The Wonderful World of Oz: An Illustrated History of the American Classic
John Fricke
Language: English
Pages: 168
ISBN: 1608932575
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
The wonderful world of Oz is a magical place—and has been for generations of Americans since L. Frank Baum penned his enduring classic in 1900. With the 1939 movie starring Judy Garland, Oz was forever woven into our culture. Over the course of the twentieth century, Oz continued to capture the hearts of the American people—as well as people all over the world.
This book documents that magical journey through beautiful photographs of the world’s largest collection of Oz memorabilia. Whether it’s first-edition covers, a munchkin costume, or the Wicked playbill, the iconic items on these pages tell the story of America’s most beloved fairy tale. Come over the rainbow and see why there truly is no place like Oz.
The Complete Film Production Handbook (4th Edition)
Liverpool (World Film Locations)
Surfing the Black: Yugoslav Black Wave Cinema and Its Transgressive Moments
the new “white” editions of the Baum Oz books (1964-65), and their respective promotional leaflets. Books about Baum and Oz began with Utopia Americana (1929), continued with The Wizard of Oz and Who He Was (1957) and The Musical Fantasies of L. Frank Baum (1958), and peaked with To Please a Child (1961), the latter coauthored by journalist Russell P. MacFall. The majestic The Annotated Wizard of Oz (1973) and a children’s treatment, L. Frank Baum (1995), were among many subsequent accounts.
entire rooms to be done over in Oz décor. Even Christmas trees could be Ozthemed after Kurt S. Adler, Inc., began marketing the first of its series of Ozzy holiday ornaments. “Pop art” wood composition statues, MGM-inspired, and posed on contemporary Oz fabric. Metal Oz sculptures from Just Bernard. International Return to Oz memorabilia (all circa 1985), clockwise from top: Australian standee display, Japanese theater program, German comic book, Japanese Heart & Heart toy figurines, and
in London. By the 1990s, MGM’s The Wizard of Oz had come to symbolize (as few other films could) the Golden Age of Hollywood; it was one of the very few motion pictures of any era that was happily familiar to all ages. The legend and licensing of MGM’s Oz never stopped. Already a 1980s best-seller, the film videotape soared to cumulative sales of six million units by 1998. At Orlando’s Disney/MGM Studios Theme Park, the climax of their Great Movie Ride came in its saunter through Oz. The United
Tin Man (2007) attracted that network’s largest miniseries audience, though receiving mixed reviews for a gloomy, adult treatment of fantasy. Not unexpectedly, The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz (2005) was more family-friendly and Baum-y, if at times irreverent. Oz segments, parodies, and allusions saturated commercials (touting everything from Federal Express to M&Ms); hundreds of editorial cartoons and comic strips; scores of motion pictures; and such satirical television programs as The Daily Show and
of Oz, and related products became prime examples of the twentieth century’s ever-increasing commercialization.) The present-day competition to accumulate Oz material is especially intense as it has become an integral element in several collectible forums: Americana, fantasy, motion picture history, and as a key ingredient in the career of MGM’s “Dorothy,” Judy Garland. Even throwaway promotional items are now valuable to thousands of devotees. The success of Oz also ran parallel to the