If I were to start listing this cast of characters you would immediately know what it belongs to: The Great and Powerful Oz, Dorothy Gale , Toto, Tin Woodman, Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion, Aunt Em, Uncle Henry, Good Witch of the South (Glinda), and Wicked Witch of the West (not to be confused with the Wicked Witch of the East who met her demise when Dorothy Gale’s house landed on her, and we then see her ruby slippers on Dorothy’s feet).  

The “Wizard of Oz” premiered in Hollywood on August 15, 1939 at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the release date for the movie opening nationally would follow on August 25, 1939. 

Over the years you probably have had this movie on VHS tape, then DVD in your home movie collection.     The movie was up for six Academy Awards including Best Picture – that went to Gone with the Wind.  It did win in two categories including Best Original Song for “Over the Rainbow”.Attribution: Image shown (upper left) is of the 1990 U.S. Wizard of Oz stamp. It is from the “Classic Films” series, #2445 – 1990 25c Wizard of Oz. USPS Stamps (On Twitter @USPSStamps).   It is “part of a block of four honoring classic films from Hollywood’s golden era.  The stamp resembles a miniature movie poster with bright, glossy colors.  Each of the four films featured in the set received Academy Award nominations in 1940.”  Thank you to Mystic Stamp Company.

In reading about the stamp at the US Postal Museum (On Twitter @PostalMuseum), I learned that some life-long fans claim The Wizard of Oz is the movie that has been seen the most times. “This would have delighted storyteller L. Frank Baum, who died in 1919, twenty years before his unforgettable characters traveled to the silver screen.”

Did you ever get the chance to read the “Oz books” (written from 1900 to 1920) ?  There are fourteen of the books in the series by L. Frank Baum, and they are wonderful to read, as I am remembering reading a lot of them when in grade school!  “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” is the first book in the series.     We will save exploring the Broadway Musical “Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz” for another day!   

If you do a search on You Tube you will find beautiful renditions of the song “Over the Rainbow” by others but Judy Garland has stood the test of time as the classic.  Wishing you a classic Saturday full of enjoying good weather and getting outside to enjoy the day!

Anchors Aweigh,  

Helen