New Secrets and Scandals from The Wizard Of Oz

The Wizard of Oz was the most successful film to come out of film studio MGM and Judy Garland will forever be remembered as Dorothy. But the road over the rainbow wasn't easy, and in a new book, The Road to Oz, authors Jay Scarfone and William Stillman reveal all the behind the scenes drama.

The Road to Oz is a complete retelling of how The Wizard of Oz was influenced and created and all the behind the scenes drama. You might ask, “what’s left to tell?”  Well, plenty!

In The Road to Oz, the authors use recent research and newly discovered period interviews, media resources of the era, transcriptions and unique contemporary interviews with those who were there to tell the story.

Additionally, never-before-published imagery accompanies the text including a complete accounting of Sam Goldwyn’s proposed (and aborted) 1934 Technicolor musical version of Oz starring Eddie Cantor (including commentary from Cantor’s sole surviving child).

The book also gives a thorough analysis of the October 10, 1938 MGM shooting script (provided by descendants of comedian and Cowardly Lion actor Bert Lahr) that predates the beginning of production by seventy-two hours.

They write about Judy Garland’s trials and tribulations with the studio, including the threat that MGM was grooming a sound-alike who tested for Oz and the startling revelations about the operetta that seemingly inspired “Over the Rainbow.”

And they talk about studio nepotism, favoritism and politics at the height of Hollywood’s golden age on the making of the world’s most famous film.

Jay Scarfone and William Stillman are the authors of several books on the creation of the motion picture The Wizard of Oz. Historians and collectors since the 1970s, they have amassed one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive archives of memorabilia from The Wizard of Oz, the holdings of which include rare photographic images and authentic costumes and props from the film’s production.

Additionally, they have been contributors and advisors to countless other books, periodicals, and documentaries on Hollywood history, memorabilia, and collectibles. They have appraised rare Wizard of Oz material for auction houses and have lectured audiences about the classic film in numerous venues.  All this makes them perfect authors on this subject.

We ❤️Hollywood stories, and of course we ❤️ The Wizard Of Oz.....so we can't wait to read this.  Times like this, I wish we are all in a book club.  XOOX