Tuesday, October 22, 2019

The Wizard of Oz

I remember the first time I saw this movie. I was quite young, sitting next to my younger sister in Daddy's brown Naugahyde (remember Naugahyde?) recliner in front of the television. I didn't make it past the wicked witch's ride past the window:



It was years before I made it through the entire film. It's definitely a horror movie, and you'll not convince me otherwise. The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 film very loosely based on the L. Frank Baum book. 17-year-old Judy Garland was much too old to play 11-year-old Dorothy as she's depicted in the book. You can read it online or listen to it read to you. The book begins,
Dorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer's wife. Their house was small, for the lumber to build it had to be carried by wagon many miles. There were four walls, a floor and a roof, which made one room; and this room contained a rusty looking cooking stove, a cupboard for the dishes, a table, three or four chairs, and the beds. Uncle Henry and Aunt Em had a big bed in one corner, and Dorothy a little bed in another corner. There was no garret at all, and no cellar—except a small hole, dug in the ground, called a cyclone cellar, where the family could go in case one of those great whirlwinds arose, mighty enough to crush any building in its path. It was reached by a trap-door in the middle of the floor, from which a ladder led down into the small, dark hole.
Here's the film's trailer:



We have this on DVD, and I don't know if they still broadcast it on TV every year. It looks like it can be rented on Youtube and Google Play. Everyone should see it at least once, and October's a good month for horror.

I think I'll have a cozy cuppa while I watch a seasonal flick:


Please join me over at the T Stands for Tuesday blogger gathering, where we share a drink.





23 comments:

  1. With the latest movie release called Judy, it's probably a good idea to re-watch Wizard of Oz before, in case it ruins that vibe of joy it use to bring. For 1939 that change from black & white to colour was sheer magic.

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  2. Just a few days ago, was the 80th anniversary of the Oz premiere. Some theaters around the country were going to show it on the big screen. Himself laughs at me because I’m not a fan of musicals, but I love Wizard of Oz. I just never thought of it as a musical. The book series is way scarier than the movie.

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  3. Good morning, I love your halloween mug-so fun! I never thought of the Wizard of Oz as a horror film so they must have changed it from the book. I agree it is one of those must see films
    Happy T wishes hugs Kathy

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  4. thanks for the link for the book-I could download it free to my kindle as well-cool. In the beginning of the book the author says he didn't want to scare children like the old fairy tales did so he wrote this one with no horror

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  5. Anonymous7:17 AM

    When I first saw it, I thought Professor Marvel was robbing Dorothy when he went through her purse while they were in the carnival wagon. So I distrusted all of the characters (and I think there are five) the actor depicted in the film :o)

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  6. Love your witchy mug! I saw this film a lot, my mum and all of my aunties loved it so was often taken to see it! Happy T day, Valerie

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  7. Yay, a horror movie that I have seen ...lol 😉. It's such a classic and one I used to watch every time it was on TV. The wicked witch and those flying monkeys always seemed scary to me but they didn't stop me from watching it though, I just used to hide behind a cushion ...lol 😉. That's a fabulous Halloween mug too - I love it! Happy T Tuesday! Hugs, Jo x

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  8. Yes, the Wizard Of Oz...it still plays on TV sometimes a few times a year:) I remember it so well. The movie goes quite nicely with your special mug:) Happy T day!

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  9. I'm not into horror movies, but this is one I can do! Love the witchy mug!

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  10. I have to say I have never watched all of that film, even in the later years when it was shown on the TV. It was a real classic of the times but not for me as I truely do not like horror movies of any kind.
    Happy T day wishes.
    Yvonne xx

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  11. I agree with you: The Wizard of Oz is a horror movie. I was terrified by many scenes in that movie when I first saw it as a child. Watching it as an adult, I still consider it scary.

    And I know what you mean about Microsoft deciding it knows better than you, what to do on your own computer, and which programs should be the "default" ones to run (naturally all of the Microsoft programs are "supposed" to be the default). So I'm fighting those battles, and others, on my new computer. And now Microsoft is making life difficult on my old computer, which I'm still maintaining, and planning to keep as a spare. So I've got double trouble coming from Microsoft being a busy body and deciding to "help me out" on both computers. Ugh. :-)

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  12. I love your Halloween Mug!
    I’m not sure I’ve ever watched the film all the way through, I’m not a fan of musicals really, my DH flatly refuses to watch them since I took him to see Evita! I did enjoy that though, he hated it, ha,ha
    Happy T Day, jan x

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  13. What a great post, D. Since I never read the book, "The Wizard of Oz" movie was a musical to me when I was a kid. It had wonderful characters and a happy ending. I agree Judy was too old for the part. Plus they put adult makeup on her. But the yellow brick road, munchkins and Kingdom of Oz were magic to me and my five siblings. You must have been a very precocious child. Or else you had already read the scary book.

    Happy T-day! Eileen xx

    P.S. I just saw Jo's comment and remembered how scary the flying monkeys were. I think I hid my face like Jo did for that part - lol.

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  14. I live on the yellow brick road, so it was NEVER scary to me. However, I have read so many stories that it WAS a horror story. I never saw it as a child, but saw it on TV when they showed it every year for awhile (not sure they still do).

    Actually, your witchy fun mug (with the pumpkin in the background) is scarier than I remember the Wizard of Oz. Thanks for sharing this movie and fun mug with us for T this Tuesday. I apologize for being so late visiting.

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  15. I recently listened to the Wizard of Oz. I'm not sure it was a horror story, at least to me, but it certainly full of suspense and a bit of scare. I'd love to know why you think it is horror. And happy T day. Hugs-Erika

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    1. The book isn't horror, but the movie, with its little girl lost among confusing strangers, traveling through that haunted forest, the angry trees, being stalked and attacked by a dangerous witch and her flying monkeys, well... it was certainly a horror movie to me when I was little. I still remember how scared I was when I tried to watch it.

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  16. Used to be on every year but I hadn't seen it in a very long time. Loved it! I can't remember how young I was when I first saw it but I know I watched the whole thing. I thought of it was a fairy tale. (My mom had the old fairy tale books and Mother Goose and they were very dark and violent.)

    When I was in high school my mom redecorated the living room and we had a Naugahyde sofa and a rocking chair for dad...with smoked glass and chrome tables. Hated them all! ;)

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    1. I always loved the old fairy tales. I read and re-read them as a child. Mother Goose wasn't scary, but Grimm's Fairy tales are.

      We had the recliner in the back of the house. Pine paneling and brick fireplace with gas logs, so no chrome and glass for us.

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  17. Ohh I saw this movie years ago, and I really didn´t think it was a horror movie, I liked it. Thanks so much for sharing.
    I wish you spent a lovely T-day, raining here.
    Have a very nice day, big hugs,
    Caty

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  18. I need a witchy mug to add a little Halloween atmosphere to my kitchen. I absolutely love the movie Wizard of Oz and watch it when ever I get a chance. Never thought to read the book though, maybe I will now.

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  19. Thanks for responding to my question. Yes, I can see why as a kid that would be a horror story. It was for me too in that view. I thought you meant it was now a horror story to you.

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    1. I still consider the movie a horror film even though it's for children. Kinda like Coraline. I think they're both horror films.

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  20. Yes, I have seen that film, but not as a child, so I didn't find it scary. But I can imagine it would be very scary for a small child.
    Happy belated T-Day,
    Hugs,
    Lisca

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