"This is a very welcome reissue of a classic film history. Pretty much anything you ever wanted to know about how the magic of 'Oz' was created can be found here. The author interviewed nearly everyone connected to the movie who was still living at the time --- stars, Munchkins, screenwriters, lyricist, set designers, stand-ins and stunt doubles, you name it --- to produce not only a great study of an iconic film but a revealing portrait of the way studios operated during Hollywood's golden age. (Margaret Hamilton, the 'wicked witch' who terrified so many generations of children, turns out to have been a charming person and delightful raconteur. Who knew?) So sit back and enjoy the movie all over again."
Publisher Chicago Review Press
Publication Date 2013-10-01
Section Film / All Staff Suggestions / Nonfiction Suggestions / Alan H.
Format Paperback
ISBN 9781613748329
Released in conjunction with the 75th-anniversary DVD release of The Wizard of Oz, this book is the definitive story of how one of America’s most beloved movies was made and a marvelous, unprecedented examination of how Hollywood used to make movies. This updated edition includes numerous photos and shares hundreds of interviews with cameramen, screenwriters, costume designers, directors, producers, light technicians, actors, and more to reveal how the factory-like Hollywood system of moviemaking miraculously produced one of the most enduring films ever made. From the scandalous headlines of Munchkin orgies at the Culver City Hotel and the Witch’s (accidental) burning to the building of the Emerald City and the sewing of nearly 1,000 costumes, The Making of The Wizard of Oz provides a richly detailed re-creation of MGM’s production No. 1060 and a detail-by-detail, department-by-department look at the most powerful and flamboyant studio Hollywood has ever known.
