Not only is Judy Garland's performance in the 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz" her best and most quintessential movie role, the film itself remains a benchmark for Hollywood excellence more than 70 years after its initial release. Based on L. Frank Baum's children's book "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," "The Wizard of Oz" follows Kansas farmgirl Dorothy Gale (Garland) and her dog Toto as they're swept away by a tornado to the magical Land of Oz. For Dorothy, there's no place like home, so with the help of the Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), the Tin Man (Jack Haley), and the Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr), she makes her way to the Emerald City to seek help from the Wizard of Oz (Frank Morgan), the only being who can get her back to the sepia tones of the Great Plains. But the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton) is in hot pursuit of Dorothy, her friends, and that little dog, too.
A true triumph of cinematic imagination, the dazzling Technicolor wonderland of "The Wizard of Oz" continually delights movie fans of all ages and Garland's performance as Dorothy is undoubtedly the heart of the film. Her rendition of "Over the Rainbow" conveys a melancholy and longing instantly recognizable to anyone who's hungered for a life beyond their horizons. Honored by the AFI as one of the greatest American films of all time, "The Wizard of Oz" is not only Judy Garland's essential screen performance, but an indispensable piece of movie history.
