The Wizard of Oz
Friday, July 17 at 9:00 pm
Although not initially a commercial success, The Wizard of Oz immediately won critical acclaim.  It was nominated for 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It starred Judy Garland, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Ray Bolger, Margaret Hamilton, and Frank Morgan in iconic roles respectively as Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion, the Wicked Witch, and the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy is a sad and lonely Kansas farmgirl who is whisked away by a tornado to a land “beyond the rainbow.” She meets a fascinating cast of magical characters, defeats the Wicked Witch of the West, and she and her companions are rewarded with their hearts’ desires by the reclusive wizard before Dorothy returns to Kansas.  Many of the film’s innovations have since been emulated in numerous movies. The scenes set in Kansas are filmed in a drab sepia, but when Dorothy gets bumped on the head during the tornado and travels to Oz, the film transitions to a vibrant Technicolor. Characters from Dorothy’s life in Kansas are recast in new roles as friends and enemies in her “dream” trip to Oz.  Noteworthy lines from the film became part of the American lexicon and are still popular, even now, seventy years later: “We’re not in Kansas anymore," "Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!", "Follow the Yellow Brick Road," and the film's final summation: "There's no place like home."