The 1939 film, directed by Victor Fleming, stars Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale, a Kansas farm girl who dreams of traveling to a land over the rainbow. It looks as if Dorothy gets her wish when a tornado lands her in the country of Oz, where she makes friends with a scarecrow (Ray Bolger), a tin man (Jack Haley), and a lion (Bert Lahr). The movie was nominated for six Academy Awards, but lost the coveted Best Picture award to "Gone with the Wind."
The 1900 novel by L. Frank Baum was first turned into a musical in 1902. It ran for a year on Broadway, before closing in 1904. In that version, there was no Wicked Witch and the dog, Toto, was a cow named Imogene.
