Mysteries of "The Wizard of Oz" (1939) Explained for the EFL Classroom Walter Klinger, University of Shiga Prefecture, Japan http://www.office.usp.ac.jp/%7eklinger.w/ http://www.office.usp.ac.jp/~klinger.w/
There are surely very few people in English-speaking countries who have not seen the classic Hollywood movie "The Wizard of Oz" (1939). Ask any child, or an adult for that matter, what movies they love the most, and this movie will certainly be high on their list. Everyone knows the characters in the movie, everyone knows the songs, and everyone can recite a lot of the lines. The language used, the grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structures, are quite simple. I admire the artists and technicians of Hollywood at that time; they were being creative while much of the world was being destroyed in war. The movie is a masterpiece of set design, costuming, choreography, music, lyrics, storytelling and sheer imagination." These points make it a valuable movie for (a) anyone who wants to become familiar with American culture and (b) intermediatelevel students in the English as a Foreign Language classroom. In this presentation, I will explain a number of dialogue lines and event actions that are strange even to native English speakers because of cuts that were made to the movie and some scenes that have interesting continuity errors. I will also point out some words, phrases, lines, and rhyming patterns that are useful for grammar and pronunciation study.
2008
Judy Garland was 16 when she did the film. She could only work 4 hours a day and had to go to school at the studio every day. Her salary was $500 a month. She won an Oscar Juvenile Award in 1939 for her role as Dorothy. The film won 2 Oscars, for Best Original Score and Best Original Song "Over the Rainbow." The film was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Effects.
2004 songs by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg
2001
2005
Premiere's 100 Greatest Movie Lines 1. "Here's looking at you, kid." Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) in Casablanca (1942) 2. "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn. Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) in Gone With the Wind (1939) 3. "Rosebud." Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles) in Citizen Kane (1941) 4. "I'm the king of the world!" Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) in Titanic (1997) 11. "There's no place like home." Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) in The Wizard of Oz (1939) 24. "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain." The Wizard of Oz (Frank Morgan) in The Wizard of Oz (1939) 62. "Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) in The Wizard of Oz (1939)
For nearly forty years this story The Wizard of Oz movie 1939. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz book 1900 by L. Frank Baum America's greatest and best-loved home-grown fairytale
Baum s 1900 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz book was followed by The Marvelous Land of Oz in 1904 and totaled 14 books up to 1920, with an additional 26 Oz books over the following decades by different authors. The Wizard Of Oz movie seems to be set in the 1930s, not the turn of the century as the books were. Notice: 1. A wide rubber tire tied to a tree limb as a swing. 2. Toto jumps into the seat of a tractor during "Over the Rainbow. 3. The fashions of 1900 America would never allow Dorothy Gale (or any female) to show their ankles; however it would make sense for Miss Gulch's fashion sense to be 20-30 years behind the times. 4. Miss Gulch's bicycle is not turn-of-the-century. 5. The Wizard states, when he was "acclaimed Oz, the first Wizard de Luxe," that, "times being what they were, I took the job," an explicit reference to the Depression, which was occurring in the 1930s.
00:02:06 Dorothy is apparently coming home from school, because she has a book strap, a leather or cloth strap to fasten around a stack of books to make them easier to carry. Other people carried satchels, canvas or leather bags with a single strap. (Lightweight nylon backpacks first went on sale about 1967.)
Is Toto allowed to run free? Did he come to the school or did he wait for Dorothy somewhere between the school and the farm. A female Cairn terrier named Terry played the role of Toto. Terry appeared in a dozen other films. The Cairn Terrier is one of the oldest terrier breeds, originating in the Scottish Highlands and recognized as one of Scotland's earliest working dogs.
00:02:41 Oh, but Aunt Em, Miss Gulch hit Toto right over the back with a rake just because she says he gets in her garden and chases her nasty old cat every day! Seventy -- Dorothy, please! Oh, but he doesn't do it every day just once or twice a week! And he can't catch her old cat, anyway! And now she says she's gonna get the sheriff, and Dorothy, please! Dorothy talks very fast; I think it is very funny^^ I tell my students don t worry if you can t catch everything she says here.
00:02:23 Aunt Em! Aunt Em! Aunt Em! 57, 58. Aunt Em, just listen to what Miss Gulch did to Toto! She Dorothy, please! We re trying to count. 58 Oh, but Aunt Em, she hit him and then Don t bother us now, honey. This old incubator s gone bad and we re likely to lose a lot of our chicks. Oh, oh! The poor little things. Oh, but, Aunt Em! Miss Gulch hit Toto right over the back with a rake, just because she says he gets in her garden and chases her nasty old cat every day! 70. Dorothy, please! Oh, but he doesn t do it every day! Just once or twice week! And he can t catch her old cat, anyway! And now she says she s going to get the Sheriff and Dorothy! Dorothy, we re busy! Oh all right. I give students an 8-page A3 handout of the script, with translation glosses for difficult vocabulary, and occasional blanks where they should listen carefully to catch the words and write them into the blanks. For grading, they read aloud a section of the movie dialogue. It looks like Aunt Em loses count of the chicks. 57, 58 58 70
00:03:25 Now, lookit, Dorothy, you ain t using your head about Miss Gulch. You d think you didn t have any brains at all. You d think = One would think, Anyone would think you didn t have = the person I am speaking to 00:03:42 Well, your head ain t made of straw, you know! foreshadows Scarecrow s lack of brains, and made of straw.
out a ya = out of you dime bank = piggy bank Save coins in a pottery pig figure. If anybody fell into a pigsty, like Dorothy did, they would surely get covered in muck, but somehow Dorothy comes out completely clean. (Well, these kinds of things happen in movies!) Japanese version says before I make a sausage out of you
00:04:00 She ain t nothin to be afraid of. Have a little courage, that s all! Why, Zeke, you re just scared as I am! foreshadows Lion s lack of courage. I point out to students that ain t is not accepted in school and business, but is often heard in songs.
00:04:36 Here, here! What s all this jabber-wapping when there s work to be done? I know three shiftless farm hands who ll be out of a job before they know it! Here we learn the 3 men s social positions: they are hired workers on the farm, and most probably not related to Dorothy.
00:04:44 I saw you tinkering with that contraption, Hickory. Now, you and Hunk get back to that wagon! All right, Mrs. Gale. But some day they re going to erect a statue to me in this town, and Well, don t start posing for it now! The subtitles say they ll instead of what he actually says, they re going to, most likely to make it faster to read. And to save space. foreshadows Tinman s rusted frozen motionless position.
The original script has a scene after Dorothy talks with Hunk and before she talks with Zeke, which does not appear in the final movie. Dorothy goes to talk to Hickory. He is working on his invention, a "wind machine," about which he says, It s to break up winds, so we don t have no more dust storms. The machine is made up of an old boiler, a funnel, wires, tubes, etc., connected to a small motor. As he stands up, he tells Dorothy Oh, it feels like my joints are rusted. He says about Miss Gultch, She ain't got no heart left. You know, you should have a little more heart yourself, and have pity on her." Later on, as the cyclone approaches, in another scene in the original script but not seen in the final movie, Henry finds Hickory in the barn. As Hickory explains what his wind machine can do, Henry orders him to Help Hunk get them horses loose!" Hickory does so, abandoning his machine and saying You'll be sorry. A brief mention about Hickory s machine remains in the film, as Em says to Hickory I say you tinkering with that contraption.
00:08:57 I m the one that ought to be punished. I let him go in her garden. You can send me bed without supper. It was apparently common punishment for children who misbehaved to not get any food for dinner.
00:09:37 Oh, you wicked old witch! foreshadows the WWW.
For 23 years I ve been dying to tell you what I thought of you! And now well, being a Christian woman, I can t say it! Em apparently wants to use strong language to show how angry she is or how much she dislikes or hates Miss Gulch, but her religion says she must not say bad things about people.
Toto s doghouse is on the floor. On the table is the photo of Em and Dorothy that Professor Marvel takes from Dorothy's basket. There are poppies on the wallpaper.
00:11:32 We can assume that this Professor surely does not really know any kings and queens. And that he is not really a professor. We know that you cannot see anything in a crystal ball. Also Juggling and Sleight of Hand adds a final humorous comment that we should not believe anything this man says or does. Professor Marvel s dialogue is very humorous, showing us that he is a con man (confidence man, confidence artist), but he is also a kind man as he steers Dorothy back home. He likes to use big words: the vernacular of the peasantry All of his character foreshadows the Wizard as a con man.
00:12:19 Oh,Toto! That s not polite! We haven t been asked yet. Dorothy apparently has an expectation that she and Toto would be offered food. It was no doubt common courtesy to offer food even to strangers, in the society of the time and place. Of course, you must wait to be offered food and not take it before then.
00:13:06 and, uh and so on and so on seems to show that the Prof knows that what he is saying is all nonsense. Similar: blah blah blah.
As Dorothy is leaving the wagon to return home, he holds the photo up but doesn't give it back to her. He puts the photo under his seat. He knows it is important to Dorothy, so why does he do it? Perhaps we the audience are being told he is not a person you can trust.
The Professor takes a guess, that Em is short for Emily. There really isn t any other name it could be, so it was an obvious choice, not even a lucky guess. When Professor Marvel looks into the crystal ball, he mentions a weather vane, but no weather vane is visible in any shots of Dorothy's house.
At the fireside, after Toto grabs the Professor's sausage, the following exchange was to occur: MARVEL: Here now -- let's see where were we? Oh, yes - you - you wanted to go home, huh? DOROTHY: Oh, no, I wanted to go along with you. MARVEL: Oh -- DOROTHY: Nobody cares about me at home. They wouldn't even miss me. MARVEL: Aw, come, come, come -- DOROTHY: No, they won't - honestly. MARVEL: Oh -- DOROTHY: Auntie Em was even going to let them kill Toto yesterday for biting Miss Gulch. Oh, please, Professor, why can't we go with you and see all the Crowned Heads of Europe? MARVEL: Do you know any? The section was likely cut for pacing purposes. However, it's possible that it was to streamline the timeline for the film, as Dorothy implies that she had left home the day before. In the final film, no such reference is present. A brief section was also trimmed from the crystal ball reading, where Professor Marvel describes Em going into a "little bedroom". DOROTHY: Has it poppies on the wallpaper? MARVEL: I said it had poppies on the wallpaper! Likely cut for time purposes, as the poppy wallpaper, though present in the final film (and meant to foreshadow the poppy sequence in Oz), is rather hard to make out.
00:15:14 Hurry up and get them horses loose! Where s Hickory? Hickory! Hickory! Dog-gone it! Hickory! (According to the script, Hickory is busy working on his wind machine.) Horses apparently are safer outside in a wind storm because the barn might fall down and hurt or kill them.
There are regular cyclones (tornados, twisters) in the Midwest. People knew to build shelters underground which could not be knocked down by the wind.
For the tornado used in the Kansas farm sequence, a Gantry Crane travelling the length of Stage #14 was hung from the bottom of roof trusses. The Gantry car supported a canvas cone in the shape of a tornado which was rotated by a D.C. motor on a speed control. The motor assembly was arranged to tip sideways and was controlled from the car together with its cross travel. The approach was fastened to a car travelling on a predetermined track and containing the arrangement for dust. This car was moved by operators below the set. The set was built on a platform and was 3/4 scale. The sky was projected moving foreground glasses. Air was piped around the set for wind effects. Wind machines were also used. http://www.wendyswizardofoz.com/facts.htm To show Dorothy's house falling from the sky, a miniature house was dropped onto a sky painting on the stage floor, then the film reversed to make it appear the film was falling towards the camera. https://ozmuseum.com/blogs/news/wizard-of-oz-tornado
curtains window panes no curtains no window panes
00:20:51 Not only is this a famous saying, but you can use it whenever you find yourself in a place or situation that is different from what you usually know.
00:21:42 Are you a good witch, or a bad witch? And so, what the Munchkins want to know is: Are you good witch or a bad witch? But I ve already told you, I m not witch at all. Witches are old and ugly! I ve never heard of a beautiful witch before. Only bad witches are ugly. Why does Glinda ask Dorothy if she is a good or a bad witch? Dorothy is not ugly, so she must be a good witch, right? Only bad witches are ugly = All ugly witches are bad. But it does not mean All bad witches are ugly. Some bad witches may be beautiful. However, all good witches are beautiful. I think this is the logic here.
00:23:47 The house began to pitch The kitchen took a slitch It landed on the wicked witch In the middle of a ditch Which was not a healty sitch -uation for a wicked witch! Harburg in an early draft wrote: She really went and blew her fuse There's nothing left of her but shoes... extensive use of rhyming wordplay, containing as many Hays Office-approved words rhyming with "witch" as the composers could think of: switch pitch unhitch witch itch hitch rich slitch ditch sitch-uation twitch 00:25:01 Ding-Dong! The witch is dead! Death as an occasion for joy There's really no song like it https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/ding-dong!_the_witch_is_dead
00:28:15 The middle member of the Lollipop Guild, Jerry Maren, was the last surviving Munchkin and the last surviving cast member with a speaking or singing role. He died May 24, 2018 at age 98. https://ozmuseum.com/blogs/news/remembering-jerry-he-representsthe-lollipop-guild The 124 Munchkins were portrayed by The Singer Midgets, named for Leo Singer, their manager. Their voices were mostly dubbed by professional singers and the recording sped up.
The Wicked Witch of the West appears for only 12 minutes in the entire film. There were several lines and bits apparently cut because the witch s lines were scaring the children too much in the preview showings. SURRENDER DOROTHY OR DIE! W.W.W. "I'm here for vengeance! "Can you imagine what I'm going to do to you? "I'm going to start in on you right here... one after the other!" Margaret Hamilton was severely burned when the trap door that was supposed to open to lower her didn't work right, and the flames engulfed her. She spent six weeks in the hospital recovering from second-degree burns on her hands and face. The copper-based makeup stained her skin for a long time after the filming finished.
In the original book by L. Frank Baum, Dorothy's slippers were not red but silver color. The color was changed in the movie no doubt because red looks better in color. At least eleven pairs of ruby slippers were removed from the Wizard of Oz movie set. Adrian, MGM's chief costume designer, designed the shoes and all the costumes for the movie. They are among the most treasured and valuable film memorabilia in movie history. One pair is displayed at the National Museum of American History in the Smithsonian Museum.
Not quite perfect rhymes, but fun: Oz was because does Primary colours (red yellow blue)= appealing to children? I like them, too.
00:36:12 [CROW CACKLING] Jimmy was a raven who appeared in more than 1,000 feature films from 1938 through at least 1954. Jimmy could do an assortment of tricks, such as typing on a typewriter, opening letters, and riding a tiny motorcycle. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/jimmy_the_raven
shorter pigtails. longer pigtails First shot by director Richard Thorpe, who shot for only 9 days starting October 13, 1938, then refilmed by director Victor Fleming, starting November 3. No one seemed to notice Dorothy s changing hairstyle.
Scarecrow s song was much slower in the first recording. There is a surviving outtake, the only deleted sequence from the film to have survived in full, 2 ½ minutes long, choreographed by Busby Berkeley, where Scarecrow dances much more. https://youtu.be/ssfqy_clvlu Plot hole: When Scarecrow slips off his pole, his stuffing falls out. "I just keep picking it up and putting it back in again" he remarks. But if he was ALWAYS on the pole, it would not fall out. And even if it did, he could not, "pick it up and put it back in again". Well, how can you talk if you haven t got a brain? I don t know. But some people brains do an awful lot of talking, don t they? Yes, I guess you re right. Well, we haven t really met properly, have we?! Why, no! How do you do?! How do you do?! Very well, thank you! Apparently Dorothy thinks when you first meet people you must exchange greetings. You cannot just start talking about some topic
red shoes. black shoes
The tin on Tin-Man s face is aluminum paste over a base of Clown White makeup. The "oil" is chocolate syrup. 00:40:56 A man made out of tin! Tin doesn't rust. Tin-Man apparently is not solid tin. If he is a base of steel or aluminum with a coating of tin, he may have developed rust when the tin coating the steel or aluminum base wore away. The Wizard refers to the Tinman as "my galvanized friend". Galvanization is a process in which a metal is covered with zinc. Zinc also does not rust.
Buddy Ebsen rehearsed as Tin-Man for four weeks. After 9 days in the makeup, he had to go to hospital and was placed in an oxygen tent because his lungs failed. His part was then played by Jack Haley, and the aluminum makeup was changed from a powder that was brushed on, to a paste that was painted on. Ebsen s voice can be heard singing "We're off to see the wizard." Ray Bolger (Scarecrow) and Jack Haley spoke with a distinct Boston accent and did not pronounce the r in wizard. Buddy Ebsen was a Midwesterner, like Judy Garland, and pronounced the r.
00:43:40 In the song If I Had a Heart a girl s voice speaks the words, Wherefore art thou, Romeo? The voice is Adriana Caselotti, who was the voiced of the Disney movie Snow White two years earlier. Wherefore art thou, Romeo? is a famous line from Shakespeare s Romeo & Juliet. Juliet is not wondering where Romeo is, but why he is Romeo, i.e., why fate has made him a member of a family that her own family is fighting against, and so they cannot be together.
The steam shooting from Tin-Man's cap is compressed air and talcum powder. It is cute the way Toto is startled. Tin-Man s feet are fastened to the floor.
Haley, Bolger, and Garland in an early promo shot, set during the deleted bee-hive scene. https://lostmediawiki.com/the_wizard_of_oz_- _deleted_scenes_(partially_found_footage_of_musical_fantasy_film;_1939)
A swarm of animated bees fly out of Tin-Man. The bees try to sting Tin-Man, but of course cannot, and fly away. Dorothy discovers a bee on her arm. Tin-Man kills it as he tries to get it off of her. He shows his true emotions when he says: TIN MAN: Oh, see - I killed it. Oh, I killed that poor little honey bee! It's only a man without a heart who could do a thing like that. Poor little bee. DOROTHY: Oh, there, there. Don't cry. There. As a matter of fact, that's just an old drone bee, and it would have died anyway. [SHE WIPES AWAY HIS TEARS.] TIN MAN: Yes? DOROTHY: You put it out of its misery. TIN MAN: Oh. DOROTHY: It's just that the Witch is so wicked. I don't think you two ought to come with me because you'll get into trouble. SCARECROW: Oh, you don't think we're going to stand by and let her get away with fireballs and bees, do you? TIN MAN: No, sir! SCARECROW: No, sir! Apparently the animation was completed and included in a rough cut of the film, The subsequent scene ( You re the best friends anybody ever had. ) required some creative editing once the bee scene was deleted in order to match the actors positions as they were before the bees.
00:49:00 Lions and tigers and bears! Planned to be a longer song; now it is only a chant. 2 real lion skins hot heavy 25kg 2 hours to put on very hot lighting. the early Technicolor process required a huge amount of lighting, which would often heat the set to over 100 degrees F = 38C
The lines don t make any sense but the words rhyme; that is the important part! Three of the most unlikely similes I've ever encountoured. circles soicles verve voive prowess mou-es
00:53:56 Poppies. The head winged monkey is called Nikko also the name of the Japanese town home to the shrine featuring the Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil monkeys. Walshe is listed in the end credits as playing Nikko, but the name Nikko is never mentioned in the film. In the book, the character is simply called the Monkey King. Nikko hands the witch a golden wishing cap, which she then angrily throws across the room. The cap is used in the book to summon the Flying Monkeys.
00:56:27 It's snowing! The falling snow in the poppy field was chrysotile asbestos. Health hazards already were known at the time. gypsum (calcium sulfate dehydrate) Artificial snow made from asbestos was sold under brand names such as White Magic, Pure White, and Snow Drift. Also used in the 1954 movie White Christmas. Scarecrow s costume and the Witch s broomstick straw were made from asbestos. https://www.kazanlaw.com/the-wizard-of-oz-lethal-asbestos-exposure/
Many of the backgrounds weren t painted on huge canvas; they were crayoned on small boards, only a few feet in diameter. https://ozmuseum.com/blogs/news/114070276-can-you-even-dye-my-eyes-to-match-mygown
00:59:27 TinMan: She s wearing the ruby slippers she gave her! I don t think Glinda gave Dorothy the slippers, but they appeared on her feet because she is the one who killed the WWE. In the same way, the WWW says when she kills Dorothy, she will get the slippers. Dorothy might think Glinda gave them to her, and told that to her companions.
01:00:30 He's the horse of a different color you've heard tell about. A white horse sponged with grape, cherry, or lemon Jell-O brand gelatin powder.
Whether you re tin or brohz (*brass). land of Oz
The special effect was achieved by using a hypodermic needle, spreading black ink across the bottom of a glass tank filled with tinted water.
Guard s mustache points up points down Cut line: We've gotta change the guards." Guard goes inside, comes back out again with his mustache now upside down, disguising himself as a new guard. surviving B&W footage in 1940 Loews Cairo Theatre trailer for the film, with Morgan in a test wardrobe and make-up).
01:07:07 What makes the dawn come up like thunder? is a reference to a line in Rudyard Kipling s poem Mandalay : "An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the Bay!
I am Oz, the Great and Powerful! Dorothy the small and meek. 01:10:28 Jiminy crickets! The exclamation "Jiminy Cricket! is apparently a minced oath for "Jesus Christ. It appears in the 1930 movie Anna Christie and in the 1938 Mickey Mouse cartoon "Brave Little Tailor. In Disney s 1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the Dwarfs all say Jiminy Crickets! when they realize someone is in their cottage. Jiminy Cricket was a leading character in Disney s 1940 Pinocchio, singing When You Wish Upon A Star. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/jiminy_cricket
You clinking, clanking, clattering collection of caliginous junk! brain! You billowing bale of bovine fodder! Alliteration is a term to describe a literary device in which a series of words in a row (or close together) with the same beginning consonant sound. A classic example is: She sells seashells by the sea-shore. Another fan-favorite is: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
01:13:19 "Witches Castle One Mile." To be grammatically correct, it should say "Witch's Castle, if one witch, or "Witches' Castle" if more than one witch live in the castle. (We know two wicked witches.) "Witches Castle could be correct only if "Witch Castle can also be considered correct. It is correct as a proper noun. In that case, you would say for example, I am going to Witch Castle, I am going to Witches Castle, etc.
Scarecrow holds a and a long stick that bends in its center. Lion holds a large butterfly net and a spray can labeled "Witch Remover. Tin-Man carries a large wrench.
TIN MAN: From now on, we're on enemy ground. You should have something to protect yourself with. LION: She - she can have my Witch Remover. [He hands his spray can, labeled "WITCH REMOVER," to Dorothy.] DOROTHY: Does it work? LION: No, but it's wonderful for threatening with. DOROTHY: Oh -- SCARECROW: Oh, here - give me that thing! [He takes the can and throws it. It hits the ground and vanishes.] SCARECROW: Oh, did - did you see that? [Lion's net flies out of his hands.] TIN MAN: Oh - look out. [The net vanishes.] SCARECROW: You know something? I believe they're spooks around here. TIN MAN: That's ridiculous! Spooks -- that's silly. Tin-Man's wrench is never be recovered after he is suddenly levitated and falls back down to Earth. Scarecrow throws down his weapons as he rushes to help Tin-Man.
01:14:38 They'll give you no trouble, I promise you that. I've sent a little insect on ahead to take the fight out of them.
Jitterbugs are pink and blue animated mosquito-like insects sent by the Wicked Witch that causes whoever it bites to dance wildly. After dancing, the group collapses from exhaustion and are subdued by the flying monkeys. "The Jitterbug" was the first song written for the film by composer Harold Arlen and lyricist E. Y. "Yip" Harburg. It is a rather happy song that apparently did not fit the tension of what was happening. The film footage for the song has been lost, although a silent home movie that Arlen filmed during rehearsals, and the sound track of the song, have survived.
Just because we don't see it does not mean it didn't happen. http://rebloggy.com/post/gif-judy-garland-the-wizard-of-oz-ray-bolger-jack-haley-bertlahr/76531869367 https://lostmediawiki.com/the_wizard_of_oz_- _deleted_scenes_(partially_found_footage_of_musical_fantasy_film;_1939) http://wendyswizardofoz.com/jbugscript.htm https://youtu.be/s5hb6m3qpss
01:16:59 [WlTCH SCREAMS] This "fire" was dark apple juice spewing out of the shoes. The film was sped up to make it look like sparks.
01:18:33 After the Witch leaves Dorothy alone, Dorothy pounds on the door and tries to escape, to no avail. She begins to cry and falls to her knees, singing a very sad version of Over the Rainbow. Before she s able to finish the song, she sobs, crying out I m frightened, I m frightened, Auntie Em -- I m frightened! The scene was cut no doubt because it was considered too emotionally intense, but the original soundtrack recording still exists.
01:23:44 TIN MAN: Stand back! When the heroes enter the castle disguised as guards, the Tin Man is carrying a spear. His ax appears from nowhere to smash the door to free Dorothy. When they open the door, their costumes are on the floor.
01:26:05 The last to go will see the first three go before her. Something was cut here, something very frightening, obviously.
01:27:34 A reprise of "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" (blended with "We're Off to See the Wizard" and "The Merry Old Land of Oz") with the lyrics altered to "Hail! Hail! The Witch is Dead!" was planned to be here. The scene started with the Witch's guard saying "Hail to Dorothy! The Wicked Witch is dead!" and dissolved to a huge celebration of the citizens of Emerald City singing the song as they accompany Dorothy and her friends to see the Wizard. Today, the film of this scene is also lost and only a few stills survive, along with a few seconds of footage used on several reissue trailers. The entire audio still exists and is included on the two-cd Rhino Record deluxe edition of the film soundtrack. Along with the cuts of "The Jitterbug" and the sad reprise of "Over the Rainbow," this left the final portion of the film with no songs. https://youtu.be/vnugtwhnsfw "Hail Hail! The Witch is Dead"
01:28:46 Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. The man behind the curtain" is often used to describe someone who is in the background secretly controlling some actions.
01:29:40 Back where I come from, we have universities, seats of great learning, where men go to become great thinkers. The Wizard places his finger at the side of his nose. He seems to be almost holding his nose against a bad smell. I believe this indicates he doesn't believe that universities are places of great learning.
01:30:13 The sum of the square roots of any two sides of an isosceles triangle is equal to the square root of the remaining side. The Pythagorean Theorem is: The sum of the squares of the two shortest sides of a right triangle is equal to the square of the remaining side, or hypotenuse. It is not an isosceles triangle, it is a right triangle. It is the sum of the not square roots, it is the sum of the squares. It is not the sum of any two sides, it is the sum of the two sides that form the right angle. My school ESS club put on a performance of the Wizard of Oz, and changed this line into saying The capital city of Sri Lanka is Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte.
01:31:37 Back where I come from, there are men who do nothing all day but good deeds. They are called phil er- phil -er... er... yes good-deed-doers. Hahaha! He likes to use big words, but could not remember the big word, philanthropists, that means good-deed-doers.
01:33:18 You are talking to a man who has laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom and chuckled at catastrophe. l was petrified. The Wizard soon finds his big words again!
01:33:33 Times being what they were, I accepted the job... This no doubt refers to the Depression of the 1930s when there was 20% unemployment in the USA and around the world.
01:35:05 TinMan seems to be loosening the ropes on purpose, so that the balloon will leave without Dorothy.
01:38:24 I think I ll miss you most of all. While there is no clear love interest in the movie, in an early script there was a budding romance between Dorothy and farmhand Hunk.
01:41:08 And oh, Auntie Em......there's no place like home! Miss Gulch is presumably alive and well, and still in possession of a valid sheriff's order allowing her to have Toto "destroyed." However, perhaps she was killed in the tornado, as this is what happened to her equivalent in Oz. Rick Polito of the Marin Independent Journal printed in Northern California is locally famous for his droll, single-sentence summations of television programs and movies which the newspaper reports will be broadcast. For the Wizard of Oz, he wrote, "Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first person she meets and then teams up with three strangers to kill again."