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TCM Website
June 7, 2000
Follow the Yellow Brick Road Without Stopping
When TCM Airs THE WIZARD OF OZ
Commercial-Free in July
Movie Runs Uninterrupted on Television for First Time Ever
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TCM (turnerclassicmovies.com) will present the beloved classic THE WIZARD OF OZ, commercial-free for the first time ever on television on July 3 at 8 p.m. TCM will also be the exclusive network to broadcast the legendary film on a DVS track for the visually impaired on the SAP channel.
Accompanying TCM’s inaugural commercial-free presentation of the movie will be short-form pieces featuring celebrity memories of the movie from stars such as Michael Douglas, Linda Fiorentino, Jerry O’Connell, Don Cheadle, Ashley Judd, Skitch Henderson, Jane Powell, Anne Archer, Dermot Mulroney and Jane Lahr, the daughter of Bert Lahr, who portrayed the Cowardly Lion. Special segments will highlight cult director John Waters testimonial of why he considers the film his favorite and Buddy Ebsen sharing his story of how he was replaced by Jack Haley in the role of the tin man after he was poisoned by the silver paint (Tape of segments available).
TCM will devote the entire evening of July 3 to THE WIZARD OF OZ, beginning at 7 p.m. with the documentary THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ: 50 YEARS OF MAGIC, followed at 8 p.m. by THE WIZARD OF OZ. Both will repeat at 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. respectively. The celebration will kick off a Star of the Month tribute to Judy Garland, featuring 31 additional Garland films, beginning July 4 at 1 a.m. with the black-and-white documentary on the legend, IMPRESSIONS OF GARLAND (1972), and continuing at 8 p.m. (ET) each night through July 9. This tribute will also include three rarely seen shorts, premiering July 2 at 5:30 a.m.: Garland in her film debut at age 7, singing with her sisters in the Warner Brothers’ short BUBBLES (1929); at age 13 in EVERY SUNDAY (1935), a swingy jazz performance that secured her MGM contract; and singing in a Will Rodgers memorial trailer IF I FORGET YOU (1940). In addition, Garland will be featured in a Star of the Month segment and in a commemorative THE WIZARD OF OZ issue of TCM’s Now Playing guide.
When it originally opened in 1939, THE WIZARD OF OZ was one of the most expensive films ever produced, costing an estimated $2.6 million. Although the film did not initially recover its production cost, through several re-releases the movie not only recovered but exceeded the original cost, and it went on to become one of the most popular films of all time. It has become a virtual American institution and it is estimated that, since its first television broadcast, THE WIZARD OF OZ has been seen by more than half a billion people.
MGM gave special attention to the music selected for THE WIZARD OF OZ. Though many movies had musical numbers at that time, THE WIZARD OF OZ was one of the first films to use the musical numbers to help tell the film’s story. All of the songs for the film were written by E.Y. Harburg and Harold Arlen, including the signature piece, "Somewhere over the Rainbow," which won the Oscar® for Best Song. Ironically, studio head Louis B. Mayer had originally wanted to have the song cut from the film. Other popular songs from the movie include "Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead," "Follow the Yellow Brick Road," "If I Only Had a Brain" and "We’re Off to See the Wizard."
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