Tag Archives: Victor Fleming

Go Off to see THE WIZARD OF OZ this afternoon at the CALS Ron Robinson Theater

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RRT Wizard_of_oz_movie_poster“Follow the Yellow Brick Road”

“There’s No Place Like Home”

“I’ll Get You, My Pretty”

“And Toto, too!”

Those are just a few of the famous lines from the iconic 1939 MGM Technicolor classic The Wizard of Oz.  The CALS Ron Robinson Theater will be screening it today (February 13) at 2pm for $5.  Concessions are available for purchase.

Based on the L. Frank Baum novel (which launched a series of books), this film was directed by Victor Fleming (who also received credit for directing another 1939 classic – Gone with the Wind – but that’s another story).  For Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley and Margaret Hamilton – this film was the source of their iconic roles.  Frank Morgan played the titular role, while Billie Burke essayed the role of Glinda.

The movie was nominated for six Oscars, and picked up two – Best Score (Herbert Stothart) and Best Song (E. Y. “Yip” Harburg and Harold Arlen for “Over the Rainbow”).  The year 1939 has largely been considered the best  year for movies during the Golden Age of Hollywood, so picking up two Oscars in the year of Gone with the Wind, Ninotchka, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Stage Coach, Wuthering Heights, Intermezzo, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame is quite an accomplishment.

While now viewed as a classic, it took 14 writers and five directors as well as several re-castings to get the movie finished.  This afternoon is the chance to see it again on the big screen.

GONE WITH THE WIND on the big screen at the CALS Ron Robinson Theatre tonight

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Gone with the Wind (1939) PosterAs God is my witness, you can see Gone with the Wind on the big screen tonight! And frankly my dear, you should give a damn!

The doors to the CALS Ron Robinson Theater open tonight (10/30) at 6pm for the 7pm screening of the 1939 Best Picture winner.  Filled with romance, action, and witty dialogue (as well as melodrama and some embarrassing dialogue too), this film was destined to be a hit before it even started filming.

Everyone who was anyone (and a lot of noones) auditioned to be in the movie.  It went through a plethora of directors and screenwriters before it was completed. But through it all, producer David O. Selznick used a steel fist to keep it on course.

Nominated for thirteen Oscars, it won eight: Best Picture, Actress (Vivien Leigh), Supporting Actress (Hattie McDaniel, who became the first African American to win an Oscar – and had to sit in the segregated section at the awards ceremony), Director (Victor Fleming – who only directed about half the film, having been brought in after it had started), Screenplay (Sidney Howard – who had died in a farming accident and became the first posthumous Oscar winner), Cinematography, Art Direction and Editing.

Admission is $5, with concessions available for purchase.