THE WIZARD OF OZ1939
The Wizard of Oz
Movie Rating
MOVIE RATING
Average Rating: 4.5 (out of 5) (94 votes cast)
Source of Film
SOURCE OF FILM
Baum's first novel, published in 1900, was an immediate best-selling children's book. Although he published poetry, plays and produced films, the public preferred his Oz series which he extended to 17 novels before his death in 1919.
After the huge success of Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), MGM bought the rights for the novel from film producer Samuel Goldwyn and the story went through many iterations with the contributions of nearly a dozen screenwriters. Even so, it retains major elements of the original novel.
Producer Detail
PRODUCER DETAIL
- Mervyn Leroy
- Paramount Pictures
- (1923-1924)
- First National
- (1925-1930)
- Warner Bros.
- (1931-1937)
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- (1938-1953)
- Warner Bros.
- (1954-1964)
Director Detail
DIRECTOR DETAIL
- Victor Fleming
- American Film Manufacturing
- (1912-1914)
- Triangle Film
- (1915)
- Fine Arts Film
- (1916)
- Douglas Fairbanks Pictures
- (1917-1920)
- Joseph M. Schenck Productions
- (1921)
- Famous Players-Lasky
- (1922-1926)
- Paramount Pictures
- (1927-1929)
- Fox Film
- (1930)
- MGM
- (1933-1945)
- Sierra Pictures
- (1947-1948)
Film Run-time and Synopsis
RUNTIME & SYNOPSIS
1 hour, 41 minutes
A girl from Kansas is konked on the head and comes to in a strange land. She then begins an adventure to find the great wizard and ask him to help her return home.
Film Comments
FILM COMMENTS
Film Awards
FILM AWARDS
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
OSCAR NOMINEE
WINNER
Outstanding Production- (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
- Art Direction
- (Cedric Gibbons)
- (William A. Horning)
- Special Effects
- (A. Arnold Gillespie)
- (Douglas Shearer)
- Music (Original Score)
- (Herbert Stothart)
- Music (Song)
- Over the Rainbow
- (Harold Arlen)
- (E.Y. Harburg)
MPAA Rating
MPAA RATING
No rating
Box Office Ranking
BOX OFFICE RANKING
- 1939 Domestic Box Office Rank: #2[1]
Theatrical Revenues
GROSS
- (Adjusted Gross in $millions)
- Domestic Theatrical Release: $304[1]
The Wizard of Oz recorded a loss after it's first theatre run and was initially considered to be a financial failure by MGM.