the aforementioned, it is first rate, IMO. I believe it's the only musical tackled by the great Sidney Lumet.

[@thomastaylor1575]

You are indeed participating in a moment of majestic Cinematic history by viewing this Film. Imagine for a moment what it would of been like for a regular person in the 1940s to go to the Cinema or Movie theatre and see a film like this or Gone with the Wind on the big Screen. There is nothing today that could match how profound that feeling, indeed how profound that moment would be.

[@rumbledumpthumpershaker6735]

Return to Oz just about doesn't have anything to do with this movie. Very different movies based on books from the same series. Also, after watching Return check out the Scissor Sisters song Return to Oz. It won't make sense until you watch the movie.

[@MicahMann]

My favorite movie of all time. ❤

[@richardm2069]

This was not the first color movie. The same year, Gone with the Wind, a best picture winner in 1939, and full of vivid color. Really enjoy your reactions!

[@dtnetlurker]

THE very definition of what a classic film is. No matter how many years go by and no matter how many times I have seen it (more than I could ever begin to estimate) it has never EVER failed to make me smile and bring me happiness, if even for a short while. No wonder it is so timeless. Everyone should see it at least once in their life, and I can almost guarantee it won't be the last. It lives on and on and on, generation after generation.

[@wildsarsaparilla]

Thank you, Kiddo. I've enjoyed a lot of reactions to the Wizard of Oz, but the one scene folks seem to be confused about is the field of poppies. The witch casts poppies because where does opium come from? "Poppies, poppies will make them sleep." It's been known since poppies first bloomed.

[@joseiregui9069]

Thank You Ollie. Beautiful movie. Amazing. Great reaction. God bless You

[@richardlevy1459]

I think it's terrible, the poor witch of the west comes to mourn her sister to see people celebrating and stealing her shoes

[@goodowner5000]

...and told to "be gone", before a house is dropped on her too...hey though, she sure knew how to make an entrance and exit to remember. lol

[@TheScarecrowozify]

"Over the Rainbow" was composed for this film (written specifically for Judy Garland). It won the Oscar for Best Song (E.Y. Harburg - lyricist, Harold Arlen - composer). Those two contributed the entire score (orchestrated by Herbert Stothart, another Oscar winner for this film).

[@nikolanikolic1366]

Hope you do A Star is Born with Judy sometimes!

[@evanhughes1510]

No, hope he does the original Star is Born from 1936, with Janet Gaynor

[@oliverbrownlow5615]

Why not both? The 1937 (not '36, says my information) *A Star is Born,* incidentally, was another early Technicolor feature film.

[@heathersantell1228]

My mom and I used to sing "Oreos we waaant some".

[@RolyPolyOllieReactions]

Now I want Oreos

[@johnnehrich9601]

In the original book, Emerald City was perceived green as everyone was required to wear green glasses. In the sequels, it was truly all green, and the four corners of Oz, including Munchkinland, each had its own identifying pervasive color.

[@stevetheduck1425]

I think red was the land of the Quadlings, as opposed to the Munchkins? - and yes, the story is about the abuse of power, how the accidentally powerful lack good sense like everyone else, and how service should, but does not guarantee reward or advancement.

[@themotleycollector]

This story has actually been remade a couple of times. The Wiz and The Muppet Wizard of OZ are two, but neither holds up to this version. I think you might be a bit disappointed by Return to OZ as it is much darker and forgettable, except for a couple certain scary characters. BTW - "OZ" comes from an encyclopedia set L. Frank Baum notice in his library. The first volume was A-N, and the second volume was O-Z. :)

[@bobbuethe1477]

The 1939 movie itself was a remake of a 1925 silent version of "The Wizard of Oz" : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wizard_of_Oz_(1925_film)

[@stevetheduck1425]

Frank L Baum put money into a company to make short Wizard of Oz films, and several were made, but I don't know if any have survived to the present day. Other silent-era comedians did spoofs or versions, including Larry Semon and Oliver Hardy who was briefly the tin man. The 1939 film was also partly inspired by the stage musical production of 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz', which had been touring for years. While none of the stage show's songs came through, the 'snow as a cure for poppies' (possibly an adult joke in a time when addiction to opiates was at least as serious as today) comes from the stage musical, not the book or earlier films.

[@johnandrews3151]

There have been more documentaries made about The Wizard Of Oz than any other movie!

[@michelereynolds3527]

From what I've heard 1939 is concerned one of the greatest years in movie history. So there was so much competition that year that the wizard of oz got forgotten in the shuffle. It wasn't until television came around in the 50s and the movie showed regularly that it became loved and cherished. On a side note I love seeing people your age opening themselves up to older films. When I was a kid my grandmother showed me the movies she watched when she was a kid and I became hooked ever since.

[@shadowchateau]

You're right about the water/witch issue. In the children's book "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," the witch carefully avoids water, though no one knows why. In this film, however, there was no setup for melting the witch with water. Thanks.

[@rextrek]

458th as a Boomer - your reaction sare refreshing...I cant how many times Ive sene this......that call her home in Kasas -Sepia Tone- ...and the ..newest backstory - 2013's .....OZ the Great and Powerful ....I liked it - it was't a Musical ...a young WIzard / - Magician / CAD in Kansas meets Dorothy's Mother ..and winds up in OZ...meets a young WWW -pre-evil and WWE her sinister sister - the one Dorothy's House Falls on Eventually..and the WWW rides her Broom for the First Time

[@chrislaw4189]

There were many feature length colour films before this, including all the way back to the 1920s, such as The Hollywood Revue of 1929.

[@markmorningstar5374]

Nice review! The amazing backstory of "The Wizard of Oz" movie. - When the wardrobe department got the script, they said Professor Marvel (and The Wizard) required a long coat for the part. Every coat on MGM's lot didn't seem acceptable for the actor Frank Morgan's part, so they sent several assistants out to the thrift stores in the Los Angeles area to search for long coats. After returning with many coats, Mr. Morgan went through them and chose one tattered, old wool coat. He looked at the label, and it was marked with the previous owner's name. L. Frank Baum. They saw the manufacturer's name, as it was made by hand at a fine clothing shop in England, and contacted the shop, which was still in business, to search their records to verify the owner's having placed an order for this coat in the late 1800's. It was true! How it made it's way to Los Angeles is a mystery. And an even larger mystery was how it was selected by the actor who played The Wizard of Oz, from hunddreds of pieces of clothing on the MGM studio lot. After filming concluded, the MGM studio presented the coat to L. Frank Baum's family as a souvenir of the film. You see, the author of the original children's book "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" from which this movie was based, was L. Frank Baum! - Buddy Ebsen (from The Beverly Hillbillies TV show) originally got the part of The Tin Man, but was allergic to the silver face paint, so he had to turn the part down. - The Ruby Slippers Dorothy wore are considered "The Holy Grail of Hollywood Collectibles" - "Today in 2001, Judy Garland's "Over The Rainbow" was voted Song Of The Century in a poll conducted by the Recording Industry Association of America, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Scholastic Inc. The song was written for the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and became Garland's signature song."* * www.thecurrent.org/feature/2021/03/02/today-in-music-history-over-the-rainbow-was-song-of-the-century

[@srichael2713]

If you're interested in seeing more pre-CGI films I recommend: -The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) -Jason and the Argonauts (1963) -Clash of the Titans (1981) There's more that I can't remember, but start with these three.

[@randinskip3457]

Always a fun reaction! This was so enjoyable to watch with you. I hope you check out the Broadway musical "Wicked" (new movie coming this November). It tells the story of how the witches used to be friends, and the wicked witch is actually just misunderstood, how the flying monkeys came to be, where the ruby slippers came from, why the lion is cowardly, how the tin man was created .... It tells the story of what really happened in Oz before Dorothy dropped in.

[@victorsixtythree]

You might enjoy this piece from CBS Sunday Morning from a few years ago all about old classic Hollywood Backdrops (background matte paintings): kzbin.info/www/bejne/p6e5lGWfacqoh7s

[@adamdarmstaedter1256]

Now, you will inevitably have to get faded and watch the Wizard of Oz and Pink Floyd mash-up called Dark Side of the Rainbow. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bGOakpafd6Zle5o

[@SeyaDiakite7]

12:12 she was supposed to get down the trapdoor safely before the explosion but her broom and hat caught on fire, burning her second degree on her face and third on her hand…. She didn’t felt they burn that much but saw they skin on her hands all gone. Then they had to use alcohol to remorse the makeup. It was very painful to her but she bravely didn’t screamed like the witch “melting”

[@mike9923]

Great Review & You're Good at it. Love your comments & expressions. Lost of History to this movie & deleted scenes & songs. Check for them here on KZbin. Like what famous actor was originally pick to play the Tin Man & why he had to step down. Also on KZbin check out Mad TV's Alternate Ending & a Deleted Scene from the Wizard of Oz. The ones doing the parts are Great & the costumes match the ones from 1939!!! Again Great Job!!!!

[@DerekMckean]

And in 2024, you can see Wicked - The Musical (part 1) in movie theaters. Yoi can also see the stage version, but I'm not sure if you have access to a live theater that hosts Broadway Accross America/ Broadway Accross Canada road tours, if it's on tour, if you are geographically close to a major metropolitan city like Toronto or Vsncover-- you nay live in the Yukon for all i know--or any limitations that limit Canadians or Americans from having access to Broadway shows. If not, the movie with Ariana Grande is coming in 2024 I think. Maybe earlier. Why did I mention Wicked on your Wizard of Oz reaction? Everyone may be familiar with the MGM movie with its lovable characters? But what about the Wicked Witch of the West? Wicked is a musical recondition of Oz based on the Gregory maguire books, not Frank L Baum. I guess Wicked is more like the Witches of high school since it starts off as they are teens before Elphaba turns "wicked." However, you will see how the Wizard of Oz, the character, ties in the story of Wicked. In the Wizard of Oz, you just see the witches as 2 dimensional characters-- good and bad. And Dorothy and her friends were goody two shoes. In Wicked, Dorothy's reaction with Elphaba ("The Wicked Witch of the West") is off stage as you hear the whole "I'm melting....." However, from Wicked we know Elphaba thought of her as a whiny little brat who eont shut up. In addition, what you thought was the witch's death in the Wizard of Oz comrs at you with a different angle. After all, who dies of water, right? Hence in Wicked, the witches are slightly more complex. Although, Ga-linda has always been kind of 2 dimensional, Elphaba is more complex. And although Wicked is a happy musical, it gives more depth to the Wicked Witch of the West. P.S Ga-linda is a character in Wicked. Its also kind of on stage joke since she starts off as Ga-linda with strongly emphasized GA to just Glinda, the name we are more familiar with. There's also another musical called The Wiz. It's the same idea as The Wizard of OZ but from an African American perspective-- different personas and characters are portrayed differently m. There's also Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Wizard of Oz, which is the same songs from the Wizard of Oz movie but 4 songs added by Andrew Lloyd Webber like Bring Me The Broomstick sung by the Wizard. And the Witch gets a song about her shoes!

[@majkus]

Go back, back, back in time, twenty-five years even earlier, and see what happened when the author of The Wizard of Oz (and its dozen sequels) moved to Hollywood and tried his hand at the growing movie industry in his 1914 silent film adaptation of the seventh book in the Oz series, 'The Patchwork Girl of Oz'. A bit of it is lost, and the surviving print isn't in great condition, but it's a fun look at how movies were made back then, including some stop-motion special effects. Baum loved special effects in his films (miniatures, stop-motion, multiple-exposure effects), and he would, I think, have loved the 1939 film from his book. It is said that the coat Frank Morgan wore as the Wizard in this film had previously been owned by Baum. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gH28gXRtiM14aq8si=9OFE6UUO4HgMnh9o for the curious.