The Wizard of Oz on television

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The enormous popularity of the 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz among Americans is primarily due today to the large number of times it has been shown on U.S. television, although it was a famous film even before then. Reissued theatrically in 1949 and 1955,^[1] the movie was, for the first seventeen years of its existence, simply a well-remembered film that many people loved, but not one of the icons of cinema; nor did it really occur to anyone that it would ever become that. Between 1959 and 1991, it was an annual television tradition, and through these showings, it has become one of the most famous films ever made (possibly the most famous, although Gone with the Wind, Citizen Kane, and Casablanca are strong competitors for that honor). Between 1956 and 1979, prior to the marketing of VCRs, annual telecasts of the film were practically the only means of seeing it, and they quickly became a much anticipated family event in the United States, announced as far in advance as two weeks.

The film's first telecast in 1956, as well as the 1959 to 1962 telecasts, occurred late in the year, between Thanksgiving and Christmas. However, beginning in the 1963–64 season the showings would occur in the early months of the year. As a result the movie did not air at all in 1963. But its 1964 showing was only 13 months after the 1962 showing. So even minus 1963 the movie still aired once a year per TV season.

The television showing of The Wizard of Oz has become perhaps one of the most famous and cherished American customs in the history of that medium. The vast majority of people who have seen the film have seen it on television rather than watching it on the big screen. The film It's a Wonderful Life has a similar history of relative neglect and then becoming popular because of frequent showings on television, although It's a Wonderful Life was much less successful on its original 1946 theatrical run than The Wizard of Oz was in 1939.

Contents 1 The film's television career 1.1 First telecast 1.2 1959-1998 1.2.1 "Wraparound" opening and closing credits 1.2.2 Impact on color television 1.2.3 Recent hosts 1.2.4 Television ratings 1.2.5 Changes made in running time 1.2.6 Annual television airings 1.2.7 March 1991 showing 1.2.8 2000 and 2002 airings 1.2.9 Differences between network and cable showings 1.2.10 Outside the United States 2 Airdates 3 Cable showings 4 References

[edit] The film's television career

Feature films by all of the major Hollywood studios were not broadcast on network television before 1955, due to the studios' reluctance to anger theater owners with a competing venue.^[2] Before 1955, American television relied instead on features from the minor Hollywood studios, independent U.S. producers, and British films. By 1956, the major Hollywood studios were in the process of selling their films to local television stations, but not to the networks. (Walt Disney was the only exception — some of his films had already been shown on ABC-TV.) The Wizard of Oz was chosen as the first major Hollywood film to be shown complete in one evening on an entire television network rather than just a local station. (The Disney films had either been edited down to an hour, or shown in two parts over two separate evenings.) Earlier that year, Richard III, Laurence Olivier's 1955 British film production of Shakespeare's play, had made its simultaneous U.S. theatrical and NBC television network debut, but that had been an afternoon, not a prime time showing, and parts of the film had been edited due to censorship.

[edit] First telecast

The first telecast of The Wizard of Oz was as an "episode" of the anthology series Ford Star Jubilee on the CBS television network on November 3, 1956.^[3] The network paid MGM $225,000 to televise the movie that year.^[4]

For the film's first television broadcast, the normally 90-minute Ford Star Jubilee was expanded to a full two hours to accommodate the entire film, which, in addition to having commercial breaks, was hosted. The main reason that CBS arranged for celebrities to host the film was that a 101-minute motion picture would not be long enough to run in the allotted 120-minute time slot. This was due to the fact that, until about 1968, commercial breaks were much shorter on television than they are now.^[5] And so, Bert Lahr (who had played both the Cowardly Lion and farmhand Zeke in the film), ten-year-old Liza Minnelli, and young Oz expert Justin G. Schiller appeared as hosts to introduce the movie and make a few entertaining remarks about it. Contrary to some internet information claims, Lorna Luft, Minnelli's half-sister, did not appear on the telecast, as she was only four years old at the time.) ^[6] The practice of a show business celebrity regularly "hosting" The Wizard of Oz lasted from the film's first television showing until 1968.

[edit] 1959-1998

For telecasts from 1959 up until 1998, the film was shown as a TV special in its own right, and between 1959 and 1968, CBS would choose its hosts from its then-current prime time lineup. In 1959, when the film's second telecast took place, the host was Red Skelton (The Red Skelton Show); in 1960 it was Richard Boone (Have Gun, Will Travel), in 1961 and 1962 it was Dick Van Dyke (The Dick Van Dyke Show), and from 1964 through 1967, it was Danny Kaye (The Danny Kaye Show). Skelton, Boone and Van Dyke brought their children along to appear in these hostings; this was CBS's way of emphasizing that the film's showing was a family event.

The hosting sequences for the 1959-1967 telecasts were all done in creative ways, not merely as mechanical introductions. Red Skelton was seen as two characters: before the film began, he appeared in costume as a Victorian storyteller in an early twentieth-century library who introduced L. Frank Baum's original 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (on which the film is based) to a young girl played by Skelton's real daughter, and at film's end, he appeared in a television studio as himself. Richard Boone was taped on the set of his television series Have Gun, Will Travel, where he was shown in a "living room" with his real son. Dick Van Dyke was shown in a "mockup" of his own home, where he was seen with his children, and Danny Kaye appeared against a painted backdrop of the Yellow Brick Road and the Emerald City.

The film did not become an annual television tradition immediately — only after the 1959 showing, when, because of the earlier hour at which it was shown (6:00 P.M., E.S.T.), more children tuned in to the broadcast.

[edit] "Wraparound" opening and closing credits

Between 1959 and 1968, telecasts of the film, which at that time always took place on Sunday evenings, invariably pre-empted that week's showing of Lassie. The film as telecast between those years would also have "wraparound" opening and closing credits segments devised by CBS, accompanied by their own opening and closing music. For the opening ones, the title "The Wizard of Oz" and the names of its five leading actors, Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, and Jack Haley, would be shown in CBS's own format, while an anonymous announcer read them off and then followed this with an announcement of the film's sponsor(s): "This portion of 'The Wizard of Oz' is brought to you by...[name of sponsor]". The first commercial then followed.

This would be followed by the host speaking about the movie. His introductory remarks would lead directly into the actual film, complete with all of its original opening credits and title music exactly as MGM created them, including the Leo the Lion logo. However, at the end of the movie, the closing credits as seen on the film would not be shown. Instead, immediately after Dorothy spoke her last line ("Oh, Auntie Em, there's no place like home!"), and the camera faded out on her, television viewers again saw CBS's specially made title card "The Wizard of Oz", accompanied by some of the film's end title music, exactly as heard on the soundtrack. After a final commercial, the host would then be seen once again, bid farewell to the TV audience, and CBS would show their own version of the cast of characters list.

[edit] Impact on color television

The very first telecast of the film was in color, although very few people owned color TV sets at that time.^[7] In fact, all U.S. telecasts of the film have been in color, an effect that seemed much more striking in the early 1960s, when there were still relatively few color programs on television, than it does now, when color TV is taken for granted.^[8]

[edit] Recent hosts

The idea of having hosts to introduce the film was permanently dropped when the film went to NBC temporarily in 1968, where no "wraparound" sequence was shown. The presentation simply consisted of the film itself, with its original opening and closing credits. (This switch in networks resulted because CBS was unwilling to meet MGM's increased price — fostered by the film's ever increasing popularity — for renewal of the rights to telecast it.)^[9] The host idea was dropped because more commercial time was required, and after its 1976 return to CBS, the film was hosted on that network only once more, by Angela Lansbury (Murder, She Wrote) in 1990, but the CBS "wraparound" opening and closing credits were not revived. That same year, Lansbury also narrated a documentary about the making of the film, which was shown immediately after the movie's telecast, and is included as a supplement on the DVD.

As of 2007, CBS is still the television network on which the film has most often been shown — a record thirty-one times — but this record will undoubtedly be broken by Turner Broadcasting someday, if they retain the right to show it indefinitely.

In recent years, when shown on Turner Classic Movies, the film is usually hosted by Robert Osborne, though, in this case, since TCM is commercial-free, it is obviously not done in order to pad out its running time.

On June 3, 2007, Tom Kenny, the voice of Sponge Bob Square Pants, hosted a telecast of the film on Turner Classic Movies, as part of a special summer series of family movies.

[edit] Television ratings

The showing in 1983 was the 25th network prime-time showing, a record then for any film or television special. (However, the record was equalled in 1998 by Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments, shown annually by ABC since 1973. ^[10]) In the first nine showings, The Wizard of Oz gained at least 49% of the television audience ^[11]. Between 1960 and 1968, the film even beat out the Walt Disney anthology television series, which aired on ABC and then NBC, opposite the film^[12]. (When the film moved temporarily from CBS to NBC, it would frequently pre-empt the Disney program altogether.)

[edit] Changes made in running time

From 1968 to 1984, the film was actually slightly cut to make room for added commercial time and still "clock in" at two hours. On a few occasions beginning in 1985, again because of the increased time spent on commercial breaks, the film had to be "time-compressed" to fit it into a two-hour running time without cutting it. ^[13] (In "time compression", the film is run at a slightly faster speed which is supposedly undetectable, but observant viewers can apparently notice a distinct "chipmunk"-like alteration of the voices when this is done.) However, it is now always shown complete and at its regular speed on television, both with and without commercials. When shown with ads, the film now runs about two hours and fifteen minutes, simply because of the increase in commercial time.

[edit] Annual television airings

From 1959 to 1991, the film was shown on television only once a year, except, as previously noted, in 1963, when it was not shown at all. In 1991, it was shown twice during the year for the first time. The main reason for this was that the film would begin to be run around Thanksgiving rather than late winter/early spring. 1991 also marked the first time since 1956 that the film was shown in November. The film was not shown on television at all in 1995 and 1997, marking the first time since 1963 that a year was skipped in showings of the film. During those years, negotiations were made between Turner, MGM and CBS so that the Turner-owned stations could now show the film. It is now shown several times a year, sometimes as frequently as five times within two days. ^[14]

[edit] March 1991 showing

The March 1991 showing was the first after the film gained protected status from the Library of Congress and the National Film Preservation Board. As a result, the network could no longer shorten the film by "microcutting" thousands of individual moments throughout the movie as had been done previously to make room for commercials and keep it in a two hour broadcast. This extended the running time of the film from 8 P.M to 10:07 P.M. EST, though it frequently lasts even longer on non-cable TV, depending on the amount of time spent on commercials. It was one of the first 50 films selected for this protection.^[15]

[edit] 2000 and 2002 airings

The year 2000 marked the first time that the film was shown on U.S. television during the summer. 2002 marked an unusual frequency of showings when, for the first time, it was shown on TNT three times within one month.

[edit] Differences between network and cable showings

Another difference between the network showings on CBS and NBC and those on cable channels is that when the film was shown on regular network television, it was always presented as a "special", no matter what time of year — meaning that it would preempt two hours of regular television programming on the specific network which showed it just for that one night. On Turner Network Television, Turner Classic Movies, and WTBS, it is usually presented as just another film in a time slot reserved for the showing of a movie, not a true television special. Some might argue that the method of presenting Oz as a TV special gave it a certain aura which today's showings of the film do not retain, especially since it has been easily available on video in one form or another since the 1980s.

In November 2007, the film was accorded the unusual honor of being shown literally simultaneously on two Turner-owned channels, TBS and TNT.

TNT showed the film in High-Definition in November 2006. It was not cropped to a 16x9 aspect ratio, but its correct Academy ratio dimensions were preserved, pillar boxed within a 16x9 frame.

[edit] Outside the United States

The movie has also been shown on television successfully in Great Britain, Canada and is shown every year in Australia, but it has not become the television phenomenon there that it has in the U.S. ^[16]

[edit] Airdates

Eastern Time (taken from TV Guide and from The Wizard of Oz: The Official 50th Anniversary Pictorial History).

1. 1956 - CBS - Saturday, November 3 - 9:00 p.m. E.S.T., 8:00 p.m. Central.

The film was shown in color although very few people owned color TV sets.^[17] This marked the only time it was ever aired that late on a non-cable television network (Turner Network Television has been known to schedule two showings in a row on the same night, at 8:00 p.m. and 10:15 p.m.). It was not shown primarily as a family attraction in 1956, simply as a TV special. Future showings would begin earlier in order to allow children to see it. In addition, the prime time hour generally given to affiliates for local programming would be taken back in order to run the movie early. This practice continued until the film was sold to NBC.

1. 1959 - CBS - Sunday, December 13 - 6:00 p.m.
2. 1960 - CBS - Sunday, December 11 - 6:00 p.m.
3. 1961 - CBS - Sunday, December 10 - 6:00 p.m.
4. 1962 - CBS - Sunday, December 9 - 6:00 p.m.
5. 1964 - CBS - Sunday, January 26 - 6:00 p.m.

The reason that the film did not air in December 1963 has never been stated as far as is known, but some say that room needed to be made for more Christmas themed specials and that the movie would fit in better during January. For whatever reason, the movie continued to air early in the year rather than late in the year from 1964 until the 1990s.

1. 1965 - CBS - Sunday, January 17 - 6:00 p.m.
2. 1966 - CBS - Sunday, January 9 - 6:00 p.m.
3. 1967 - CBS - Sunday, February 12 - 6:00 p.m.

Last airing on CBS until 1976. Would move to NBC in 1968, when the showings were moved from midwinter to late winter/early spring.

1. 1968 - NBC - Saturday, April 20 - 7:00 p.m.
2. 1969 - NBC - Sunday, March 9 - 7:00 p.m.
3. 1970 - NBC - Sunday, March 15 - 7:00 p.m.
4. 1971 - NBC - Sunday, April 18 - 7:00 p.m.
5. 1972 - NBC - Tuesday, March 7 - 7:00 p.m.

The first time that the film aired in the middle of the week.

1. 1973 - NBC - Sunday, April 8 - 7:00 p.m.
2. 1974 - NBC - Sunday, March 10 - 7:00 p.m.

Delayed from February 24 due to a Watergate related breaking news story. NBC immediately announced that rather than start the movie late, that it would be easier to push the showing back a few weeks and run it early in the evening.

1. 1975 - NBC - Easter Sunday, March 30 - 7:00 p.m.
2. 1976 - CBS - Sunday, March 14 - 7 p.m.

The year that The Wizard Of Oz returned to CBS. It remained there for twenty-two more years, a likely record in those years for a film's consecutive showings on one network. Initially the movie aired late winter/early spring, but beginning in 1991 the movie would move back and forth from spring to late fall. Another change was that CBS now would no longer begin the movie before normal prime time. Before 1976, when run on a day other than Sunday, NBC would take back the 7 p.m. Eastern / 6 p.m. Central timeslots from affiliates to run the movie early enough so children can see it before bedtime. Also, prior to 1968, CBS always took the 6 p.m. hour to run the movie early. Logic was that times have changed and children now stay up a little later than they did in the past.

1. 1977 - CBS - Sunday, March 20 - 7 p.m.
2. 1978 - CBS - Easter Sunday, March 26 - 7 p.m.
3. 1979 - CBS - Friday, March 23 - 8 p.m.
4. 1980 - CBS - Friday, March 7 - 8 p.m.
5. 1981 - CBS - Friday, February 27 - 8 p.m.
6. 1982 - CBS - Saturday, March 27 - 8 p.m.
7. 1983 - CBS - Friday, March 18 - 8 p.m.
8. 1984 - CBS - Friday, March 30 - 8 p.m.
9. 1985 - CBS - Friday, March 1 - 8 p.m.
10. 1986 - CBS - Saturday, February 15 - 8 p.m.
11. 1987 - CBS - Friday, March 6 - 8 p.m.
12. 1988 - CBS - Wednesday, February 24 - 8:30 p.m.

Delayed due to a CBS News Special report.

1. 1989 - CBS - Sunday, March 18 - 7 p.m.
2. 1990 - CBS - Tuesday, February 20 - 8 p.m.
3. 1991 - CBS - Tuesday, March 19 - 8 p.m.

Soundtrack remastered in stereo using CBS' StereoSound system.

1. 1991 - CBS - Wednesday, November 27 - 8 p.m.

The first time the film aired twice in the same year.

1. 1993 - CBS - Friday, February 26 - 8 p.m.
2. 1993 - CBS - Wednesday, November 11 - 8 p.m.
3. 1994 - CBS - Thursday, November 23 - 8 p.m.
4. 1996 - CBS - Friday, May 10 - 8 p.m.

This was, perhaps not so coincidentally, the same day that the film Twister was released to theatres. The first time that the film aired close to summertime.

1. 1998 - CBS - Friday, May 8 - 8 p.m.
2. 2002 - WB - Sunday, November 24 - 7 p.m.
3. 2003 - WB - Sunday, December 7 - 7 p.m.
4. 2004 - WB - Sunday, December 19 - 7 p.m.
5. 2005 - WB - Sunday, December 18 - 7 p.m.

[edit] Cable showings

November 21, 1999, TBS

July 3, 2000, TCM

November 19 and 25, 2000, TNT

July 4, 2001, TCM

December 1 and 2, 2001, TNT

July 4, 2002, TCM

November 28, 2002, TBS

December 8, 13, and 25, 2002, TNT

July 5 and 6, 2003, TCM

November 16 and 21, 2003, TBS

December 13 and 14, 2003, TNT

July 2 and 3, 2004, TCM

December 8 and 12, 2004, TNT

November 19, 20, and 24, 2004, TBS

July 3 and 4, 2005, TCM

November 11, 12, and 13, 2005, TBS

July 3 and 4, 2006, TCM

November 10, 11, and 12, 2006, TBS

December 11 and 17, 2006, TNT

June 3, 2007, TCM

November 9, 10, and 11, 2007, TBS

December 22 and 23, 2007, TNT

March 21 and 22, 2008, TCM

[edit] References