On today's date in 1939, the movie classic THE WIZARD OF OZ had its world premiere. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, and at the 1940 award ceremony, it won Oscars for Best Original Score, Best Original Song ("Over the Rainbow"), and Academy Juvenile Award (Judy Garland).
In a 2009 article, San Francisco Chronicle film critic and author Mick LaSalle wrote, "The entire Munchkinland sequence, from Dorothy's arrival in Oz to her departure on the yellow brick road, has to be one of the greatest in cinema history — a masterpiece of set design, costuming, choreography, music, lyrics, storytelling, and sheer imagination."
In 2019, researchers at the University of Turin analyzed a database of 47,000 films to determine the most influential movies in cinema history, and they named MGM's The Wizard of Oz (1939) as the most influential film of all time. The University of Turin (UniTo) has been a launching pad for contemporary filmmakers, and university researchers are associated with cinematic research, having devised a mathematical algorithm to objectively measure cinematic influence. In addition, the city of Turin (Torino) serves as a major filming hub and hosts the prominent Torino Film Festival.
How will YOU celebrate today? Of course, you could watch the original movie again and dress up like your favorite character. Or you could find a showing of WICKED THE MUSICAL and attend the show. Or you could watch the two WICKED movies directed by John M. Chu (WICKED - 2024 and WICKED: FOR GOOD - 2025). Or you could visit the Smithsonian's American History Museum in Washington, D.C., to see the ruby red slippers worn by Judy Garland as "Dorothy." Or you can "Follow the Yellow Brick Road" to the Judy Garland Museum - her restored 1920's birthplace home - in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
According to Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, "A second pair of ruby slippers is on display at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles, the official showcase for the organization behind the Oscars. The ruby slippers in question are said to be the shoes that received the coveted close ups in the film — including the now famous heel clicks that send Dorothy back to Kansas — thus making them the holy grail of all Hollywood memorabilia, and most valuable of the four pairs that were worn by Garland, according to film historians. Upping their value is that they're nicknamed the "Witch's Shoes," since they were the pair taken from the feet of the Wicked Witch of the East in the film. Leonardo DiCaprio, Steven Spielberg, and former Disney chairman Bob Iger helped the Academy acquire the slippers in 2012 in an auction after they had been stored in MGM's costume vault, and then owned by private collectors." According to Iger, "The ruby slippers occupy an extraordinary place in the hearts of movie audiences the world over."
Or, you can read two works of fiction with interesting spins on the well-known story:
BEFORE DOROTHY by Hazel Gaynor (c. 2025)
Here's a brief synopsis from Amazon, "Chicago, 1924: Emily and her new husband, Henry, yearn to leave the bustle of Chicago for the promise of their own American dream among the harsh beauty of the prairie. But leaving the city means leaving Emily's beloved sister, Annie, who was once closer to her than anyone in the world. Kansas, 1932: Emily and Henry have established their new home among the warmth of the farming community in Kansas. Aligned to the fickle fortunes of nature, their lives hold a precarious and hopeful purpose, until tragedy strikes and their orphaned niece, Dorothy, lands on their doorstep. The wide-eyed child isn't the only thing to disrupt Emily's world. Drought and devastating dust storms threaten to destroy everything, and her much-loved home becomes a place of uncertainty and danger. When the past catches up with the present and old secrets are exposed, Emily fears she will lose the most cherished thing of all: Dorothy. Bursting with courage and heart, Before Dorothy tells the story of the woman who raised a beloved heroine, and ponders the question: what is the true meaning of home?"
FINDING DOROTHY by Elizabeth Letts (c. 2019)
Here's a brief synopsis from Amazon, "Hollywood, 1938: As soon as she learns that MGM is adapting her late husband's masterpiece for the screen, 77-year-old Maud Gage Baum sets about trying to finagle her way onto the set. Nineteen years after Frank's passing, Maud is the only person who can help the producers stay true to the spirit of the book — because she's the only one left who knows its secrets. But the moment she hears Judy Garland rehearsing the first notes of "Over the Rainbow," Maud recognizes the yearning that defined her own life story, from her youth as a suffragette's daughter to her coming of age as one of the first women in the Ivy League, from her blossoming romance with Frank to the hardscrabble prairie years that inspired The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Judy reminds Maud of a young girl she cared for and tried to help in South Dakota, a dreamer who never got her happy ending. Now, with the young actress under pressure from the studio as well as her ambitious stage mother, Maud resolves to protect her — the way she tried so hard to protect the real Dorothy."
And here's a fun story, according to Yahoo, "In London in 2009, Harrods department store replicated a scene from "The Wizard of Oz," where Dorothy's house lands on the Wicked Witch of the East. Colossal 14-foot-tall ruby slippers were produced for the installation, which was showcased that year throughout December from the retailer's streetside windows."
So, no matter how you choose to celebrate, have fun and follow the yellow brick road!
SHARE THIS: The ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in THE WIZARD OF OZ are now among the most treasured and valuable film memorabilia in movie history. ~Forbes #TheWizardofOzDay #BrandStorytelling #DebbieLaskeysBlog
SHARE THIS: It's not where you go...it's who you meet along the way. ~Wizard of Oz #TheWizardofOzDay #BrandStorytelling #DebbieLaskeysBlog
Image Credits: Forbes (Harrods) and Amazon (Glinda quote).
Want to visit Oz? Check out the Land of Oz in North Carolina:
Want to visit the Judy Garland Museum in Minnesota?
https://judygarlandmuseum.com/
Read: How Dorothy's Ruby Slippers Came to the Smithsonian:
Read why THE WIZARD OF OZ was chosen as the most influential film of all time according to science:
Read: Co-Branding and WICKED (November 22, 2024)
https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2024/11/co-branding-and-wicked.html
Read: WICKED FOR GOOD Expands Reach by Co-Branding! (November 21, 2025)
https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2025/11/wicked-for-good-expands-reach-by-co.html
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