That's why Roy and his wife did after he was told that he was going to be the tin man. Lol they tag teamed and told the higher ups at MGM and told them that he should be scarecrow not tin man. Lol they caved and look at what we got. It was perfect if you ask me. His dance style just fits more with scarecrow than tin man.
In my opinion, that scene was awesome, and I wish they would have left it in the actual movie... but on the other hand, it's really a treat to see a surprise cut-out scene from an iconic movie that came out exactly 70 years ago.
it's incredible how much Scarecrow's actor can literally move just like a cartoon character!! he's so animated and boneless, it's like watching an old Disney film :D
Well if Ray Bolger was the tin man he could have inhaled the tin man makeup and his lungs would have failed and budy epsin was replaced with jack haley but Jack haley might have been the scarecrow. But it just wouldn't have been the same without Ray Bolger
@@ashley_said_what016 Buddy Ebsen, not "Epsin," and it only affected him the way it did because he had a congenital bronchial condition. If Ray had worn the make-up, he would have needed a bit of leave, but he'd probably have been all right.
My late grandfather always reminded me of the Scarecrow. The son of a farmer raised in the Great Depression; he even resembled Ray Bolger in appearance. I told him that when he was alive and he just chuckled. But now, nearly twenty years after his passing, whenever I see Dorothy say “I’ll miss you most of all,” it breaks my heart. I miss him very much.
@@Sarah-zr1nj Reading that just moved me to tears Sarah. You'll always have those amazing memories of him because you do have a brain, and a heart, and the courage to share that sweet story with us too :)
Watching this was both eerie and mind-blowingly great at the same time. I thought I knew this movie inside and out having seen it so many times and then THIS! It was like a major bonus to what I remembered from the "original" movie. Hard to explain ... like going through your house which you think you know so well only to find a secret room filled with something beautiful which had been there all the while. Thank you so much for posting this!
_I know it's been seven years since you wrote the comment above, but I definitely understood how you felt when you wrote it. I wanted to draw your attention to the post I've just made; you may have been made aware of much of it in the years since. If not, I hope you find it interesting!_ Seeing this only infuriates me all the more that the original cut of the film was TWENTY MINUTES longer. Had we been one of the few who saw the earliest screenings, we could have seen this, considerably more of Margaret Hamilton (whose scenes were chopped because children found her too horrifying), a incredibly moving reprise to "Over the Rainbow" sung by a sobbing Dorothy while locked in the Witch's tower, an extension of the scene where the Witch threatened the group shortly after meeting the Tin Man, a "Triumphant Procession" where the Emerald City celebrates Dorothy's return with the broom, and what is surely the most devastating loss: When the Wicked Witch tells Nikko (the flying monkey) to take his group of monkeys to the Haunted Forest and attack the four friends, she tells him "They'll give you no problem, I promise you that. I've sent a little insect on ahead to take the fight out of them." This is the only remaining reference to what would have been the film's final musical number, "The Jitterbug." Financially, it was a massive loss, having cost an estimated $80,000 to produce as the "insect" the Witch refers to was a mosquito-like creature that combined hand-drawn animation with the live action sequence. When the Jitterbug bit someone, they would lose control of their bodies and start dancing, quickly exhausting them for when the Flying Monkeys would attack and abduct Dorothy and Toto. Tragically, the film studios back then put very little value on anything after a film was released. Costumes were repurposed or put into storage, the giant backdrops painted over, and the edited footage often scrapped or the easily-combustible celluloid filed away in canisters and largely forgotten. What was surely one of the most surprising developments in the years since revolved around one of the earliest auctions of one of the pairs of Ruby Slippers shortly after they'd been discovered amongst decades of studio costumes, props, etc. It was then that a Midwestern woman came forward to announce that she'd also owned a pair of the sequined shoes, having won them in a contest several years after the film's release. They were examined and confirmed to be genuine, but with no record of their existence. This is just another example of how the studios back then had no foresight as to their future value. There are thus two possibilities for the fate of the missing twenty minutes of cuts (this extended Scarecrow dance sequence being the only exception that was found and restored for the 50th anniversary VHS release in 1989). A large amount of MGM's film archives was lost in a devastating fire. It's also been reported that the film studios back then would often dispose of their trash in the Pacific Ocean. One of these explanations are likely to blame. However, the aformentioned 50th Anniversary VHS release that gave us our first glimpse at Ray Bolger's extended Scarecrow dance sequence also featured the only footage that's been found of "The Jitterbug" in the form of home movies" taken by composer Harold Arlen on the Haunted Forest set when they were filming the expensive sequence. Not only do we see the actors perform their choreography, but the footage also shows us how the Haunted Forest's creepy trees were even more disturbing than those Dorothy and the Scarecrow encountered in the final film just before they meet the Tin Woodsman. Their arms are long and menacing and in Arlen's footage we see how at least one of the trees were manipulated by a crew member from within the tree. Luckily, the extensive recording sessions for the film have survived, including the Jitterbug sequence and the heartbreaking "Over the Rainbow" reprise and have been widely available on several DVD releases. Lastly, one of the most baffling production stories regarding MGM's insistence that the film be cut from its original 2-hour runtime is that the powers-that-be actually suggested cutting "Over the Rainbow" entirely. There were apparently several reasons they offered for the removal, among them that the beloved song made the Kansas sequence drag on far too long and that it was degrading somehow for Judy Garland to be singing in a barnyard. It was only after the emphatic insistence of the composers that "Over the Rainbow" remains and would go on to being perhaps the most beloved song in cinema history.
@@giggles7179 Greetings Giggles!!! I not only found your comment interesting - it was AMAZING!!! I had no idea that so many things were deleted in the movie's final cut. With each sentence of your comment above my jaw dropped lower and lower in astonishment. We must allow that at the time they could have had no idea of the impact this movie would make on future generations. Today, the knowledge of the dismal reception it received when it was first released seems impossible to believe, but that has been the case for other movies which have gone on to greatness too. They didn't do director's cuts or sequels back then or this movie _certainly_ would have been a candidate for rerelease with the added scenes you mention once it achieved greatness. One of my favorite movies of all time is the Italian film _Cinema Paradiso_ . This movie won the Academy Award for best foreign film back in 1989 as well as Canes and about 80 other awards. Test viewing of the film flopped, possibly because of its length, so the producers were forced to delete many scenes (about 30minutes if I remember correctly), but this actually made the movie BETTER because it completely changed the final end of the story and the impossibly dramatic and emotional effect of it. Once the movie became a blockbuster they made a director's cut and replaced the additional footage and in my, and many other movie-lovers, estimation ruined the effect of the original movie. In _The Godfather_ the producers did NOT want Al Pacino to play Michael - they wanted Robert Redford .... can you even possibly imagine Robert Redford as Michael Corleone? Francis Ford Coppola fought tooth and nail to keep Al Pacino in the movie and the money people finally relented. This would prove to be as much of an "impact decision" as keeping the song, _Over The Rainbow_ in the Wizard Of Oz. I suppose the best thing to say is that rather than despair because of the "what might have beens" let us glory in what we actually do have - that Providence allowed us the movie we now know and love - a movie which will survive us all and continue to bring joy and a much needed note of fantasy and whimsy to the often sad and sordid conditions of the world. Do a TH-cam search for "judy garland and al bolger interview" .... if you're like me it will bring a tear to your eye.
Originally Warner Brothers was going to restore this scene back into the film when they rereleased the film in theaters for its 60th anniversary in 1998. But the idea was scrapped at last minute
@Sheetza What I said is correct, as is plain to anyone who watches the movie. The dance sequence (choreographed by Busby Berkeley himself) which runs here from 0:59 to 3:44, was trimmed out when the film was streamlined before its official release. An alternate conclusion to the song was shot, which is what you see in the theatrical release.
Not counting the times he's clearly being lifted up by wire, how did he manage to make his dancing and movements look SO LIGHT? I'd really believe the guy is made of straw!
I love how they incorporate that he is just a bag of straw, like a tumbleweed, and that's why he "flies" when he dances. Miming as a living tumbleweed is absolutely genius
Dancing through life, down in the yellow, if only this fellow has been where he's through... Crucified and transformified into a living scarecrow...too...
Imagine choreographing this scene for months just to get it right, you film maybe 3 weeks or more just to be perfect and after all that hard work, it’s left on the cutting room floor :(
Dude, Wizard of Oz was one of the best movies ever. Saw it when I was little, and it's been a long time. Scarecrow is like my favorite character. I remembered this song from the GM commercial. Mmmm, nostalgia.
I love this longer version because it shows Ray Bolger's amazing wiggly dance style. I feel he was so underrated as a dancer. He was just as good as Astair & Gene.
One of my local cinemas showed a print circa 1990 which included this extended version of the dance sequence. I was blown away. I thought that I had just failed to appreciate Ray Bolger’s skills the first couple dozen times I’d seen the film.
It's funny how most people, like us may have started out as strange-looking ducklings on the outside, but inside, they somehow, suddenly became almost, nearly, perfect in each and every way.
OMG! Tahnk you very much for sharing this! I don't believe they deleted this wonderful scene from the movie, I bet the scarecrow is the fav character of most people and this was so cool!
I can't fathom why MGM why deleted t such a large part of this classic song and dance number! I can't fathom why MGM cut any of the scenes from this beloved, excellent, fantastic, magnificent, wonderful classic MGM 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz! A huge mistake! The 1939 MGM classic movie The Wizard of Oz is my absolute favorite movie ever! I own this on videotape, Laser Disc, DVD and Blue Ray! I love Judy Garland! I love everything about this movie! I love Terry the female Cairn Terrier who portrayed Toto in this classic movie! This movie is perfectly cast! Thank you for posting and sharing this! This is pure movie magic! I love this! I am so glad they found this number!
To say that Ray Bolger was a dancer was something of an understatement! Obviously, judging by this segment, he was extremely good. There are some good dance sequences with him in The Harvey Girls and in Babes in Toyland as well.
Seeing this only infuriates me all the more that the original cut of the film was TWENTY MINUTES longer. Had we been one of the few who saw the earliest screenings, we could have seen this, considerably more of Margaret Hamilton (whose scenes were chopped because children found her too horrifying), a incredibly moving reprise to "Over the Rainbow" sung by a sobbing Dorothy while locked in the Witch's tower, an extension of the scene where the Witch threatened the group shortly after meeting the Tin Man, a "Triumphant Procession" where the Emerald City celebrates Dorothy's return with the broom, and what is surely the most devastating loss: When the Wicked Witch tells Nikko (the flying monkey) to take his group of monkeys to the Haunted Forest and attack the four friends, she tells him "They'll give you no problem, I promise you that. I've sent a little insect on ahead to take the fight out of them." This is the only remaining reference to what would have been the film's final musical number, "The Jitterbug." Financially, it was a massive loss, having cost an estimated $80,000 to produce as the "insect" the Witch refers to was a mosquito-like creature that combined hand-drawn animation with the live action sequence. When the Jitterbug bit someone, they would lose control of their bodies and start dancing, quickly exhausting them for when the Flying Monkeys would attack and abduct Dorothy and Toto. Tragically, the film studios back then put very little value on anything after a film was released. Costumes were repurposed or put into storage, the giant backdrops painted over, and the edited footage often scrapped or the easily-combustible celluloid filed away in canisters and largely forgotten. What was surely one of the most surprising developments in the years since revolved around one of the earliest auctions of one of the pairs of Ruby Slippers shortly after they'd been discovered amongst decades of studio costumes, props, etc. It was then that a Midwestern woman came forward to announce that she'd also owned a pair of the sequined shoes, having won them in a contest several years after the film's release. They were examined and confirmed to be genuine, but with no record of their existence. This is just another example of how the studios back then had no foresight as to their future value. There are thus two possibilities for the fate of the missing twenty minutes of cuts (this extended Scarecrow dance sequence being the only exception that was found and restored for the 50th anniversary VHS release in 1989). A large amount of MGM's film archives was lost in a devastating fire. It's also been reported that the film studios back then would often dispose of their trash in the Pacific Ocean. One of these explanations are likely to blame. However, the aformentioned 50th Anniversary VHS release that gave us our first glimpse at Ray Bolger's extended Scarecrow dance sequence also featured the only footage that's been found of "The Jitterbug" in the form of home movies" taken by composer Harold Arlen on the Haunted Forest set when they were filming the expensive sequence. Not only do we see the actors perform their choreography, but the footage also shows us how the Haunted Forest's creepy trees were even more disturbing than those Dorothy and the Scarecrow encountered in the final film just before they meet the Tin Woodsman. Their arms are long and menacing and in Arlen's footage we see how at least one of the trees were manipulated by a crew member from within the tree. Luckily, the extensive recording sessions for the film have survived, including the Jitterbug sequence and the heartbreaking "Over the Rainbow" reprise and have been widely available on several DVD releases. Lastly, one of the most baffling production stories regarding MGM's insistence that the film be cut from its original 2-hour runtime is that the powers-that-be actually suggested cutting "Over the Rainbow" entirely. There were apparently several reasons they offered for the removal, among them that the beloved song made the Kansas sequence drag on far too long and that it was degrading somehow for Judy Garland to be singing in a barnyard. It was only after the emphatic insistence of the composers that "Over the Rainbow" remains and would go on to being perhaps the most beloved song in cinema history.
I love this movie. This was my favorite movie as a kid. I wished they added this in the movie. I had never seen this until just now and I absolutely loved it and wished they had this as part of the movie.
I love Dorthy & Scarecrow together, they belong together I think. What a perfect performance, I love his voice, his silly comedic like nature, he did this splendidly. Aww why didn't they keep this, so sad!
@@MaskedMan66 Pick on people who spell dat for that, and boy for boyz or u for you. So we can have young men of 10 hold a rifle and take lessons for shooting, for hunting and now schools, but not have a 10 year old have sex...even though a woman's body gets their period around 10? Why would they get their periods that age then...what for? We can have 10 year olds have top of the line security phones were you have apps that can make you look older for fake ID's, or tracking on it...and 1 or two year olds have phones now..and you don't think that's crazy and messed up? We have trans now and I have to be careful with my wording and that's not messed up? Besides who's to say in the land of Oz that the scarecrow wasn't her age but just looked older? The older script had that. I have seen kids today, they act way older and know more and yet dumb at the same time because all they want is their phone and the newest remake. Judy was 17 or so and the scarecrow was maybe that age in real life so what does it matter. Only in the book she is 10. If they had used Shirley then it wouldn't have worked in society laws. But people hate cops now a days and blame them for mis deeds, and our society is already messed up and people throw torches for black racism when yet they should believe in reverse racism, and woman not voting until a certain time, we can have all that , but when it comes to 10 years old , that's to young? Nobody dare questions weed , they think I'm out of my silly little mind that isn't not bad it's a miracle drug that gets you high, when yet it's not better for a child, yet a grown man will have the same effects and yet for the man it's still the best thing ever?
@@tammie1078 Dorothy's age isn't given in the book, but shes generally believed to be about six. The Scarecrow is three days old when Dorothy meets him, but is functionally an adult. As for Judy Garland and Ray Bolger, she was 16 and he was 34. None of anything else you said is relevant.
@@MaskedMan66 Your thinking to heavily into this. And you were picking on me on purpose. Who says he's an adult? What you never seen a tall child, a guy in a sense? Everything I said actually is, because all those other things are bad too but society doesn't beat it down. I'm pretty sure the age of consent is 16 now, given what state your in. He is alive, so though a scarecrow, he is practically human in this world but it does not say age. This is Oz we are talking about, for goodness sake, they promote a child killing a wicked witch with her friends...which sounds like an assignation as the wizard ask them to do it. I get it he was trying to make the land a safer place, but you don't ask a child that. In Return to Oz, you have the lady with the removeable heads...that's so dahmr but here it is in a children story. So if you wanna talk about questionable motives from me, if he were alive, ask Baum why he would write that in , when he said he didn't want to scare kids, but in the story it says the tinman twirls his ax in a threating manner, so his feelings on his writing and how he writes it is abit contradictory. I love his work and him as a writer but yeah. It('s ok for a 7 year old to hold a gun even if self defense), it's ok for a grown man or women to do weed, as if if to say it's perfectly acceptable that adults get the right and excuse to mess up their bodies, but for children they can't. Destroy a person's life with memes that are designed and created for bullying and havoc. Now thanks to you, where my comment was three years ago was innocent, is now tarnished and I'm going to look I'm the monster.
@@tammie1078 You are writing essays, and you say that I'M "thinking to (sic) heavily into this??" The Scarecrow is a functional adult, indwelt by the life force of a century-dead subterranean Emperor (read "The Royal Book of Oz" by Ruth Plumly Thompson).
To the people who think he's flying, I really don't think he is. I think it's supposed to be more like a really high jump. As for the pumpkin part, I guess it was just supposed to have knocked him really high into the air.
+Chris And this scene shows how intelligent the scarecrow was.(Oz didn't give him what he already had] The crows didn't expect him to build up momentum and jump that far, he out smarted them.
I think the part with the large pumpkin was actually shown in reverse. In reality, he was lowered onto the large pumpkin FIRST, but the footage gives the illusion that the pumpkin elevated him into the air.
Ray Bolger, the guy who played the Scarecrow, was furious when this scene was cut. And I can't blame him. This was a great dance number. Ray was a really great dancer.
Tyler Nersinger If he was still alive again and he watched wizard of oz again, he would be happy to see that the scene actually got restored into the film
Spoilers for Part 2 of Wicked: Dang, seems Fiyero was defying gravity just like Elphaba. Also I love that a bit of Fiyero's choreography in Dancing Through Life uses moves from this scene. Fantastic foreshadowing on the director and choreographer's part.
I cannot help but feel this deleted scene was made under a different director. Its so fluid with different camera movements than any other scene in the final film.
Thank goodness the editors at least had the sense to preserving this footage, unlike the Jitterbug and the reprises of Over the Rainbow and Ding Dong, The Witch Is Dead. Thumbs up if you agree.
I can just imagine how the performers felt to see so much of their performance cut after all the work they'd put into it! But the final cut emphasized the scarecrow's wobbliness more than Ray Bolger's athleticism.
Rainbowfacedgirl 85 unfortunately the footage from The Jitterbug was destroyed so there's no way they could put that scene back in. Originally Warner Brothers was going to put the Scarecrows dance scene back into the movie when they rereleased the film in theaters for it's 60th anniversary in 1998 but they later changed their minds and decided not to do that
The only way to restore "The Jitterbug" would be to re-stage it on a duplicate of the sound stage with lookalike performers and then do CGI masks to complete the picture. The soundtrack survives, so they could work with that.
I’m happy for restoring this, but the jitterbug scene, I think it’s good it was cut; the MGM managers thought the song would date the film due to its jazzy style and take away its timeless feel, and I think they were right.
@@Grandmaster_Dragonborn That really wasn't a concern, especially considering what some people at that time considered the very dated vaudevillian nature of some of the comedy.
Because this movie has been designated as a "classic", there should be no deletions of things on film. That is how it works with the classifications of such movies.
I think that they should just put this permanently back into the film. They have it, and it's easily editable into the film since it was meant to be there. Just like Ray Bolger once said, it's nice to spend a little more time along the yellow brick road.
Warner Bros. considered editing this sequence back into the film for its 60th anniversary theatrical reissue in 1998 (even going so far as to digitally "erase" the visible wires lifting the Scarecrow up in that one part), but ultimately decided against it, not wanting to tamper with a timeless classic.
Congress can't dictate! The United States of America is a Democracy! Congress is supposed to defend, respect and uphold democracy, not undermine it! Furthermore, the extended dance sequence was deleted in July of 1939! It wasn't discovered until 1973! And it was first shown in the 1985 movie That's Dancing!
This is great. When my son was in 2nd grade in Orange County Calif., he played the Scarecrow in a Little Theater production of Wizard of Oz. He told the director they could not sing “Follow the Yellow Brick Road” because there wasn’t one. She had the set people paint one on the stage. Fun memory.
I have no idea why I've seen this scene before, but as a kid I remember watching the edited version of the movie and asking my mother "where's the part where he trips on a pumpkin?" she had no idea what I was talking about and I thought I had imagined the whole thing until right now.
One Time in 3rd grade k watched this movie and i remember i saw a part where they aré out in the porch of the emerald city waiting on what to do next and i remember the scRecrow holding the broom too and i asked fans about that scene and everyone doesnt know what i am talking about either so i have the same question didd i just imagined that scene?
@@elizabethmarielunacordoba9956 They did film a really elaborate "Triumphal Return" scene in the Emerald City, but Dorothy was carrying the broom there, and sadly the whole sequence was cut before the movie's official release; only preview audiences ever saw it. :-(
This scene is very remenescent of the tin man's dance which wasn't scrapped. The tin man starts dancing with no dialogue and dorothy and the scarecrow are left to do some miming
Gosh I hate it when I trip and I do the splits then use only leg strength to get out of it then do the splits again then get out of it again then bounce between 2 fences before crashing into another and repeating those bounces backwards
The producers thought it, took up too much time, and they were looking to delete about 15 minutes from the nearly two-hour rough cut to get it down to a more reasonable running time (since in 1939, even "important" films rarely ran more than 90 minutes).
@@ChuckD79 There was only one producer, and he railed against the cuts, which were ordered by the suits. And you're forgetting that _Gone With the Wind_ was four hours long.
@@MaskedMan66 I know GWtW was close to 4 hours, but that was a rare exception...also, was referring to the production team as a whole, but yes, they were ultimately carrying out orders by MGM execs in deciding what to cut.
The Scarecrow's Extended Dance Number was choregraphed by Busby Berkley! Bobby Connolly Choregraphed all of the other Dance Numbers in the Movie! This should never have been deleted! None of the deleted original footage, deleted original dialogue, deleted original soundtrack, deleted original song and dance numbers should have been cut from the movie! The1939 MGM Classic Fantasy Musical Movie, The Wizard of Oz should have run its full 140 minutes and not carelessly, ruthlessly and stupidly cut down to 101 minutes!
I think this deleted footage from this scene is maybe the only footage that was cut that still exists. In many of the other deleted scenes only the audio,still photos or home movies exist.
Jeff Hietala Yeah it is a shame. Scenes like the jitterbug scene would have been fun to watch. But tbh, I'm pretty greatfull that bits and pieces still survived so that we still get an idea of what the deleted scenes looked like.
What drives me crazy about this scene is that it was originally not deleted until 1973 when they made more room to sell commercial time. This scene is what made Ray Bolger famous. I wish they would put it back in and restore the film to its original form.
This dance was never shown in context with the film. It was deleted in 1939 after the first preview, along with many lines of dialogue, The Jitterbug, the Triumphant Return number after they kill the witch, and many other bits and pieces, in order to bring the running time down from 2 hours to 100 minutes. From what I understand, the studio/distributors discussed reinstating the dance number as far back as 1989 on the film's 50th anniversary, but they decided to leave the movie intact as it is and just include it as an extra. However, I do recall the 1970s broadcasts having a lot of other bits cut from the film that should never have been touched, like parts of the cyclone, the long tracking shot of Munchkinland, the establishing shot of the poppy field, and many other things. . .it was butchered, and it didn't go unnoticed by us kids that grew up watching it year after year! :-)
This scene was never in the finished film. MGM cut the dance at last minute just before the films release because they thought the film was running too long
Actually Ray Bolger had appeared in films before this and on stage,this form of dancing was his trademark and he was known before he became the scarecrow.
It was discovered in 1973. The extended Scarecrow Dance Number choregraphed by Busby Berkeley was deleted from the movie in July of 1939 It was introduced in the 1985 theatrical documentary movie That's Dancing! All of the other dance numbers in the movie were choregraphed by Bobby Connolly!
This scene right here is why the movie works. The Scarecrow's sorrow over not having a brain is real, and we see that Dorothy feels genuinely sad for him, and therefore we do too. It's not at all played for laughs like it kind of is for the Tinman and Lion.
2:30 those splits were hella impressive. This whole video is further proof that no one else could’ve played the scarecrow better than Ray Bolger
It’s crazy to think he was almost the Tin Man 😭
@@chrysalism1222 yeah, thank god he convinced the crew to let him switch roles.
If he hadn't swapped roles for the Scarecrow and played the Tin Man, we wouldn't have been able to see him dance like this.
Judy is just pure perfection. Even without dialogue I can’t help but be drawn to her natural talent and charisma.
Everyone was, which puts the lie to all the stories about her being hated, abused, harassed, starved, beaten, raped, etc. etc. etc.
I think this is the only deleted scene that still has surviving footage
SuperJackster01 Nope, the footage for jitterbug exists, it's just not the original footage
LeviathanJPTV only in the form of Harold Arlen’s home movies.
This scene is the only one that has the footage that was meant to be seen.
SuperJackster01 helllo
There are a few more tidbits that can be found in one of the early trailers for the movie.
This is proof no one is a better scarecrow than ray bolger
And to think that he was originally going to play the Tin man!
Two words" Michael Jackson
I'm sure that Ray would agree with you.
Yosef Demby Michael was good in The Wiz but, Roy is the better Scarecrow.
That's why Roy and his wife did after he was told that he was going to be the tin man. Lol they tag teamed and told the higher ups at MGM and told them that he should be scarecrow not tin man. Lol they caved and look at what we got. It was perfect if you ask me. His dance style just fits more with scarecrow than tin man.
In my opinion, that scene was awesome, and I wish they would have left it in the actual movie... but on the other hand, it's really a treat to see a surprise cut-out scene from an iconic movie that came out exactly 70 years ago.
Yeah… it’s totally charming, and deepens character.
This whole movie needs a decode. We live in Oz!
Nearly 90 now
I am surprised this deleted screen even survived at all. They say they found it in a vault for making That's Entertainment movie.
This comment was 15 years ago wow the Movie is almost 100 years old
it's incredible how much Scarecrow's actor can literally move just like a cartoon character!! he's so animated and boneless, it's like watching an old Disney film :D
Or a Looney Tunes cartoon if you know what i mean
They wanted him to be the tin man. Glad he stood up for himself
Yeah, he's a lot better as the Scarecrow.
Though, what if they made another movie but they switched roles?
Marcello Antonio me too!! I can’t see anybody else playing The Scarecrow!
Well if Ray Bolger was the tin man he could have inhaled the tin man makeup and his lungs would have failed and budy epsin was replaced with jack haley but Jack haley might have been the scarecrow. But it just wouldn't have been the same without Ray Bolger
@@ashley_said_what016 Buddy Ebsen, not "Epsin," and it only affected him the way it did because he had a congenital bronchial condition. If Ray had worn the make-up, he would have needed a bit of leave, but he'd probably have been all right.
"Gosh it would be awful pleasin' to reason out the reason, for things I can't explain."
Love that Line! Wish they kept that in the Final Cut.
I discovered the additional lyrics with that concert version Jewel did as Dorothy.
I wish this extended number was in the film. Ray Bolger was just right for the scarecrow and this routine demonstrates this further.
Ray Bolger just warms my heart in this movie. God, Scarecrow would be the most loyal, best friend you could ever have
My late grandfather always reminded me of the Scarecrow. The son of a farmer raised in the Great Depression; he even resembled Ray Bolger in appearance. I told him that when he was alive and he just chuckled. But now, nearly twenty years after his passing, whenever I see Dorothy say “I’ll miss you most of all,” it breaks my heart. I miss him very much.
@@Sarah-zr1nj Reading that just moved me to tears Sarah. You'll always have those amazing memories of him because you do have a brain, and a heart, and the courage to share that sweet story with us too :)
Watching this was both eerie and mind-blowingly great at the same time. I thought I knew this movie inside and out having seen it so many times and then THIS! It was like a major bonus to what I remembered from the "original" movie. Hard to explain ... like going through your house which you think you know so well only to find a secret room filled with something beautiful which had been there all the while.
Thank you so much for posting this!
_I know it's been seven years since you wrote the comment above, but I definitely understood how you felt when you wrote it. I wanted to draw your attention to the post I've just made; you may have been made aware of much of it in the years since. If not, I hope you find it interesting!_
Seeing this only infuriates me all the more that the original cut of the film was TWENTY MINUTES longer. Had we been one of the few who saw the earliest screenings, we could have seen this, considerably more of Margaret Hamilton (whose scenes were chopped because children found her too horrifying), a incredibly moving reprise to "Over the Rainbow" sung by a sobbing Dorothy while locked in the Witch's tower, an extension of the scene where the Witch threatened the group shortly after meeting the Tin Man, a "Triumphant Procession" where the Emerald City celebrates Dorothy's return with the broom, and what is surely the most devastating loss:
When the Wicked Witch tells Nikko (the flying monkey) to take his group of monkeys to the Haunted Forest and attack the four friends, she tells him "They'll give you no problem, I promise you that. I've sent a little insect on ahead to take the fight out of them." This is the only remaining reference to what would have been the film's final musical number, "The Jitterbug." Financially, it was a massive loss, having cost an estimated $80,000 to produce as the "insect" the Witch refers to was a mosquito-like creature that combined hand-drawn animation with the live action sequence. When the Jitterbug bit someone, they would lose control of their bodies and start dancing, quickly exhausting them for when the Flying Monkeys would attack and abduct Dorothy and Toto.
Tragically, the film studios back then put very little value on anything after a film was released. Costumes were repurposed or put into storage, the giant backdrops painted over, and the edited footage often scrapped or the easily-combustible celluloid filed away in canisters and largely forgotten. What was surely one of the most surprising developments in the years since revolved around one of the earliest auctions of one of the pairs of Ruby Slippers shortly after they'd been discovered amongst decades of studio costumes, props, etc. It was then that a Midwestern woman came forward to announce that she'd also owned a pair of the sequined shoes, having won them in a contest several years after the film's release. They were examined and confirmed to be genuine, but with no record of their existence. This is just another example of how the studios back then had no foresight as to their future value.
There are thus two possibilities for the fate of the missing twenty minutes of cuts (this extended Scarecrow dance sequence being the only exception that was found and restored for the 50th anniversary VHS release in 1989). A large amount of MGM's film archives was lost in a devastating fire. It's also been reported that the film studios back then would often dispose of their trash in the Pacific Ocean. One of these explanations are likely to blame. However, the aformentioned 50th Anniversary VHS release that gave us our first glimpse at Ray Bolger's extended Scarecrow dance sequence also featured the only footage that's been found of "The Jitterbug" in the form of home movies" taken by composer Harold Arlen on the Haunted Forest set when they were filming the expensive sequence. Not only do we see the actors perform their choreography, but the footage also shows us how the Haunted Forest's creepy trees were even more disturbing than those Dorothy and the Scarecrow encountered in the final film just before they meet the Tin Woodsman. Their arms are long and menacing and in Arlen's footage we see how at least one of the trees were manipulated by a crew member from within the tree. Luckily, the extensive recording sessions for the film have survived, including the Jitterbug sequence and the heartbreaking "Over the Rainbow" reprise and have been widely available on several DVD releases.
Lastly, one of the most baffling production stories regarding MGM's insistence that the film be cut from its original 2-hour runtime is that the powers-that-be actually suggested cutting "Over the Rainbow" entirely. There were apparently several reasons they offered for the removal, among them that the beloved song made the Kansas sequence drag on far too long and that it was degrading somehow for Judy Garland to be singing in a barnyard. It was only after the emphatic insistence of the composers that "Over the Rainbow" remains and would go on to being perhaps the most beloved song in cinema history.
@@giggles7179 Greetings Giggles!!! I not only found your comment interesting - it was AMAZING!!! I had no idea that so many things were deleted in the movie's final cut. With each sentence of your comment above my jaw dropped lower and lower in astonishment. We must allow that at the time they could have had no idea of the impact this movie would make on future generations. Today, the knowledge of the dismal reception it received when it was first released seems impossible to believe, but that has been the case for other movies which have gone on to greatness too. They didn't do director's cuts or sequels back then or this movie _certainly_ would have been a candidate for rerelease with the added scenes you mention once it achieved greatness.
One of my favorite movies of all time is the Italian film _Cinema Paradiso_ . This movie won the Academy Award for best foreign film back in 1989 as well as Canes and about 80 other awards. Test viewing of the film flopped, possibly because of its length, so the producers were forced to delete many scenes (about 30minutes if I remember correctly), but this actually made the movie BETTER because it completely changed the final end of the story and the impossibly dramatic and emotional effect of it. Once the movie became a blockbuster they made a director's cut and replaced the additional footage and in my, and many other movie-lovers, estimation ruined the effect of the original movie.
In _The Godfather_ the producers did NOT want Al Pacino to play Michael - they wanted Robert Redford .... can you even possibly imagine Robert Redford as Michael Corleone? Francis Ford Coppola fought tooth and nail to keep Al Pacino in the movie and the money people finally relented. This would prove to be as much of an "impact decision" as keeping the song, _Over The Rainbow_ in the Wizard Of Oz.
I suppose the best thing to say is that rather than despair because of the "what might have beens" let us glory in what we actually do have - that Providence allowed us the movie we now know and love - a movie which will survive us all and continue to bring joy and a much needed note of fantasy and whimsy to the often sad and sordid conditions of the world.
Do a TH-cam search for "judy garland and al bolger interview" .... if you're like me it will bring a tear to your eye.
Originally Warner Brothers was going to restore this scene back into the film when they rereleased the film in theaters for its 60th anniversary in 1998. But the idea was scrapped at last minute
I wish they had.
Same Here Buddy
SuperJackster01 at least they included it as bonus material on the DVD release.
I hopefully they’ll Re-add it for the 80th anniversary, but give you the option to have the deleted scene or not
I saw the 60th anniversary re-release at a local theater and this scene was included.
Ray Bolger was defying gravity before Wicked ever did 😂
Like, was there gravity in 1939...
😂
+Danny B they used fishing line to make ray fly because you could not see fishing line in technicolor
Found you
yes
It was optional
The use of classic mime here is lovely. It promotes chemistry between Dorothy and the Scarecrow. Really good stuff!
What a friggin legend. I wish they left this masterpiece in the movie. RAY IS JUST SO GOOD! That splits part really blew me away
This is actually an extended version of the scene shown in the movie rather than a deleted scene.
It's a deleted part of the scene, however.
You are correct Michael, maskedman66 is wrong
@Sheetza What I said is correct, as is plain to anyone who watches the movie. The dance sequence (choreographed by Busby Berkeley himself) which runs here from 0:59 to 3:44, was trimmed out when the film was streamlined before its official release. An alternate conclusion to the song was shot, which is what you see in the theatrical release.
@@22stunt45 how is MaskedMan66 wrong?? It is a cut part from the scene!
It's a extended version that was deleted or at least left out from the movie, so it is a deleted extended scene
An unforgettable movie! Growing up it was a movie that played on TV that the entire family watched together.
Good to know he can still be dancing through life.
Not counting the times he's clearly being lifted up by wire, how did he manage to make his dancing and movements look SO LIGHT? I'd really believe the guy is made of straw!
The Scarecrow is really dancing through life
I love how they incorporate that he is just a bag of straw, like a tumbleweed, and that's why he "flies" when he dances. Miming as a living tumbleweed is absolutely genius
Dancing through life, down in the yellow, if only this fellow has been where he's through...
Crucified and transformified into a living scarecrow...too...
Because of Wicked, I partially don’t look at this beautiful film with the same innocent lens.
Imagine choreographing this scene for months just to get it right, you film maybe 3 weeks or more just to be perfect and after all that hard work, it’s left on the cutting room floor :(
This scene was apparently cut from the film at the very last minute
@@superjackster0165yep, because they feared the film would "run too long".
Ray Bolger was very upset about it and left MGM and went back to New York to Broadway because they deleted the scene!
Idiot Executives cut this scene out because it had "too much fantasy". Dumb.
@@1189paris They cut this scene because they were concerned that the movie was running too long
Dude, Wizard of Oz was one of the best movies ever. Saw it when I was little, and it's been a long time. Scarecrow is like my favorite character. I remembered this song from the GM commercial. Mmmm, nostalgia.
I love this longer version because it shows Ray Bolger's amazing wiggly dance style. I feel he was so underrated as a dancer. He was just as good as Astair & Gene.
He was highly sought after for his dancing back in the day.
Better than Ginger Rogers!
maybe better than Astaire and Gene. He dances like his legs are made of rubber!
You still are dearly missed and beloved, Ray. :) Encore for your hard and loving work in bringing the character of Scarecrow to life.
3:47: "If a scarecrow could this in the real world, it would be scaring the shit out of everyone, never mind Crows.
Gregory Ray .
Now this comment tickled me! LOL! Nonetheless, very true.
Bro's been defying gravity since 1939
The movie (86 years old) is still one of the most remarkable achievements in film history. Too bad this was cut for time.
One of my local cinemas showed a print circa 1990 which included this extended version of the dance sequence. I was blown away. I thought that I had just failed to appreciate Ray Bolger’s skills the first couple dozen times I’d seen the film.
It's funny how most people, like us may have started out as strange-looking ducklings on the outside, but inside, they somehow, suddenly became almost, nearly, perfect in each and every way.
OMG! Tahnk you very much for sharing this! I don't believe they deleted this wonderful scene from the movie, I bet the scarecrow is the fav character of most people and this was so cool!
He was doing a forward moon walk slide at 1:30. What a great dancer and comedy guy. I can't believe that this was deleted
I can't fathom why MGM why deleted t such a large part of this classic song and dance number! I can't fathom why MGM cut any of the scenes from this beloved, excellent, fantastic, magnificent, wonderful classic MGM 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz! A huge mistake! The 1939 MGM classic movie The Wizard of Oz is my absolute favorite movie ever! I own this on videotape, Laser Disc, DVD and Blue Ray! I love Judy Garland! I love everything about this movie! I love Terry the female Cairn Terrier who portrayed Toto in this classic movie! This movie is perfectly cast! Thank you for posting and sharing this! This is pure movie magic! I love this! I am so glad they found this number!
To say that Ray Bolger was a dancer was something of an understatement! Obviously, judging by this segment, he was extremely good. There are some good dance sequences with him in The Harvey Girls and in Babes in Toyland as well.
Here I am in 2025. Now watching this as an adult, I really wish they didn’t cut out the dance break from the finished cut.
genuinely insane to think this is almost one hundred years old
I’m almost 32 years old and yet I know what you mean. This was my introduction to Hollywood’s Golden Age
Seeing this only infuriates me all the more that the original cut of the film was TWENTY MINUTES longer. Had we been one of the few who saw the earliest screenings, we could have seen this, considerably more of Margaret Hamilton (whose scenes were chopped because children found her too horrifying), a incredibly moving reprise to "Over the Rainbow" sung by a sobbing Dorothy while locked in the Witch's tower, an extension of the scene where the Witch threatened the group shortly after meeting the Tin Man, a "Triumphant Procession" where the Emerald City celebrates Dorothy's return with the broom, and what is surely the most devastating loss:
When the Wicked Witch tells Nikko (the flying monkey) to take his group of monkeys to the Haunted Forest and attack the four friends, she tells him "They'll give you no problem, I promise you that. I've sent a little insect on ahead to take the fight out of them." This is the only remaining reference to what would have been the film's final musical number, "The Jitterbug." Financially, it was a massive loss, having cost an estimated $80,000 to produce as the "insect" the Witch refers to was a mosquito-like creature that combined hand-drawn animation with the live action sequence. When the Jitterbug bit someone, they would lose control of their bodies and start dancing, quickly exhausting them for when the Flying Monkeys would attack and abduct Dorothy and Toto.
Tragically, the film studios back then put very little value on anything after a film was released. Costumes were repurposed or put into storage, the giant backdrops painted over, and the edited footage often scrapped or the easily-combustible celluloid filed away in canisters and largely forgotten. What was surely one of the most surprising developments in the years since revolved around one of the earliest auctions of one of the pairs of Ruby Slippers shortly after they'd been discovered amongst decades of studio costumes, props, etc. It was then that a Midwestern woman came forward to announce that she'd also owned a pair of the sequined shoes, having won them in a contest several years after the film's release. They were examined and confirmed to be genuine, but with no record of their existence. This is just another example of how the studios back then had no foresight as to their future value.
There are thus two possibilities for the fate of the missing twenty minutes of cuts (this extended Scarecrow dance sequence being the only exception that was found and restored for the 50th anniversary VHS release in 1989). A large amount of MGM's film archives was lost in a devastating fire. It's also been reported that the film studios back then would often dispose of their trash in the Pacific Ocean. One of these explanations are likely to blame. However, the aformentioned 50th Anniversary VHS release that gave us our first glimpse at Ray Bolger's extended Scarecrow dance sequence also featured the only footage that's been found of "The Jitterbug" in the form of home movies" taken by composer Harold Arlen on the Haunted Forest set when they were filming the expensive sequence. Not only do we see the actors perform their choreography, but the footage also shows us how the Haunted Forest's creepy trees were even more disturbing than those Dorothy and the Scarecrow encountered in the final film just before they meet the Tin Woodsman. Their arms are long and menacing and in Arlen's footage we see how at least one of the trees were manipulated by a crew member from within the tree. Luckily, the extensive recording sessions for the film have survived, including the Jitterbug sequence and the heartbreaking "Over the Rainbow" reprise and have been widely available on several DVD releases.
Lastly, one of the most baffling production stories regarding MGM's insistence that the film be cut from its original 2-hour runtime is that the powers-that-be actually suggested cutting "Over the Rainbow" entirely. There were apparently several reasons they offered for the removal, among them that the beloved song made the Kansas sequence drag on far too long and that it was degrading somehow for Judy Garland to be singing in a barnyard. It was only after the emphatic insistence of the composers that "Over the Rainbow" remains and would go on to being perhaps the most beloved song in cinema history.
Thanks for this..I've been looking for this deleted screen for years. ❤
え！？
こんなに激しいダンスだったんですね！
貴重な映像を見ることができて感激です。
I love this movie. This was my favorite movie as a kid. I wished they added this in the movie. I had never seen this until just now and I absolutely loved it and wished they had this as part of the movie.
I love Dorthy & Scarecrow together, they belong together I think. What a perfect performance, I love his voice, his silly comedic like nature, he did this splendidly. Aww why didn't they keep this, so sad!
Her name is Dorothy, and I hope you're not trying to imply a romance. Dorothy was a child.
@@MaskedMan66 Pick on people who spell dat for that, and boy for boyz or u for you. So we can have young men of 10 hold a rifle and take lessons for shooting, for hunting and now schools, but not have a 10 year old have sex...even though a woman's body gets their period around 10? Why would they get their periods that age then...what for? We can have 10 year olds have top of the line security phones were you have apps that can make you look older for fake ID's, or tracking on it...and 1 or two year olds have phones now..and you don't think that's crazy and messed up? We have trans now and I have to be careful with my wording and that's not messed up? Besides who's to say in the land of Oz that the scarecrow wasn't her age but just looked older? The older script had that. I have seen kids today, they act way older and know more and yet dumb at the same time because all they want is their phone and the newest remake. Judy was 17 or so and the scarecrow was maybe that age in real life so what does it matter. Only in the book she is 10. If they had used Shirley then it wouldn't have worked in society laws. But people hate cops now a days and blame them for mis deeds, and our society is already messed up and people throw torches for black racism when yet they should believe in reverse racism, and woman not voting until a certain time, we can have all that , but when it comes to 10 years old , that's to young? Nobody dare questions weed , they think I'm out of my silly little mind that isn't not bad it's a miracle drug that gets you high, when yet it's not better for a child, yet a grown man will have the same effects and yet for the man it's still the best thing ever?
@@tammie1078 Dorothy's age isn't given in the book, but shes generally believed to be about six. The Scarecrow is three days old when Dorothy meets him, but is functionally an adult.
As for Judy Garland and Ray Bolger, she was 16 and he was 34.
None of anything else you said is relevant.
@@MaskedMan66 Your thinking to heavily into this. And you were picking on me on purpose. Who says he's an adult? What you never seen a tall child, a guy in a sense? Everything I said actually is, because all those other things are bad too but society doesn't beat it down. I'm pretty sure the age of consent is 16 now, given what state your in. He is alive, so though a scarecrow, he is practically human in this world but it does not say age. This is Oz we are talking about, for goodness sake, they promote a child killing a wicked witch with her friends...which sounds like an assignation as the wizard ask them to do it. I get it he was trying to make the land a safer place, but you don't ask a child that. In Return to Oz, you have the lady with the removeable heads...that's so dahmr but here it is in a children story. So if you wanna talk about questionable motives from me, if he were alive, ask Baum why he would write that in , when he said he didn't want to scare kids, but in the story it says the tinman twirls his ax in a threating manner, so his feelings on his writing and how he writes it is abit contradictory. I love his work and him as a writer but yeah. It('s ok for a 7 year old to hold a gun even if self defense), it's ok for a grown man or women to do weed, as if if to say it's perfectly acceptable that adults get the right and excuse to mess up their bodies, but for children they can't. Destroy a person's life with memes that are designed and created for bullying and havoc. Now thanks to you, where my comment was three years ago was innocent, is now tarnished and I'm going to look I'm the monster.
@@tammie1078 You are writing essays, and you say that I'M "thinking to (sic) heavily into this??"
The Scarecrow is a functional adult, indwelt by the life force of a century-dead subterranean Emperor (read "The Royal Book of Oz" by Ruth Plumly Thompson).
To the people who think he's flying, I really don't think he is. I think it's supposed to be more like a really high jump. As for the pumpkin part, I guess it was just supposed to have knocked him really high into the air.
Exactly! :)
+Chris And this scene shows how intelligent the scarecrow was.(Oz didn't give him what he already had]
The crows didn't expect him to build up momentum and jump that far, he out smarted them.
@@RatBatSpiderCrab I don't think he expected it either.
I think the part with the large pumpkin was actually shown in reverse. In reality, he was lowered onto the large pumpkin FIRST, but the footage gives the illusion that the pumpkin elevated him into the air.
A High Jump with a high wind and breeze carrying a scarecrow or strawman made completely of straw!
It's a shame they cut out that scene. I thought it was funny
Ray Bolger, the guy who played the Scarecrow, was furious when this scene was cut. And I can't blame him. This was a great dance number. Ray was a really great dancer.
Tyler Nersinger If he was still alive again and he watched wizard of oz again, he would be happy to see that the scene actually got restored into the film
They have NO right to delete that scene! Shame on that movie!!!
R.I.P Ray Bolger the greatest scarecrow of all time
I’ve never seen this deleted scene before today! It’s cute and really shows off his awesome skills but I see why it was taken out.
It's a shame this was taken out of the movie. Thank you for downloading this.
thank you for posting, this was my life as a kid i would watch this daily it was at teh end of the movie
BRILLIANT
please tell me I'm not the only one watching out for the dog went he kept dancing...
You are the only one.
Ray Bolger actually complained about the dog,she almost tripped him over when they were dancing along the road as a foursome.
@@amybaker4654 Source?
Terry's trainer was keeping an eye on her.
@@amybaker4654 awww poor dog. I love Toto, I would never complain about her.!! 🐶
Spoilers for Part 2 of Wicked:
Dang, seems Fiyero was defying gravity just like Elphaba. Also I love that a bit of Fiyero's choreography in Dancing Through Life uses moves from this scene. Fantastic foreshadowing on the director and choreographer's part.
I didn’t expect to love Part 1 so much. I knew it would be good but still.
this is still the most magical movie of them all
Yes xD
I cannot help but feel this deleted scene was made under a different director. Its so fluid with different camera movements than any other scene in the final film.
Scarecrow does a pretty good job in this, you go ray!
That was a lot of work for not making the cut. Those fences had to be secure, the wires, the choreography, the practice. But no lines for too long.
He’s Defying gravity
I've been looking for this deleted scene for a long time and here it is.
I can't believe that went on for four minutes!
this one scene should be included in the wizard of oz
Thank goodness the editors at least had the sense to preserving this footage, unlike the Jitterbug and the reprises of Over the Rainbow and Ding Dong, The Witch Is Dead. Thumbs up if you agree.
Toto following the Scarecrow as he danced is so cute!
i love this song. Scarecrow used to be, and still is, my fav. character out of any movie I've watched. :)
thanks for posting this! for real.
I can just imagine how the performers felt to see so much of their performance cut after all the work they'd put into it! But the final cut emphasized the scarecrow's wobbliness more than Ray Bolger's athleticism.
For how old this was.. that was great editing! They should keep this for a deleted scene to see on a dvd!! It was good!
It’s available on the DVD as a bonus feature
Film editing was an art form by 1939. Movies had been around for almost fifty years by then.
What an awesome scene!!! Too bad it was cut!
His dance is very similar to Fiyero in Wicked! Maybe there is a connection? 🫣
I really wish they would bring this back in the movie. Especially the Jitterbug
Rainbowfacedgirl 85 unfortunately the footage from The Jitterbug was destroyed so there's no way they could put that scene back in. Originally Warner Brothers was going to put the Scarecrows dance scene back into the movie when they rereleased the film in theaters for it's 60th anniversary in 1998 but they later changed their minds and decided not to do that
The only way to restore "The Jitterbug" would be to re-stage it on a duplicate of the sound stage with lookalike performers and then do CGI masks to complete the picture. The soundtrack survives, so they could work with that.
@@MaskedMan66 the technology is available, just like they did for Peter Cushing and Carrie Fisher in Rogue One.
I’m happy for restoring this, but the jitterbug scene, I think it’s good it was cut; the MGM managers thought the song would date the film due to its jazzy style and take away its timeless feel, and I think they were right.
@@Grandmaster_Dragonborn That really wasn't a concern, especially considering what some people at that time considered the very dated vaudevillian nature of some of the comedy.
Because this movie has been designated as a "classic", there should be no deletions of things on film. That is how it works with the classifications of such movies.
Some deleted scenes in movies in general I see why they cut them. And some I sooner or later wish they didn’t
I think that they should just put this permanently back into the film. They have it, and it's easily editable into the film since it was meant to be there. Just like Ray Bolger once said, it's nice to spend a little more time along the yellow brick road.
Since its a film registered in congress and if a scene wasn't in the finished film it cant be put into the film sad
Warner Bros. considered editing this sequence back into the film for its 60th anniversary theatrical reissue in 1998 (even going so far as to digitally "erase" the visible wires lifting the Scarecrow up in that one part), but ultimately decided against it, not wanting to tamper with a timeless classic.
Congress can't dictate! The United States of America is a Democracy! Congress is supposed to defend, respect and uphold democracy, not undermine it! Furthermore, the extended dance sequence was deleted in July of 1939! It wasn't discovered until 1973! And it was first shown in the 1985 movie That's Dancing!
This is great. When my son was in 2nd grade in Orange County Calif., he played the Scarecrow in a Little Theater production of Wizard of Oz. He told the director they could not sing “Follow the Yellow Brick Road” because there wasn’t one. She had the set people paint one on the stage. Fun memory.
I have no idea why I've seen this scene before, but as a kid I remember watching the edited version of the movie and asking my mother "where's the part where he trips on a pumpkin?"
she had no idea what I was talking about and I thought I had imagined the whole thing until right now.
You probably saw "That's Entertainment."
One Time in 3rd grade k watched this movie and i remember i saw a part where they aré out in the porch of the emerald city waiting on what to do next and i remember the scRecrow holding the broom too and i asked fans about that scene and everyone doesnt know what i am talking about either so i have the same question didd i just imagined that scene?
@@elizabethmarielunacordoba9956 You must have, because there was no such scene.
@@MaskedMan66 ohhhhhh ,🤨
@@elizabethmarielunacordoba9956 They did film a really elaborate "Triumphal Return" scene in the Emerald City, but Dorothy was carrying the broom there, and sadly the whole sequence was cut before the movie's official release; only preview audiences ever saw it. :-(
I love the way the fences wiggle before he hits them In The rewind part!
I wonder how they would have done the rewind effect back then!
I wish the kept this scene in the movie.
"Oh, I'm a failure 'cause I haven't got a brain."
"Well, HWHAT would you do with a brain if you had one?"
"Sell propane and propane accessories."
I've seen a horsefly, a dragonfly, a firefly & a housefly but never a scarecrow fly :-)
This scene is very remenescent of the tin man's dance which wasn't scrapped. The tin man starts dancing with no dialogue and dorothy and the scarecrow are left to do some miming
Should be restored to the film.
It's a shame you have to sit through stupid TH-cam advertisements to see this. Great post! He rocks!!!
The scarecrow is my favourite character. I wish they would have put this scene in though. It is funny and it show Ray's talent in dancing!!
"You better not be a flying scarecrow ricocheting off of the rubber fences" my stupid ass:
that was awesome!!! ray bolger is a good dancer :)
Gosh I hate it when I trip and I do the splits then use only leg strength to get out of it then do the splits again then get out of it again then bounce between 2 fences before crashing into another and repeating those bounces backwards
This dance was better than the Tin Man dance. I love that dance, too, but this is just awesome.
“Gosh it would be very pleasing to even out the reason for things I can’t explain”, wow that lie is very relatable
Dancing through life~
A MOVIE MASTERPIECE!
This is my favorite dance. I've gone and watched it on my old DVD copy many times.
Jesus, that choreography is insane, but the actor playing the scarecrow makes it look so easy and painless.
This scene is awesome! I don't care if it's over the top! That's what makes it funny! Why did they delete this masterpiece from the movie?
The producers thought it, took up too much time, and they were looking to delete about 15 minutes from the nearly two-hour rough cut to get it down to a more reasonable running time (since in 1939, even "important" films rarely ran more than 90 minutes).
@@ChuckD79 There was only one producer, and he railed against the cuts, which were ordered by the suits. And you're forgetting that _Gone With the Wind_ was four hours long.
@@MaskedMan66 I know GWtW was close to 4 hours, but that was a rare exception...also, was referring to the production team as a whole, but yes, they were ultimately carrying out orders by MGM execs in deciding what to cut.
@@ChuckD79 A producer heads up the production team, but he is the only producer.
@@MaskedMan66 how come? And will you please give me a reason why?
Brilliant, Perfect Video!
Best musical masterpiece that all children love it, journeying over the Rainbow.
So do Adults!
The Scarecrow's Extended Dance Number was choregraphed by Busby Berkley! Bobby Connolly Choregraphed all of the other Dance Numbers in the Movie! This should never have been deleted! None of the deleted original footage, deleted original dialogue, deleted original soundtrack, deleted original song and dance numbers should have been cut from the movie! The1939 MGM Classic Fantasy Musical Movie, The Wizard of Oz should have run its full 140 minutes and not carelessly, ruthlessly and stupidly cut down to 101 minutes!
I think this deleted footage from this scene is maybe the only footage that was cut that still exists. In many of the other deleted scenes only the audio,still photos or home movies exist.
Jeff Hietala
Yeah it is a shame. Scenes like the jitterbug scene would have been fun to watch.
But tbh, I'm pretty greatfull that bits and pieces still survived so that we still get an idea of what the deleted scenes looked like.
No, actually there is other full original footage from the movie and alternate takes!
No remake can match this man. He is the originator.
He would have told you that Fred Stone, the first actor to ever play the Scarecrow, was the originator. 😀
@@MaskedMan66 true, but Ray Bolger set the standard for playing the scarecrow
@@bradyryan5105 Again, Bolger would tell you that Fred Stone set the standard.
There will never be a remake! It would really tick me Off! The movie The Wiz was stupid!
What drives me crazy about this scene is that it was originally not deleted until 1973 when they made more room to sell commercial time. This scene is what made Ray Bolger famous. I wish they would put it back in and restore the film to its original form.
This dance was never shown in context with the film. It was deleted in 1939 after the first preview, along with many lines of dialogue, The Jitterbug, the Triumphant Return number after they kill the witch, and many other bits and pieces, in order to bring the running time down from 2 hours to 100 minutes. From what I understand, the studio/distributors discussed reinstating the dance number as far back as 1989 on the film's 50th anniversary, but they decided to leave the movie intact as it is and just include it as an extra. However, I do recall the 1970s broadcasts having a lot of other bits cut from the film that should never have been touched, like parts of the cyclone, the long tracking shot of Munchkinland, the establishing shot of the poppy field, and many other things. . .it was butchered, and it didn't go unnoticed by us kids that grew up watching it year after year! :-)
This scene was never in the finished film. MGM cut the dance at last minute just before the films release because they thought the film was running too long
Whatever the opinion is, it should be put back in.
Actually Ray Bolger had appeared in films before this and on stage,this form of dancing was his trademark and he was known before he became the scarecrow.
It was discovered in 1973. The extended Scarecrow Dance Number choregraphed by Busby Berkeley was deleted from the movie in July of 1939 It was introduced in the 1985 theatrical documentary movie That's Dancing! All of the other dance numbers in the movie were choregraphed by Bobby Connolly!
OMG that is so hilarious! I almost died when he flew over the corn. Ha ha ha ha ha!
This scene right here is why the movie works. The Scarecrow's sorrow over not having a brain is real, and we see that Dorothy feels genuinely sad for him, and therefore we do too. It's not at all played for laughs like it kind of is for the Tinman and Lion.
That was legendary. What were they thinking!
They cut it out because they thought the movie was running too long
The great Ray Bolger !! Love the scarecrow, one of the greatest parts in American cinema!!
Fantastic! What a shame to delete this.