How popular was 'The Wizard of Oz' when it came out?

Answer 1

Somewhat oddly, on initial release Wizard was not that big a money-maker. A far more powerful cinematic block-buster- or anti-Depressant, pun intended was Gone with the Wind, also released in l939, the Civil War drama. An oddity of that one is all Confederate and Southern characters such as Rhett Butler, Scarlett O"Hara, have Irish names.

Answer 2

Very popular in terms of the book and popular enough to make a respectable profit in terms of the film indicates how popular "The Wizard of Oz" was when it came out.

Specifically, author and Oz series originator Lyman Frank Baum (May 15, 1856 - May 6, 1919) had a winner on his hands from the moment George M. Hill Company published his "The Wizard of Oz" on May 17, 1900. In contrast, the beloved 1939 film version faced more of a challenge towards becoming the worldwide film classic status that it holds in the twenty-first century. In fact, it became hugely profitable with time, but not in the first year of its release, when it made less than $300,000 in profit for MGM Studios.

Answer 3

With its release as a film in 1939, The Wizard of Oz might have brought a most hopeful, reassuring message to the people of the United States of America. For it could be considered the first American spin on Fairy Tales. The film version mixed the black-and-white drabness of life on the great plains of Kansas, with the brightly colorful life in the beautiful, enchanted, magical lands of Oz. The lands and peoples of Oz offered dreamy, tempting possibilities of ease, friends, happiness, power, and wealth. But Dorothy Gale chose as her dream the appreciation of family and the return home. In essence, she went over the rainbow, to find good friends and hardhearted enemies. But she also discovered that what was important, and what she needed and wanted, could be found in her own backyard. Many people in the United States were starting to get their lives together after the personal suffering, and the financial disasters, of the Depression of the 1930s. Undoubtedly, audiences could relate to the harsh, precariouslife in the Kansas segments of the film. Likewise, they could relate to the courageous determination of Dorothy to survive the disappointments of Oz made perhaps all the more disheartening for the contrast with the lavishly, riotously colorful lands in which they took place. And undoubtedly audiences could relate to Dorothy's discovery that the grass on the other side indeed might be greener, and indeed might offer the possibilities of good, lasting friendships. But all would be for naught without the team whose practical choices and hard work had made it possible to walk down the Yellow Brick Road, be it in life or only in dreams.

Answer 4

The effect of The Wizard of Oz is much the same nowadays as back in 1939. For it's a quality film that packages fine acting, dancing and singing in pioneer Technicolor production and visual effects. Even today, critics and viewers are impressed with the realness of the tornado scene, and with the evil of the Wicked Witch of the West and her Castle guards. The impact is much the same nowadays as back in 1939 too. For the messages and themes find wide appeal and applicability among wide audiences. What is there not to like about showing courage under fire; finding within yourself, and in your own back yard, the resources to carry on; cherishing family and home; being open to new friends and adventures; and appreciating each other when we're smart, loving, and courageous and understanding when we're not? The expressed intention of Lyman Frank Baum [May 15, 1856-May 5, 1919], author of the book of the same title upon which the film is based, was writing an American fairy tale for the joyful wonderment of children of all times and places. The intention was realized in the book, and those involved in the filming realized it in the film. For the book has never been out of print, and the film ranks as one of the biggest moneymaking, one of the most profitable, and one of the most widely loved and respected films of all times and all places.

Answer 5

Very popular in terms of the book and popular enough to make a respectable profit in terms of the film indicates how popular "The Wizard of Oz" was when it came out.

Specifically, author and Oz series originator Lyman Frank Baum (May 15, 1856 - May 6, 1919) had a winner on his hands from the moment George M. Hill Company published his "The Wizard of Oz" on May 17, 1900. In contrast, the beloved 1939 film version faced more of a challenge towards becoming the worldwide film classic status that it holds in the twenty-first century. In fact, it became hugely profitable with time, but not in the first year of its release, when it made less than $300,000 in profit for MGM Studios.

Answer 6

That they liked it enough to turn it into a profitable venture and to pass their love on to succeeding generationsshows what the public thought of the movie version of "The Wizard of Oz."

Specifically, the acting, costuming, effects, music and plot drew audiences to movie theaters across the United States of America. This represented quite an achievement since the country was sobered by ten years of the Great Depression and its side effects and aftereffects. The response was such that MGM Studios made a profit out of the ever risky adaptation of a beloved children's story to the silver screen.

Answer 7

it was the first movie to be in color