One should bear in mind the context for the rest of the story: the David Weicz company bought all of MGM’s costumes for something like $1 apiece, and originally thought of a bazaar sale direct to the public for prices just above that. It was the biggest bazaar in L.A.’s history. David Weisz of the eponymous auction company, knew that Kirkorian was interested in selling off assets, and made MGM an offer of $1.5 million for all the props and costumes, which was accepted, and Weisz held the auction on the MGM lot. The MGM management at the time didn’t think the costumes were worth enough even to sell, but maybe there was some value in the props. Thus Ted Turner bought MGM and kept the pre-1970 film library, Kirk Kirkorian bought the name rights of MGM to be used for Las Vegas hotels, and several of the back lots were sold off for future housing developments. By the late 1960s having gone through several owners and at an all-time low, the assets of MGM were viewed as just properties to be sold off, or if valueless, to be discarded. But the very popularity of television-viewing, and other factors, led to the demise of the old studio-system. This eventually resulted in Oz being the most-watched movie in history. Even in black and white, it produced a tidal wave of viewers, and it has been shown yearly ever since. The first showing of The Wizard of Oz on TV occurred on November 3, 1956. When Television became popular, the search for content led quickly to the broadcast of old movies. And in the end, t here were no Oz sequels, thus the costumes languished and were largely forgotten. The Scarecrow costume, deemed unusable for anything else, was saved by Ray Bolger. The Tin-Man costume was just a bunch of made-up parts that were likely just thrown away. But the rest of the costumes: Dorothy’s pinafore, the Wicked Witch costume, the Cowardly Lion lion-skin, and others, were hung on Wardrobe’s costume-racks that stretched for hundreds of feet. Smith Goes to Washington, and one girl, Roberta Jeffries from Memphis Tennessee won the Ruby Slippers. One boy in that contest won the gavel from Mr. Occasionally, costumes could be used for publicity, and indeed in 1939 the Ruby Slippers went on a publicity tour, and MGM decided to contribute the pair as a prize for the girl winner of a high school “10 Best Movies of 1939” writing contest. The book the film was based on: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, itself went through several sequels. Even with very unique costumes like those from Oz, they might be used again in a sequel. The intention for virtually all studio costumes was that they could be re-used in another production. The costumes for The Wizard of Ozwere designed by Adrian and fabricated at the MGM Studio Wardrobe Department, as will be covered in a future post. The fate of the Oz costumes, as with all the other MGM costumes post-production, was to go into storage in the three-story wardrobe building at the MGM studio lot in Culver City. Fasten your seat-belts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride. What happened to these costumes after the film wrapped? And what has been their own path down the yellow brick road? Their story is just as fascinating as the movie itself. They are such treasures as the Ruby Slippers, Judy Garland’s gingham pinafore, the Cowardly Lion suit of Bert Lahr, and the vestiges of costumes from the Wicked Witch, the Winkies and the Munchkins. Film costumes come closest to the skin of the actors, and these iconic costumes from one of the most beloved movies of all times have turned into gold. All things Oz are perennially popular, but the surviving costumes from the 1939 classic film are also worth riches.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |