Goin' Down the (Yellow Brick) Road Again – Part 1

For many of us, especially the Baby Boomers, watching the venerable classic movie The Wizard of Oz on TV was an annual tradition. Who doesn't remember gathering around the TV set once a year to watch Dorothy (Judy Garland), and cringing at everything she had to confront – including a particularly nasty witch, creepy talking trees, scary flying monkeys, etc. – just so she could get back home to Kansas? 

Fortunately, there was comedy relief in the form of her trio of friends: the Scarecrow (who was probably the smartest of them all), the Tin Man, and the hilarious Cowardly Lion (played by Bert Lahr).

But this pleasant annual visit with the Oz gang came to an end back in 1998, which was the last time the movie was shown on CBS. Since then, the movie has popped up here and there on cable, but with no real fanfare or regularity.

After a quarter century, however, The Wizard of Oz returned to broadcast television recently with several airings on MeTV – even on Svengoolie. So it's a good time to celebrate the movie on this blog with a look back at when it first hit Lorain theaters (in Part 1), as well as when it first showed up on TV (in Part 2).

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If anyone thought that promoting and marketing a movie aggressively was something that only originated in the era of Star Wars, they would be surprised at the publicity for The Wizard of Oz. Perhaps it was because the book was so well-known and popular.

But right before the movie's opening in Lorain, a full spread in the Lorain Journal for local stores featured a Wizard of Oz theme.

Aug. 30, 1939

Most of the ads have rather lame ad copy about 'wishing,' in an attempt to tie in with the movie, but a few feature photos or images from the production.

Part of the marketing seemed to play on the public's fascination with 'little people.' This publicity photo played up the large number of them (the term 'midgets' is now frowned upon) hired to be Munchkins for the movie.

Aug. 31, 1939

And finally on September 2, 1939, The Wizard of Oz opened at Ohio Theater in Downtown Lorain.

Sept. 2, 1939

Sept. 2, 1939

Sept. 5, 1939

The following month, The Wizard of Oz made it to the Dreamland.

Oct. 26, 1939

Extremely popular movies were often re-released back then. Thus The Wizard of Oz had a repeat engagement at Avon Lake Theater in August 1949 – ten years after the original release.

Aug. 19, 1949

Hey, there was even a Terry Toon on the bill. I hope it was a Heckle and Jeckle!

Next: The Wizard of Oz makes it to TV.