Greatest Film Scenes
and Moments



The Wizard of Oz (1939)

 



Written by Tim Dirks

Title Screen
Movie Title/Year and Scene Descriptions
Screenshots

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

In Victor Fleming's immortal classic (adapted from L. Frank Baum's novel):

  • the quintessential scene of lonely Kansas teenager Dorothy Gale's (Judy Garland) singing of the melancholy "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (the Best Original Song Oscar winner)
  • the first appearance of Miss Gulch/Wicked Witch (Margaret Hamilton) on a bicycle riding down a rural farm road in Kansas
  • the thrilling twister-tornado scene and Dorothy's hallucinations swirling and floating by in front of her
  • the astonishing, cleverly-shot transition (in one single take without any special effects) from sepia-tone to full color as Dorothy entered the fanciful, Technicolored Land of Oz through the door of her downed house
  • Dorothy's exclamatory statement to her dog Toto: "I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore"
  • the lively Munchkin sequences
  • the green-faced Witch's appearance in a red puff of smoke
  • the Witch's attempt to seize the ruby slippers from Dorothy's feet
  • Dorothy's first steps on the Yellow Brick Road after receiving guidance from the Good Witch Glinda (Billie Burke)
  • her first encounter with each of her companions - the Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), the Tin Man (Jack Haley) and the Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr)
  • their journey with linked arms as they skipped: "We're off to see the Wizard" down the Yellow Brick Road
  • their songs: "If I Only Had a Brain" and "If I Were King of the Forest"
  • the amazing, scary sequences of Dorothy and her friend's first encounter with the Wizard (Frank Morgan) - a disembodied head engulfed in flames
  • the Wicked Witch's taunting of the Scarecrow with fire: ("How about a little fire, Scarecrow?")
  • her cackling threat: "I'll get you, my pretty - and your little dog, too!"
  • and her subsequent "I'm melting" death scene that destroyed her "beautiful wickedness"
  • the scene of the pulling-aside of the curtain and the revelation of the Wizard
  • the presentation of awards scene
  • Dorothy's farewell scene in the land of Oz (and particularly her tearful goodbye to the Scarecrow)
  • the closing scene when Dorothy awakened from her fantastic dream in her own bedroom (where she was surrounded by family and friends) - she denied that she was only dreaming her adventures in the Land of Oz, and repeatedly exclaimed: "There's no place like home"












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