Introducing Gay Film #2--1939's "The Wizard Of Oz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

                                  Perfect.  What more can be said?

                                 Quite a lot, actually.  During my recent viewing--and I reckon I have seen this film pretty close to my actual age--I found myself asking a question I never asked before.

                                    When Dorothy and the Scarecrow are attacked by the nasty apple trees, are the trees really that way, or was this a spell put on them by the Witch?  Because, just as Dorothy and the Scarecrow approach the area, a slinking Margaret Hamilton (her iconic role) has been hiding behind a tree and tries to distance herself from Judy Garland and Ray Bolger.  I really do think the Witch is seen there, because she did cast a spell on those trees.

                                           That thought had never occurred to me before.

                                           Now, how is this a gay film?  It has always been labeled a children's film, but I disagree. I think it is more adult than realized.  Margaret Hamilton herself said no child should see this before the age of 10, and I agree.

                                               However, I was a very different child.

                                               Back in 1959, my parents were concerned because all I was watching were cartoons.  Nothing with real people.  So, my mother sat me down one afternoon, saying there was a program she wanted me to watch.  It was "The Wizard Of Oz."  Even in black and white, I was transfixed, and I even then noticed how even on our set the Kansas scenes were lit differently than the Oz scenes.

                                                   Who knew that my first movie would become the leitmotif of my life?  But it did.

                                                       At the time, the one I most related to was the Witch.  I loved her costume, flying on a broom, and her spooky castle.  In fact, the morning after my first viewing, to my mother's consternation, I would take my toy broom, fly off the top of one of our love seats, crying, "To the Emerald City, as fast as lightning!"  The whole Judy Garland/"Over The Rainbow" thing did not hit me until sometime after reaching the double digits.

                                                            "The Wizard Of Oz" is the perfect film for a burgeoning gay child, and if any children respond similarly to how I did, they are well on their way.

                                                                First, it is the most dazzling use of Technicolor in film history.  I stand by that statement today, and, darlings, if it is one thing gays respond to it is color.

                                                                 Being different and set apart can lead to loneliness.  Here we have an unfortunate child whose only real companion is her dog Toto, who turns out to be a real hero.  A gay child, more than others, would get the Dorothy-Toto bond.

                                                                     The film is effusively emotional from the start.  I maintain the MGM lion roared louder for the picture than any other MGM film.  Perhaps the lion knew something and was ahead of his time!  It begins with a series of short notes followed by a very intense opening overture.  Then there is the austerity of the Kansas scenes, adults who seem not to care for the child amidst them, who is so yearning for love she concocts a world beyond the rainbow.  No wonder when I first saw the film, I wondered why Dorothy did not just stay in Oz, especially Munchkinland, which is the best designed Hollywood set of all time.  By the time Dorothy gets there, and Glinda appears in that pink dress--oh my God, if you are gay, darlings, you gravitate to that!!!!!!!!!!!! Who wouldn't want to wear that dress?

                                                                      Fear of being an outcast, common to many gays, infuses "The Wizard Of Oz."  Even in Oz, Dorothy still feels an outsider, and a child's fear of loss is clearly felt when Aunt Em appears in the crystal ball, followed by the Witch!

                                                                          Not only is the film a litmus test for gays, but for, shall I say more normal, or straight children, it can be an intense and frightening experience.  They are the ones who should wait longer before seeing it.  When they can appreciate its artistry.

                                                                             "The Wizard Of Oz" is for everyone, but, having lived my life, I maintain it is especially resonant for gay children.  As I can attest.

                                                                                 But in the pantheon of cinema, there never will be anything like it.

                                                                                   How many films can be called perfect?  This one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!