To celebrate the release of Wicked: For Good, we're off to see the wizard, the 200th episode of this podcast.

The Wizard of Oz is still as relevant, vibrant and perfect as ever. It was a beloved children’s book, that manifested into a cultural cinematic icon. And despite the colours, the textures, the joyous wonder of the wonderful world of Oz, there’s such a darkness to the story. 

The state-of-the-art, beautiful Technicolor world belies the pain, abuse, injuries and illnesses on set. Whoever said "art is pain" did might have been talking about the making of one of Hollywood’s outstanding masterpieces. While memories may have been tarnished over the years, and accounts vastly differ of the experience and treatment, that didn’t stop many from believing the set of The Wizard of Oz was cursed.

MGM took a huge risk making The Wizard of Oz. It would take 20 years to make a profit, but it would become one of the first 25 films to be included in the National Film Registry. It became a yearly family tradition through the advent of TV, then VHS, DVD and Blu-ray to become the most seen and most influential movie of all time.

The Wizard of Oz remains a timeless classic, with one of the most fascinating histories and legacies to ever be included on Verbal Diorama.

For more on the theft and eventual recovery of the ruby slippers, listen to the No Place Like Home Podcast

This episode was originally published on: 16th March 2023

Mentioned in this episode:

From the Archive

There's no new episode this week, so I thought you might be interested in revisiting this slightly older, but no less brilliant episode. Just bear in mind, this episode is several years old, it may not sound quite as polished as newer episodes, and new information may have come to light in recent years with regards to the making of this movie (please see above for the original date of release)