M-G-M MEETS L. FRANK BAUM! (Part Four)

 
by John Fricke

                

 

[Above: Whether we’re discussing the first Oz book or its screen adaptation by MGM, this lobby card heralding THE WIZARD OF OZ provides a glimpse of an iconic moment in literary history. The original, taken on-set, black-and-white still of Dorothy drying the eyes of the Cowardly Lion -- as observed by the Scarecrow and Tin Woodman -- was colorized by the studio’s promotional department for use in theater displays and showcases during the film’s initial release in 1939. From left: Jack Haley, Ray Bolger, Judy Garland, and Bert Lahr.]

 

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Note: This is the fourth installment of our 2024-2025 blog series, celebrating the 85th anniversary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s classic 1939 film version of THE WIZARD OF OZ. Each month -- through next June, and sequence by sequence -- we’ll compare the content of that 1939 motion picture with author L. Frank Baum’s original story of THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ (first published in 1900). This entry continues Dorothy Gale’s ongoing journey to the Emerald City, and she and her little dog Toto have already met two boon companions, the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman. They’re about to encounter a third (and-soon-to-be-equally important) member for the trek -- as well as face the most terrifying challenge of their travels thus far. Please read on to find out what MGM left in, crossed out, or added to Baum’s plot and characterizations! (Pictures from the motion picture herewith are recognizable; all the others are among those drawn by W. W. Denslow for the first edition of the Baum book.)

 

In the moments after the Tin Woodman joined Dorothy’s party, the Hollywood movie continued to follow the template of the original story, and the quartet moved into a darker and thicker forest. Baum describes the lack of sunshine and notes that, “The road was still paved with yellow bricks, but these were much covered by dried branches and dead leaves . . . [and] now and then came a deep growl from some wild animal hidden among the trees.” Or, to put it in Judy Garland’s dialog: “I don’t like this forest; it’s dark and creepy. Do you suppose we’ll meet any wild animals?”

Neither on the printed page nor on the silver screen did the girl have to wait to find out. Below, Denslow’s chapter-opening art plainly shows what’s just ahead; the other image captures comic actor Bert Lahr in an early make-up test for the role at MGM in 1938:

Baum continues, “There came from the forest a terrible roar, and the next moment a great Lion bounded into the road. (Bert’s athletic -- and indeed “bounding” -- entrance was performed by a stunt double:)

The MGM scenarists continue to follow Baum with acceptable alacrity: “With one blow of his great paw, [the Lion] sent the Scarecrow spinning over and over to the edge of the road, and then he struck at the Tin Woodman . . . [who] fell over in the road and lay still.”

Then, however, the movie scene reverts from all action/no conversation to a brief, wondrously contrived monolog for the Lion, setting up Lahr’s personal, extraordinary approach to the role – and to the supine Scarecrow and Tin Man: “Put ‘em up. Put ‘em up! I’ll fight yah both together if you want. I’ll fight yah standin’ on one foot. I’ll fight yah with my eyes closed . . .. Oh, pullin’ an axe on me, hey? Sneakin’ up on me, hey? How long can you stay fresh in that can? . . . . Get up and fight, yah shivering junkyard! Put your hands up, yah lopsided bag of hay!”

Baum’s plot line then intervenes, and the on-screen conflict continues in that vein: “Little Toto . . . ran barking toward the Lion, and the great beast . . . opened his mouth to bite the dog” (Lahr: “I’ll get you, anyway, Peewee”). But Dorothy “heedless of danger, rushed forward and slapped the Lion upon his nose, as hard as she could . . .. “

At this point, the book dialogue became more condensed than that in the film, but the scripters retain salient phrases, much in keeping with the author’s basic points: “I didn’t bite him!” protests the animal. “No, but you tried to,” offers the animal’s mistress, referring to Toto as “a poor little dog” and accusing the King of the Forest: “You’re nothing but a big coward.” (This moment in hoztory was suitably captured and preserved:)

THE WIZARD OF OZ text continues with some of Baum’s quiet, almost off-hand humor. He had a penchant for momentary digression that was sure to be of ponderable consideration for youngsters reading or listening. Yet it was unexpected and quietly cunning enough to garner an appreciative smile from an adult doing a read-aloud:

Lion: “Whenever there is danger, my heart begins to beat fast.”

“Perhaps you have heart disease,” offers the Tin Woodman.

The Lion responds, “It may be.”

Meanwhile, the Scarecrow – equally true to character – is compelled to ask, “Have you brains?”

To this, the Lion considerately muses, “I suppose so. I’ve never looked to see.”

The upshot, of course, is that Dorothy welcomes him to join the gang – and the Metro scribes pay close attention: Baum’s cowardly animal agrees to company them and confesses, “My life is simply unbearable without a bit of courage.” And the band of merry players – strengthened by the new addition who will certainly help keep away danger from other wild beasts – respectively sing out in hope: “. . . I’m sure to get a brain! A heart! A home! De noive!” (In an individual portrait, Lahr’s Lion further and delightedly contemplates the concept.)

Baum then brings us to another overnight segment, and while Dorothy and Toto sleep, the Scarecrow kindly and -- with his padded hands -- painstakingly fills the little girl’s empty basket with nuts from a nearby tree. (She’d by now finished all the buttered bread she’d brought from the farmhouse.)

The next morning, our friends “had hardly been walking an hour, when they saw before them a great ditch that crossed the road and divided the forest as far as they could see. Although “terribly afraid of falling,” the Lion is brave enough to – three times -- jump back and forth over the gulf, each time carrying a member of the party to safety.

It’s a masterful escape, yet the woods are ever darker and bleaker on the other side, and “to add to their discomfort,” the party “soon heard strange noises in the depths of the forest . . . the Lion whispered to them that it was in this part of the country that the Kalidahs lived.”

“They are monstrous beasts with bodies like bears and heads like tigers, and with claws so sharp, they could tear me in two as easily as I could kill Toto.” The Lion’s fearsome recitative is halted when the company suddenly comes to another gulf across the road, “so broad and so deep that the Lion knew at once he could not leap across it.” Once again, the purportedly brainless Scarecrow has a solution: “Here is a great tree, standing close to the ditch. If the Tin Woodman can chop it down, so that it will fall to the other side, we can walk across it easily.”

This is expeditiously accomplished, yet just as the party begins to cross over, “a sharp growl [makes] them look up.” Two of the raging Kalidahs are approaching, and Dorothy (holding Toto), the Tin Woodman, and the Scarecrow hasten to traverse the fallen log; meanwhile, the Lion gives “out so loud and terrible a roar . . . that even the fierce beasts stopped short and looked at him in surprise.” The Lion then makes his own escape, but the Kalidahs recover from their shock and also begin to crawl across the tree in pursuit of the troupe. Once again with his friends, the Lion volunteers to defend them “as long as I am alive,” but is saved by another stroke of Scarecrowian genius: The straw man directs the Woodman to chop away the end of the tree on their side of the gully – and it falls “with a crash into the gulf, carrying the ugly, snarling brutes with it, and both were dashed to pieces on the sharp rocks at the bottom.”

As if in reward for their perseverance, our friends now find that “the trees became thinner the farther they advanced . . . and they suddenly came upon a broad river, flowing swiftly before them. On the other side of the water, they could see the road of yellow brick, running through a beautiful country, with green meadows dotted with bright flowers, and all the road bordered with trees hanging full of delicious fruits.” Of course, when Dorothy asks, “How shall we cross the river,” it’ll come as no surprise that it’s the Scarecrow who replies, “The Tin Woodman must build us a raft, so we can float to the other side.”

That evening and overnight are passed on the riverbank, as the Tin Woodman continues his work. Meanwhile, the Scarecrow finds nearby fruit trees to provide Dorothy with her dinner and breakfast meals.

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Across this section of THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ book, Baum takes great care to provide instances of the already-possessed (though still desired) characteristics of his three protagonists. The intelligent solutions offered by the Scarecrow and the demonstrations of the Lion’s bravery are referenced above.

The Tin Woodman has his moments, as well – preeminent among them the death of a beetle upon whom he accidentally steps. He subsequently cries to such an extent that his jaws once again rust, and Dorothy must oil them. A revised variation of this incident was actually included in the preliminary rough-cut of MGM’s OZ, when the Wicked Witch of the West made good on her threat to turn the Tin Man into a beehive. In raw footage, a swarm of animated bees flew out of his sleeves and funnel, while Dorothy and the Scarecrow hastily took cover. The swarm swiftly disappears, but the Woodman inadvertently kills a lingering bee, and Judy’s Dorothy must comfort him by pointing out that the bee was old and about to die anyway -- the Tin Man actually saved him from further misery. (Here’s a still from the denouement of that deleted sequence:)

Of course, the movie omits the chasms in the Yellow Brick Road, the Kalidahs, and the “blockade” of the river, jumping instead and directly to the Poppy Field. It’s also the sage MGM who here -- once again -- heightens the threat of their villain Wicked Witch, as it’s she who’s about to “implant” poison in those forthcoming flowers. Our progressing book characters, however, are about to encounter midstream difficulties on their raft; the deadly blossoms are still in their future. As will be seen, they must also contrive a means of escaping the poppies withOUT the intervention of the film’s Good Witch of the North.

So, there are further new escapades to enjoy or endure (some via Baum, some via Metro), and they’re all discussed in our part five next month! Nevertheless, despite all odds -- and whether stopping for a meal, a night’s rest, or a musical number -- our company perseveres and optimistically continues their march to the Emerald City:

To add the obvious – and why not?! –  let’s close for now with a curtain call for our new companion, who’s become the fifth and final member of the greatest fantasy quintet of recorded time:

P.S. If you’re interested in reading the earlier entries in this series, they’re posted just below this one. So please just keep scrolling down. 😊

And -- as ever -- we’re delighted you’re here!

 
 

Article by John Fricke

 

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