REGENT THEATRE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 85, Issue 112, 15 May 1941, Page 7

REGENT THEATRE

“THE WIZARD OF OZ” Presenting what is heralded as the most ideal combine of colour, music, dancing, spectacle, pageantry, laughs, and thrills, “The Wizard of Oz,” film version of lhe celebrated fantasy by L. Frank Baum, is now showing at the Regent. While natural colour has long been held to be useful in many types of pictures, "The Wizard of Oz” is declared the first to make use of tcchnicolour on a sound psychological basis. The story of Dorothy opens on a Kansas farm. This part of the picture is done in black and white photography with a now form of tint, on the tilm. But when Dorothy goes Io the imaginary Land of Oz. carried there by a cyclone, the picture becomes all-colour and remains in technicolour until she returns homo. The story is the same as written by L. Frank Baum. In Oz. Dorothy meets a Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and Cowardly Lion, and they go to see the Wizard to get brains for the Scarecrow, a heart for the Woodman, and courage for the Lion. After many thrilling adventures they all find they had what they wanted all the time. In the cast are Judy Garland. Frank ; Morgan. Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr. Jack Haley, Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton. Charley Grapewin. Pat Walshe. Clara Blandick, a little dog named Toto, and ton thousand of the amazing people of Oz. Six new and catchy songs embellish the story, among them “Over the Rainbow,” “If I Oniy Had a Brain, the Nerve, a Heart,” “We’re Off to See the Wizard,” “The Merry Old Land of Oz,” “Ding Dong, the I Witch is Dead.” and “If I Were King of the Forest.” written by the wellknown song-writing team of E. V. Harburg and Harold Arlen.