Carol Tevis Movies

The third and definitive film adaptation of L. Frank Baum's 1900 children's fantasy, this musical adventure is a genuine family classic that made Judy Garland a star for her heartfelt performance as Dorothy Gale, an orphaned young girl unhappy with her drab black-and-white existence on her aunt and uncle's dusty Kansas farm. Dorothy yearns to travel "over the rainbow" to a different world, and she gets her wish when a tornado whisks her and her little dog, Toto, to the Technicolorful land of Oz. Having offended the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton), Dorothy is protected from the old crone's wrath by the ruby slippers that she wears. At the suggestion of Glinda, the Good Witch of the North (Billie Burke), Dorothy heads down the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City, where dwells the all-powerful Wizard of Oz, who might be able to help the girl return to Kansas. En route, she befriends a Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), a Tin Man (Jack Haley), and a Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr). The Scarecrow would like to have some brains, the Tin Man craves a heart, and the Lion wants to attain courage; hoping that the Wizard will help them too, they join Dorothy on her odyssey to the Emerald City.

Garland was MGM's second choice for Dorothy after Shirley Temple dropped out of the project; and Bolger was to have played the Tin Man but talked co-star Buddy Ebsen into switching roles. When Ebsen proved allergic to the chemicals used in his silver makeup, he was replaced by Haley. Gale Sondergaard was originally to have played the Wicked Witch of the West in a glamorous fashion, until the decision was made to opt for belligerent ugliness, and the Wizard was written for W.C. Fields, who reportedly turned it down because MGM couldn't meet his price. Although Victor Fleming, who also directed Gone With the Wind, was given sole directorial credit, several directors were involved in the shooting, included King Vidor, who shot the opening and closing black-and-white sequences. Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg's now-classic Oscar-winning song "Over the Rainbow" was nearly chopped from the picture after the first preview because it "slowed down the action." The Wizard of Oz was too expensive to post a large profit upon initial release; however, after a disappointing reissue in 1955, it was sold to network television, where its annual showings made it a classic. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Slightly reminiscent of Frank Capra's Platinum Blonde (31), this screwball comedy features those two stalwarts of 1930s comedies: The brash reporter and the giddy heiress. Tyrone Power is the reporter, who makes his living writing about the foibles of the idle rich. His special target is heiress Loretta Young, the daughter of an influential financier (Dudley Digges). Young gets even by announcing her engagement to Power; now it's his turn to have his every movement scrutinized by the Public. Both reporter and heiress connive to embarrass one another, but (as expected) they're headed for the altar at fadeout time. Love is News was remade in 1949 as That Wonderful Urge, with Tyrone Power reprising his role and Gene Tierney in the Loretta Young part. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The "Caliban-Ariel" romance of fiftysomething John Barrymore and teenager Elaine Barrie is spoofed in this delightful 20th Century Fox musical. Adolphe Menjou plays the Barrymore counterpart, a loose-living movie star with a penchant for wine, women, and more wine. Alice Faye plays a nightclub singer hungry for publicity. Her agent (Gregory Ratoff) arranges a "romance" between Faye and Menjou. Eventually Faye winds up with Michael Whalen, allowing Menjou to continue his blissful, bibulous bachelorhood. Sing, Baby, Sing represented the feature-film debut of the Ritz Brothers, who are in top form in their specialty numbers--and who are awarded a final curtain call after the "The End" title, just so the audience won't forget them (The same device was used to introduce British actor George Sanders in Fox's Lancer Spy [37]). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this drama, a studio script girl works very hard to support her no-account family. One day she wins a lottery, gives her family some of the winnings and moves in with her best friend. She had a boy friend, but he became disgusted with her loyalty to her lazy family and abandoned her. Soon after winning the money, she finds herself set upon by greedy fellows. Fortunately her old boy friend returns and marries her. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The whole point of this Laurel and Hardy two-reeler was to dress up the comic duo as women and have them play each other's wives. It's a simple domestic scenario -- Oliver Hardy, brain specialist, and Stan Laurel, his "associate advisor," are celebrating their one year wedding anniversary. They are married to each other's sisters and call home to see if the girls want to go out. Mrs. Laurel (played by Hardy) says no, that they want to have dinner in, as they have a surprise for Ollie. As the girls prepare for their husbands' return, the surprise -- a cake -- winds up on Mrs. Laurel, in a typical Laurel and Hardy SNAFU. Through various edits, doubles and matte shots, all four of them have dinner together, and the girls start bickering at each other. Finally, Ollie grabs his wife, Fannie (played by Laurel), and is about to leave when the replacement cake arrives. Fannie gives it to Mrs. Laurel -- right on the head. While this isn't one of the very best Laurel and Hardy shorts -- it's basically a one-joke film, with a concept that was done better in 1930's Brats -- it does have a fair share of laughs. It's amusing to see Oliver Hardy's mannerisms in feminine form, and Stan Laurel's "sister" is as dither-brained as he is -- at one point, Ollie calls her brother stupid, and she retorts, "Don't call him stupid! Why, you've forgotten more than he'll ever know...in his little finger!" The wives' voices were dubbed by actresses Carol Tevis (for Mrs. Hardy) and May Wallace (for Mrs. Laurel). ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi