WIZARD OF OZ, THE (1939) Laughing portrait of Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion

The Wizard of Oz is the most recognized film of all time. Its status is legendary and any original ephemera of 1939 is a collectors’ and archivists’ gold. From L. Frank Baum’s popular children’s classic, the film referring to the book opens with the title “For nearly forty years this story has given faithful service to the Young in Heart; and Time has been powerless to put its kindly philosophy out of fashion.” For 80 plus years since, the movie has become beloved by new generations who still find this message true. The brilliant cast members each became film legends for the characters they portrayed. Celebrating a new year, we present a fine array of original 1939 production stills for your consideration.

[Hollywood]: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1939.  Vintage original 8 x 10″ (20 x 25 cm.) black-and-white double weight glossy silver nitrate photo print, fine. Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton, dir: Victor Fleming; MGM.

A wonderful laughing portrait of Bert Lahr as the lovable Cowardly Lion. Too large, perhaps, was Lahr’s great stage presence for film: he found the perfect role for his personality with this performance. Original studio-issued photo stamp dated 8/1/39 was put out just before the film’s release a few weeks later. The original printed studio blurb is on the verso, as is the photo number ink stamp of “1060-130”.