For this post, I wanted to focus on a few aspects of some of the drafts that would have made the film entirely different from the classic film we know today. One of the chapters discusses the writing process and the many drafts, changes, and edits that were made over a tumultuous year in the life of Oz’s screenplay.
I recently read, and highly recommend, a great book – aptly titled The Making of the Wizard of Oz by Aljean Harmetz – that breaks down how the iconic film was made. Unlike today, these writers were assigned by MGM to work on the project, then removed at the whim of the studio and quickly replaced. These ten writers included: Herman Mankiewicz, Ogden Nash, Noel Langley, Herbert Fields, Samuel Hoffenstein, Florence Ryerson, Edgar Allan Woolf, Jack Mintz, Sid Silvers, and John Lee Mahin. Ten (yes, ten) writers had a hand in bringing the world of Oz to life. The adaptation process that was used to write the screenplay for 1939’s The Wizard of Oz can be summed up in two words: disjointed collaboration. Frank Baum novel, this timeless and classic film went through quite a journey to become the film we know and love today. For eight decades, audiences have enjoyed the story of a young girl from Kansas who is swept away via cyclone to the magical world of Oz where she meets three unique friends and must team with them to reach her goal of returning home. Adapted from the L.
It’s crazy to think that MGM’s The Wizard of Oz is 80 years old this year.
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