Sunday, August 25, marked the 85th anniversary of the release of The Wizard of Oz, a feature film based on the novel by L. Frank Baum. Locally, the anniversary was celebrated with a special screening of the Academy Award-winning film at the historic Texas Theatre.
The film tells the story of Dorothy, played by Judy Garland, who and her dog Toto are caught in a tornado and whisked far away from home.
When Dorothy opened the door to her house, she found a colorful world, hundreds of munchkins, and ruby slippers. As she hugged Toto, she couldn’t believe her eyes and said, “Toto, I feel like we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
All Dorothy ever wanted was to find her way back to the family she left behind. She was sorry that her house had fallen on the Wicked Witch of the East. Her regret was real.
Glinda the Good Witch (Billie Burke) magically places red slippers on her feet and tells her she must never take them off, no matter what. The ruby slippers were meant to protect her as she “traveled down the yellow brick road.”
Along the way, Dorothy meets the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion, played by Ray Bolger, Jack Haley and Bert Lahr respectively. Like Dorothy, all three needed something from the Wizard of Oz: the Scarecrow needed a brain, the Tin Man needed a heart and the Cowardly Lion needed courage.
Unfortunately, the quest to obtain these things was not an easy one for the four of them. On their first visit to the Land of Oz, they left with the broom of the Wicked Witch of the West and were told to return.
When Dorothy saw that the sand in the hourglass was decreasing on her second visit, Toto led the three to rescue her. They were chased by the Witch and the people who blindly followed her orders as they went up and down the stairs throughout the Witch’s castle.
Cornered, the Witch decided to get rid of the Scarecrow first. She lit a broom on fire and held it up to the Scarecrow’s sleeve. As the straw inside the Scarecrow’s body began to burn, Dorothy grabbed a bucket of water and threw it in his direction. As the fire went out, the effect was permanent for the Witch; she melted before her very eyes.
Dorothy got her broom back, and the group returned to the Land of Oz, where they once again stood before the great and powerful Wizard. When Toto pulled back the curtain, they saw that he was just a man; he had no magical powers.
He may not have been a wizard, but he displayed his wisdom by presenting the Scarecrow with a diploma, the Tin Man with a ticking heart-shaped clock, and pinning a medal of honor on the swelling chest of the no-longer-cowardly Lion.
The gift for Dorothy was a balloon ride home, but Toto jumped out of the balloon, and Dorothy jumped out after him. The balloon untied itself, and the man floated away without Dorothy.
It was Glinda who came to her rescue again, and she said, “You don’t need my help anymore. You had the strength to get back to Kansas all along.”
All it took was for Dorothy to click her heels three times and repeat the words, “There’s no place like home,” and she woke up in Kansas, with Toto in her arms and her family watching over her.
The screening at the Texas Theatre drew dozens of moviegoers, including Jennifer Howell and her cousin Essie, who came to celebrate the film’s 85th anniversary and to celebrate their loved ones.
“Today would have been my mother’s 85th birthday,” Howell said. “I think I first saw this movie in the late ’60s or early ’70s, and I just thought it would be a nice throwback.”
As the film’s credits continued to roll, Connie Edmundson and her daughter, Kat McDowell, were the last audience members to leave the theater, with tears in McDowell’s eyes while Edmundson openly wiped them away.
“This movie has been a treasured family memory since 1963,” Edmundson said. “The music from this movie was played at my mom and dad’s funerals. It brings back so many memories.”
McDowell shared similar feelings, but her memories date back to when she was a toddler.
“I played out the whole movie in my grandparents’ living room,” she says, “and it’s my favorite movie of all time.”
The Wizard of Oz was screened to a sold-out audience, many of whom, like the audience member mentioned above, left the theater with tears in their eyes and shared memories with those who had accompanied them.
There are so many lessons in this movie, but the five most important ones are to be grateful for the life you have, not to discriminate because you can help anyone, goodness will prevail, people are not always what they seem, and you have what you need right now.
And Dorothy says, “There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.”
Baylor Scott & White Medical Center Waxahachie sponsored a special screening at the Texas Theatre.