Thirty years before MGM's film, author L. Frank Baum had already made his version for the screen. It was a spectacular flop. Baum failed at everything but writing the books that made him famous - The Wizard of Oz and its umpteen sequels. Studio 360's Eric Molinsky has the story of this man behind the curtain.
Growing up in South Dakota, film scholar Jeanine Basinger wasn't too far from where L. Frank Baum lived. She was taken with how Baum captured the sense of isolation on the prairie. Actor Peter Gerety reads L. Frank Baum's description of that landscape.
Imagine The Wizard of Oz without "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and "We're off to See the Wizard." Lyricist E. Y. "Yip" Harburg wrote them in collaboration with Harold Arlen. Harburg's son Ernie explains how his father brought the rainbow to Oz.
The author of Midnight's Children and The Satanic Verses claims The Wizard of Oz as his "very first literary influence." He wrote a short book about the movie published by the British Film Institute. As Rushdie explained in a public talk, the meaning of home is especially powerful.
Conventions of Oz fans are still held all over the world. Just click your heels three times and you might end up at a convention uniting former Munchkins with the fans who love them. Jonathan Mitchell searched for the real meaning of Oz at Oz Fest, in Chittenango, New York - the birthplace of L. Frank Baum.
A lot of theories about Oz have sprung up over the years. Almost all are interesting even when they aren't so convincing. Curtis Fox helps us make our way through the dark forest of interpretations.
Neil LaBute's caustic portrayals of the emotional and sexual cruelty people commit, in films like The Shape of Things and In the Company of Men, have made him one of our most controversial writer-directors. Not surprisingly, he has a soft spot for the Wicked Witch.
Screenwriter Nora Ephron wrote romantic classics like Sleepless in Seattle and When Harry Met Sally. But her big influence isn't the MGM classic movie; it's L. Frank Baum's children's book and its countless sequels.
A lot of artists have attempted to embellish The Wizard of Oz, from the 1970s musical The Wiz to today's Wicked musical. Walter Murch is a legendary film editor. He made his directorial debut with Return to Oz, a dark sequel where Dorothy is given electroshock treatment. Murch describes the small moment at the end of The Wizard of Oz that inspired him.
Different cultures experience The Wizard of Oz in their own unique way. Vasiliy Arkanov explains how Soviet children embraced the story - even though they never heard of a girl named Dorothy, and Kansas was as far away as Oz.
The film scholar and Wizard of Oz expert Jeanine Basinger tells Kurt why Oz is so different from other well-known fantasy universes like Narnia or Middle Earth.
Among many other accomplishments, the renowned jazz singer can sing the entire movie of The Wizard of Oz in about eight minutes, improvising his way down the yellow brick road.
Walter Murch and Salman Rushdie reflect on the meaning of home.
The casting of Oz -- a cute, well-rounded lead surrounded by three amusingly deficient pals - became a reliable shape for a TV sitcom. Sarah Lilley appreciates the draw of the foursome.
Studio 360's American Icons is made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: great ideas brought to life.
Studio 360 is a co-production of
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National Endowment for the Arts, and the Lily Auchincloss Foundation. Studio 360's American Icons series is supported in part by the
National Endowment for the Humanities. Our series on creativity and science is supported in part by the
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Our series on Underground Heroes is supported in part by the New York State Music Fund, established by the New York State Attorney General at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. 
Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
