The Wizard of Oz Script History
There various copies of The Wizard of Oz scripts preserved over the years and in the hands of the collectors and institutions, but I feel that the script that assigned #1 to Wizard of Oz movie producer Melvin Leroy is at the top of the most important scripts for the Wizard of Oz film.
Historic and important in-depth production archive concerning the making of The Wizard of Oz. - Handwritten.
(Sold December 11, 2018) for $1,200,000.
Noel Langley's original First Draft 86-page handwritten manuscript screenplay dated April 5, 1938, (41 pages as paginated, but a full 86 pages of handwriting are present), on 8 x 12.5 in. lined paper, plus 12 additional mimeographed 8.5 x 11 in. pages interleaved. With additional loose pages of notes with various instructions for mimeographs and a "Vault Copy" cover page. At the top of the screenplay is written in ink, "Screenplay Wizard of Oz Noel Langley 4/5/38".
Wizard of Oz Script at Smithsonian
(Gift of Turner Entertainment Co.)
Typescript draft for the 1939 motion picture The Wizard of Oz. This draft of the script by primary screenwriter Noel Langley is dated between May 4 and 6, 1938, and it contains original corrections and additions in pencil and ink pen. The challenge of adapting L. Frank Baum's book The Wizard of Oz to film began with the screenplay. From March 1938 to March 1939, more than a dozen people, most uncredited, worked on writing and revising the script. On one page of this script, Langley notes the change from black and white to color. In this famous scene, Dorothy steps out of her farmhouse into Oz and says to her dog Toto, "I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."
Bert Lahr's working script from The Wizard of Oz
(Sold in Nov 24, 2014 for $75,000)
Metro-Goldwyn Mayer, 1939. Mimeographed manuscript by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allen Woolf, 113 pp, Culver City, CA, October 10, 1938, housed in goldenrod MGM wrappers with printed label to upper cover, with "Bert Lahr" block printed in pencil to upper cover and signed on p. 3 with additional pencil date of October 11, 1938, most pages of screenplay with vertical crease (indicating scene completion). Provenance: descended through the family of Bert Lahr.THE COWARDLY LION'S SCRIPT. This draft, stamped "complete" to upper cover, is dated just two days before the beginning of principal photography (Lahr himself dates it again one day before shooting starts), and the content is very close to the final screen version. Lahr plays the lion and his Kansas counterpart, Zeke. According to the family, this script is the one that accompanied Lahr on set.
Wizard of Oz Script - Producer copy
The Wizard of Oz (MGM, 1939), Mervyn LeRoy Personal Historic MGM-Art Dept. Typed Carbon Script #1, Plus Shooting and Effects Schedules, Early Edition Novel, and Transmittal Envelope. Vintage original studio-bound and bradded 126-blue and white tissue page (as paginated) typed carbon script, measuring 8.5" x 11", in printed and embellished studio wraps, dated June 13 to July 16, 1938, with additional 15-page pink revision section dated February 14, 1939.
Written by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf, with later revision section credited to E.Y. Harburg.
While the visual magic plays out seamlessly onscreen, we know that behind the scenes it takes an army of talented artists coming together in the spirit of collaboration to create such a flawlessly spectacular experience for the audience.
The script made its way through the studio system, where it was touched by many prominent writers and saw many revisions before arriving at its ultimate version.
Mervyn LeRoy's assistant, William H. Cannon submitted a four-page outline. Herman J. Mankiewicz delivered a 17-page draft of the Kansas scenes and then further pages. Noel Langley and poet Ogden Nash wrote their versions of the story. Langley turned in three additional scripts incorporating Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg songs, which brings us closer to the script on offer here. Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf submitted their script and were subsequently hired to polish it. They were tasked with keeping the script true to Baum's original book.
This Langley/Ryerson/Woolf/Harburg script closely resembles the ultimate script, with a few differences in the balance and structure.
Historic 43-Page Noel Langley Treatment of The Wizard of Oz, Dated March 22, 1938
(Sold Nov 4, 2021 for $50,000 )
Historic 43-Page Noel Langley Treatment of The Wizard of Oz, Dated March 22, 1938 - Considered the Genesis for the First Accepted Version of the Screenplay, with Numerous Script Revisions (MGM, 1939). Studio bound and bradded treatment with blue heavy stock wrappers with cover entitled "'The Wizard Of Oz /' (Outline) / Noel Langley" with "Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures" label printed "Please Return To Script Department" with typewritten date "3-22-38" and stamped "FILE COPY" (twice), "COMPLETE" and "2285". Interior has 43 yellow typed carbon pages, the first bearing "2285" and "MAR 22 '38" stamped at the upper right corner.
Complete shooting Script
(Sold in June 26, 2017 for $45,000)
The Wizard of Oz complete shooting script. (MGM, 1939) Vintage original complete studio bound and bradded on set shooting script for the beloved fantasy film. 122- multi-color revision pages written by Noel Langley. Various dates beginning October 10, 1938 (2-days before shooting began) and continuing through March 3, 1939 indicating all the changes incorporated during the film's progress, each and every change dated and notated and each group of changed pages with holograph or rubberstamped dates noting when they were received. Original yellow paper studio front cover with script department number "84160" stamped in blue and holograph date "10/10/38". White cast page, Foreword page and original text pages with rewrite pages on pink paper.
A rare log, in pencil, on the inside cover contemporaneously tracks each and every page that was changed throughout the principle shooting, and a few of the pages that were meant to be discarded, remain here, uncancelled. In vintage production used in fine condition.
History of Wizard of Oz script
There are various copies of The Wizard of Oz scripts preserved over the years and in the hands of collectors and institutions, but I feel that the script that assigned #1 to Wizard of Oz movie producer Melvin Leroy is one of the most important.
There is an original hand written manuscript by long that is one of a kind, but rest of the scripts are typed copies from the variouss dates from 1938. Bur number editions on MGM label started in 7/16/38 with yellow front covers.
One of the Most Important Wizard of Oz Scripts
There are various copies of *The Wizard of Oz* scripts preserved over the years, held by collectors and institutions. However, I believe that the script assigned the number #1 to producer Melvin Leroy is one of the most significant.
While an original handwritten manuscript by Noel Langley exists as a one-of-a-kind piece, the other scripts are typed copies from various dates in 1938. The numbered editions by MGM started on July 16, 1938, featuring yellow front covers. Most of the earlier scripts had blue front covers and were often incomplete.
As the producer, Melvin Leroy was assigned the #1 script, which he approved on July 16, 1938. The remaining scripts were typically assigned five-digit numbers that corresponded to members of the cast. According to a 2013 episode of PBS’s *Antiques Roadshow*, a script that belonged to Bert Lahr, which was in poor condition and numbered 84148, was appraised for insurance at $150,000 and sold in 2014 for $75,000. https://www.bonhams.com/auction/22196/lot/129/bert-lahrs-working-script-from-the-wizard-of-oz/
Langley, Ryerson, and Woolf all received credit for the screenplay when the movie was released in 1939, but several others also made uncredited revisions and contributions. “The studio assigned several scriptwriters, and each scriptwriter did not know the others were working on it. The others kind of fizzled out. Noel Langley is the one that set the stage.”
Langley, who passed away in 1980, was one of about a dozen screenwriters who contributed to the big-screen adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s children’s book, catapulted Judy Garland to fame and became an enduring movie classic.
So, what makes the Melvin Leroy script more important than the others?
In 1938, Melvin Leroy was the individual who proposed a film version of *The Wonderful Wizard of Oz* (1900) to Louis B. Mayer. Mayer purchased the rights to the property from Samuel Goldwyn for $50,000 and assigned Melvin Leroy as the producer.
All of the final scripts used by the cast have a typed note in the bottom right corner indicating they were approved by Melvin Leroy, typically dating to October 10, 1938. The first script that mentions Leroy’s approval is dated July 16, 1938, and carries the number #1, making it a crucial document in the film’s production.
I assume that based on the poor condition of the Bert Lahr script if any other original scripts surface, they will likely be in a similar condition due to screen usage. Since Melvin Leroy was the producer rather than a director or cast member, he did not need to use the script during filming. As a result, I believe that his script is in the best possible condition, especially considering his creative decision to include cut-out images from the cover of the first edition of *The Wonderful Wizard of Oz*.
I am confident that more scripts will surface in the near future, but to me, the importance of the Melvin Leroy script is equal to that of any major cast member’s scripts.
Most previous scripts had blue front covers and mostly incomplete.
Since Melvon Leroy was producer he was assigned No.1 that he approved on 7/16/38 and remaining numbers usually with 5 digits assigned to member of the cast.
Based on 2013 PBS Antique Road show, script belonging to Bert Lahr in poor condition numbered 84148 was appraised insurance value at $150,000.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/appraisals/bert-lahrs-wizard-of-oz-script/
So what is importance of the Melvin Leroy scripts compare to other scripts.
First, in 1938 Melvin Leroy is the one who proposed a film version of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) to Louis B. Mayer. L.Mayer purchased the rights to the property from Samuel Goldwyn for $50,000. and assign
Melvin Leroy to be a producer.
All the final scrits used by the cast on the right bottom corner, have a type text indicating it is OK by Melvin Leroy and usually dating to October 10, 1938.
This is the first script that mentioning OK by Melvin Leroy dated 7/16/1938 and assigned #1, to the most important person of the film production.
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