Here's some great trivia: Bolger was a huge admirer of the dancer and actor Fred Stone, who was the first actor ever to play the Scarecrow, in a stage version of "Wizard" that began in Chicago in 1902 and went to Broadway soon after. Bolger was born in 1904, so he was never able to see that show, but he did see Stone in a one-man revue in which Stone jumped out of a haystack at one point and came out looking rather like a scarecrow. Young Ray decided then and there that he would emulate his idol by becoming a dancer-- *and* by one day playing the Scarecrow. Many years later, in the early 30's, Bolger danced in a movie that was attended by Stone and his daughter Paula. As they were watching one of the routines, Stone whispered to his daughter, "That guy would make a great Scarecrow!" Lo and behold, in 1938, Bolger got his dream role, and when MGM's "Wizard" was released in 1939, a radio show promoted the movie; among the guests were Judy Garland, Bert Lahr, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, and Fred Stone. The two Scarecrows chatted for a bit, and even though their words were scripted, you could hear the awe in Bolger's voice as he got to share some time with the man who had inspired him.
@Joan Smith I agree with this, today people can't even sing or dance haha, so they'd be lucky if they even hit a pinch of this which I haven't really seen.
A warm 'Your welcome.' Ray Bolger was always so proud of his work in this movie ... rightfully so. He was a marvel ... the perfect Scarecrow, perfect casting!
He was inspired to be a dancer by the first actor who ever played the Scarecrow, Fred Stone. Stone and his comedy partner David Montgomery played the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman in a stage musical of "Wizard" which opened in Chicago in 1902, went to Broadway not long after, and ran for a good part of the first decade of the 20th century. Ray was born in 1904, so he never saw that show, but he did see Stone in a one-man revue in which, at one point, Stone launched himself into the air out of a haystack and came to earth looking rather like a scarecrow. That was when young Ray Bolger made up his mind that not only would he be a dancer, but one day would be the Scarecrow of Oz!
@@carlcushmanhybels8159 You're welcome! I learned recently that in the early 30's, Stone and his daughter Paula were watching a movie that Ray danced in. Stone reportedly turned toward Paula and whispered, "That guy would make a great Scarecrow!"
@@jayNicks10 The past tense of "cast" is "cast." Actually, as it turns out, Bolger was always the Scarecrow, but his and Ebsen's names were mixed up in a number of magazine and newspaper reports, so Bolger and his wife went to the suits and made sure who was who. It's interesting to note that several years after the movie, Buddy Ebsen starred in a stage version of "Wizard"-- as the Scarecrow!
@@klassicalmuzik Correct! He won the Tony in '48. The show ran for almost 800 performances. He also starred in the film which was released in '52. But good luck seeing it because it never seems to have been released on DVD or any other media.
Ray Bolger was was such a great talent; it is a pity that this dance scene was deleted from the film. There are so many deleted sequences in films that should have remained in the final cuts.
Fun fact: Warner Bros. (which obtained the rights to Oz in the late 90s) considered re-editing this scene back into the film for its 1998 theatrical reissue, but ultimately decided that doing so would be tampering with such a timeless classic.
As a lifelong fan of this movie, I personally wouldn't mind it if they had. It's a faint glimpse of what the original uncut version looked like. But that's just me.
I definitely think SOME of this dance sequence should have been included, but I can see why they cut it. But maybe like the pumpkin part, the split and some twirls could've stayed. But the whole fence bouncing from post to post and then in reverse, yeah that was a bit much. Still Ray nailed every second of it.
The Jitterbug footage is not the original movie footage. It was shot behind the scenes, by a producer I believe. This scene shown here is actual movie filmed footage that has been deleted. I don’t think there is actual movie footage of the Jitterbug scene.
What they SHOULD have done, was shorten the Munchkin sequence then squeeze Ray's dance scene in. Kind of find it unfair this amazing number was cut from the film, considering that Jack got to keep his dance sequence. (Not saying Jack's sequence was bad. They're both fantastic.)
@@thisisaloadofbarnacles Ray was on screen for much more time than the Singer Midgets, and in any case, as Kayla Hayden has already said, he didn't mind his routine being shortened.
@@kayjohayden We don’t know this for certain though, at the time - and even now - it’s a poor move to criticise a studio and the film its promoting with you starring in it. I think he would have been advised by the studios directly to praise the cut.
Jack's sequence was kept in because it wasn't that long. Also, Judy and Ray whisper to each other whether they should take him to the Wizard. Also, it's not easy to piece together without the sequence, unlike this one.
I'm so mad that my childhood was robbed of this classic scene! When you watch this scene you can really see that he didn't need a brain, after the way he out smarted the crows when they took his straw[ they didn't expect the Scarecrow to run and build up momentum and jump that high]. This was classic Ray Bolger.
This movie was shown on TV once a year for many, many years. The witch used to scare the hell out of me. I've never seen this segment before, but I'm glad I got to here. Thanks much for posting it!
while it's really a shame this and other scenes were cut after previews because the film was "too long" (makes you wonder what the definition of "too long" really is), this scene also was likely removed because of how obvious the wires ray bolger was connected to are, and the somewhat awkward looking section with the film running at odd speeds and then backwards. ray bolger was one of the best dancers of his era, and it really would have been great to see him do more dancing in the film than he does IMHO.
People would not have minded the wires. Remember, this sort of thing had almost never been attempted on the screen, so people would have regarded the wires in the same way as they would if they were watching a stage performance of "Peter Pan"; that is, they would have ignored them.
The studio was not happy with the final running time of the film. At nearly 2 hours, it was deemed too long, so opportunities to cut the film's length were taken. Some of the other scenes not making the final cut before general release were the triumphal return to the Emerald City after the melting of the Witch of the West, and the "jitter bug" scene in the haunted forest. "Over the Rainbow" was cut also but Arthur Freed had the last word when he convinced Louis B. Mayer to reinsert that segment of film.
MaskedMan66 Yes, no doubt Leroy gave Louis B. an ear full! If the walls of that office could talk. 😉 There was one piece of bad editing in this film that always bothered me. There are various sources (an original script?) that state some of Margaret Hamilton’s dialogue was also cut, as studio heads felt the lines may have been too frightening for children. In Munchkin Land, the Witch of the West tells Dorothy, “...I can cause accidents too!”. Yet immediately after she speaks the word “too”, her mouth continues to move with no sound heard. Although for only for a brief second, it’s clearly a bad job of editing. I’ve often wondered what juicy lines of the Witch were excised from that glorious scene with Dorothy and Glinda. 🙂 🌈 🌪
To keep the film's running time below two hours, 'doug'. Other deletions were "The Jitterbug" (the "Haunted Forest" number, just before the Winged Monkeys capture Dorothy) and a reprise of "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead" (just before Dorothy's trimphant return to the Emerald City). "Over the Rainbow" would have been a casualty as well, if Arthur Freed and Roger Edens hadn't insisted it remain in the film.
Actually, it's 101 minutes. If it *had* been 112 minues, then Bolger's extended Scarecrow dance and "The Jitterbug" probably wouldn't have been deleted from the final release.
Wow, Ray Bolger was one awesome dancer. My favorite scene is when they all dance step it up the yellow brick road. I wonder how many of us baby boomers tried out that step the very next day as we headed off to school? 😊 thanks for sharing.
A previous Scarecrow thought so too! Fred Stone, who was the first actor ever to play the part (in a 1902 smash hit Broadway show), saw Bolger dance in a movie before "Wizard" was ever made, and whispered to his daughter, "That guy would make a great Scarecrow!"
@@seed_drill7135 Yeh well, if ya' want to get technical, there's NEVER been a real time of true FRIENDLINESS. But some- one ALWAYS has to dispute your overall meaning...
You do realize WWII started in 1939. And in the US the KKK was rampant throughout the South. And we were still in the Depression, with massive unemployment, homelessness and domestic starvation.@@MaskedMan66
@@seed_drill7135 And through it all, people pulled together and did what they could for each other. Like I said, a lot friendlier than now. By the way, the Depression had pretty much tapered off in 1933, and the War brought it to an end once and for all.
it's dec 23 2012 (we're still here) and W OF O has played a half dozen times in the last couple of weeks on various channels. I remember this scene though edited down from this grand production and it was pretty funny. But this is an amazing scene with him flying over the fence and all. As I write the Wicked Witch is melting, melting, melting...
That cannot be right, I saw the film in its entirety when I was just a couple of years old. Then a few years later it became a yearly thing. At that time it was cut out. That just can't be.It was on TV, so millions have to had seen it in its entirety as well. There must be more than one copy floating around out there at that time.
I had the original album of 78's and I loved that the Jitterbug was one of the songs. I was so mad when as a kid I saw the movie and Jitterbug wasn't in it. They didn't want the movie to be "dated". Gee, if they had cut Over the Rainbow, not only would the film have suffered, but Israel Kamakavivaole & others who made it their signature song would not have come to prominence.
Thank you Michele for sending it to me! It's a great piece and I'm really sad it didn't make it into the movie... in my opinion it would have added a little more...well depth is the wrong word (but I think you know what I mean)...to the Scarecrow. I admire both Judy and Ray and I agree with etienne818 that they must have been really disappointed that it was cut out! Thanks for sharing!!
That running glide was so CLEAN, plus even though this was dope, I'm kinda glad they took this scene out, after all who would want a brain if you could jump like that!
Yeah but that whip under the fence was amazing, and got a cool shot when he was flung up , and you see that top view of Dorthy, I don't think they had shots like that back then, it was very creative. Heard they used fishing line....I didn't think fishing line could pick up a human being lol.
I know why it was deleted. Film length and flow is everything in a film. Often films were paired with newsreels and prototype commercials, so keeping the length in check for a film which at the time was geared towards children was important. Unfortunately, back in the day the term "on the cutting room floor" was often taken literally. That's why the famous "Jitterbug" sequence in its original form is lost.
This is such a wonderful, timeless film, but there are huge chunks that were deleted from the film, and are lost forever. At least this piece is still intact, but scenes like The Jitterbug no longer exist in any form, except for someone's home movie.
I love this movie and watch it over and over. I love the WICKED WITCH! I heard some of her scenes were cut because during the premiere or first showing in the theaters children were actually frightened. I was told Margaret Hamilton loved children and really didn't want that to happen. I was very young and remember the first time I saw her face! YES ! I was scared but I was 2 and half years old. I remember this because we moved and then I had my 3rd birthday. The funny part it was the scene where AUNT EM is talking to Dorothy in the crystal ball and it quickly turns into the witches face. My memory recalled the green face but our TV was black and white! LOL Speaking of TV's I thought that affect was done on something like a TV screen but everyone I talked to about it said no. Your thoughts on that? One of my favorite scenes is when they are all singing in Munchkin land and then the Wicked Witch of the West appears ! Then disappears! To a child that was so magical! Even though now as an adult I know how they did it I am still fascinated by it.
Ok, this confirms how old I am. I remember this scene well when I was a child. In fact I was the scarecrow for Halloween and used the crow stealing his straw as my costume.
And to think that this is the only surviving deleted scene from the movie. Just imagine all the other footage that was deleted like the Emerald City celebrating the defeat of the Wicked Witch of the West and the reprise to Over the Rainbow. What I wouldn’t give to see that!
This was perfect, wish they kept this. I say long live Dorthy and Scarecrow's special love, that special connection I see. I just wish Frank Baum would have explored this and made other Oz movies with them :) I could watch them all day long. I love how he did that fence part ha perfect.
Baum wrote fourteen Oz books; and in fact, he made three Oz movies, two of which featured the Scarecrow. In the second one, the Scarecrow meets his true love, Scraps the Patchwork Girl.
Damn Judy was a cutie pie. I had the good fortune of meeting Liza and she was just a wacky ball of joy and I mean that I the most lovable way. I asked her if it was hard for her to see her Mom in this movie and she said it was at first but it was later on a joy seeing "mama" watch it on tv in the 60's because she really seemed to enjoy the experience despite the hardships of filming.
What will it be like if this was included in an episode of Digimon in the second season? That could've been marvellous to see the scarecrow in the Neverland arc.
