We’re Off to Trim the Wizard
“The running time for The Wizard of Oz was originally 120 minutes. Producer Mervyn LeRoy realized that at least 20 minutes of the film needed to be deleted to get it down to a manageable running time. Three sneak previews aided LeRoy in his decision in what to cut. The original film in its entirety was seen only once by an audience in either San Bernadino or Santa Barbara, and it was the only time the famed Jitterbug number was seen by the public.
“After this preview, LeRoy cut the aforementioned Jitterbug number and the Scarecrow’s extended dance sequence to ‘If I Only Had a Brain.’ A second preview was held in Pomona, California, where the film ran 112 minutes. After the preview, LeRoy cut Dorothy’s ‘Over The Rainbow’ reprise and a scene in which the Tin Man turned into a human beehive, and the Emerald City reprise of ‘Ding Dong The Witch is Dead,’ as well as a few smaller scenes and dialogue, notably two Kansas scenes in which the Hickory character was building a machine to ward off tornadoes, as well as dozens of threatening lines by the Wicked Witch of the West.
“By the third preview, held in San Luis Obispo, the film finally was down to its 101-minute running time, where it has remained ever since.”
— Source: Internet Movie Database
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