Over the Rainbow Was Almost Cut From The Wizard of Oz
Studio bosses thought the song slowed the movie down. It went on to win the Oscar.
Judy Garland was just 16 when she played Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, released in 1939. The film's signature song almost never made it to theaters.
Too slow for the studio
After early previews, MGM executives worried that the film was too long and that the Kansas scenes dragged. Over the Rainbow, sung in a barnyard, was cut more than once. Producer Arthur Freed and others fought to keep it in.
An Oscar winner
The song stayed, and it won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Garland received a special Juvenile Academy Award that year as well.
Her song forever
Garland sang Over the Rainbow for the rest of her career, often as the closing number of her concerts. In 2004 the American Film Institute named it the greatest movie song of all time.
Her daughter, Liza Minnelli, carried on the family legacy, winning her own Oscar for Cabaret in 1973.
This story is based on the stars' own interviews and memoirs and on widely reported history. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will correct it.
