Saturday Afternoon at the Movies: Oh those flying monkeys

My internet friends CJ and Kathy are part of this meme where you post your all time favorite films.   I'm not sure I have more than about FOUR favorite films, but I have films I have seen that I can share.  Some I've even seen more than once!  However, unlike CJ, who says the meme cites there is no need to explain why you like the film, I prefer the way my internet friend Birgit reviews films.   They are often hilarious, many times irreverent, but always really fun to read.  Her synopses are not to be missed. If you aren't familiar with her movie reviews, please check out her blog.  I assure you, you won't be disappointed and will probably come away either laughing or smiling.

One thing you should know about my choice is you won't find any "chick flicks" here and any romance is simply a side effect of the major overall film.  And I assure you, most of you will have heard of or seen

the wonderful Wizard of Oz!  It starred Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale, Frank Morgan as the Wizard, Ray Bolger as the Scarecrow, Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion, Jack Haley as the Tinman, Billie Burke as Glinda the Good Witch of the North, Margaret Hamilton as the Wicked Witch of the West, Charley Grapewin as Uncle Henry, Clara Blandick as Auntie Em, and the Munchkins.

If you don't know the story, its about a young girl who lives in Kansas who decides to run away because her dog Toto has bitten Almira Gulch.  Gultch wants to take Toto to the sheriff to have him destroyed/euthanized.  When Toto escapes and returns to Dorothy, she and Toto leave right before a tornado hits their farm.  The dream sequence is where Dorothy and Toto are in the house that is caught up in the tornado which lands on the Wicked Witch of the East in the land of Oz.

Much dancing, perceived magic, and singing ensues as Dorothy meets the Scarecrow, the Tinman, and the Cowardly Lion on the way to find the Wizard so Dorothy can return home to Kansas.

This high budget film, started in 1938 and released in 1939, caused people to get sick, burned, have permanent damage from facial masks, and have asbestos spread on them.  It's a wonder anyone survived the film.  Horses were covered in Jello powder, and costumes and makeup took forever to be applied each day.  Apparently, it could take up to a dozen takes to get Toto to follow the characters on the yellow brick road.  It is, however, a film that is often shown this time of year both on network and cable television. 

EDIT: Divers and Sundry pointed out that Buddy Ebsen was originally cast as the TInman until the aluminum powder they used on his body made him deathly ill.  Haley had no idea Ebsen was hospitalized and assumed Ebsen had been fired.  Even the studio didn't realize how sick Ebsen was until some of the execs visited him in the hospital. 

Margaret Hamilton had severe burns to her arms and face when there was a fire when she was exiting Munchkin land.  She was wearing her toxic green copper powder when she was injured, and this added to the problems she had from the burns.  Ray Bolger had permanent lines around his face as a result of wearing the mask that took nearly an hour each day to apply.  Like I said, I'm surprised anyone made it through this film in one piece.


Thanks for visiting today and joining me for Saturday afternoon at the movies.  I'm sure there are several places you can find this film and I believe it can be rented from Prime.