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93-510: For Christmas specials in general, see Christmas by medium . Christmas Special may refer to: Television episodes [ edit ] "Christmas Special" ( 30 Rock ) "Christmas Special" ( Beavis and Butt-head episode) "Christmas Special" ( Extras ) "Christmas Special" ( The Naked Brothers Band ) "Christmas Special" ( Robot Chicken episode) "The Christmas Special", an episode of Regular Show S Club 7: Christmas Special ,

186-457: A Christmas parade at Walt Disney World Resort and along with its sister cable network, ESPN (since they jointly acquired broadcast rights to the league in 2002), NBA games featuring some of the league's best teams and players, broadcasting a doubleheader (or as many as five games between the two networks in certain years); the NBA's Christmas Day games are notable as they historically serve as

279-493: A 17-page draft of the Kansas scenes. A few weeks later, Mankiewicz delivered a further 56 pages. LeRoy also hired Noel Langley and poet Ogden Nash to write separate versions of the story. None of these three knew about the others, and this was not an uncommon procedure. Nash delivered a four-page outline; Langley turned in a 43-page treatment and a full film script. Langley then turned in three more scripts, this time incorporating

372-626: A backdrop for the film (though the films themselves are often filmed in British Columbia due to favorable film tax benefits). As of 2020 The Grinch is the highest grossing Christmas film of all time. Green Book was the last movie with a Christmas setting to win the Academy Award for Best Picture . Before 1962, when Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol premiered, true Christmas specials made for TV were either adaptations of stories such as A Christmas Carol (with live actors), or

465-410: A big city person has to go to a small town, in either case deciding that the small town is where they should remain. A main character will also have a Christmas-sounding name (such as "Holly") and/or the small town will (such as "Christmas Valley"). The settings are usually in the northern United States, or in a mountain area (such as Colorado), where snow (and the ensuing "White Christmas") are used as

558-575: A climactic scene in the 1943 musical film Cabin in the Sky , directed by Judy Garland's eventual second husband Vincente Minnelli . The Cowardly Lion and Scarecrow masks were made of foam latex makeup created by makeup artist Jack Dawn . Dawn was one of the first to use this technique. It took an hour each day to slowly peel Bolger's glued-on mask from his face, a process that eventually left permanent lines around his mouth and chin. The Tin Man's costume

651-539: A concealed elevator was installed to lower her below stage level, as fire and smoke erupted to dramatize and conceal her exit. The first take ran well, but on the second take, the burst of fire came too soon. The flames set fire to her green, copper-based face paint, causing third-degree burns to her hands and face. She spent three months recuperating before returning to work. Her green makeup had usually been removed with acetone due to its toxic copper content. Because of Hamilton's burns, makeup artist Jack Young removed

744-459: A curtain, the "Wizard" is revealed to be an ordinary man operating machinery that projects a ghostly image of his face. The four travelers confront the Wizard, who insists he is a good man at heart, but confesses to being a humbug. He then "grants" the wishes of Dorothy's three friends by giving them tokens to confirm that they have the qualities they sought. The Wizard reveals that he, like Dorothy,

837-510: A dangerous reaction to his aluminum powder makeup, his singing voice remained on the soundtrack (as mentioned in the notes for the CD Deluxe Edition). He can be heard in the group vocals of "We're Off to See the Wizard". Bolger's original recording of " If I Only Had a Brain " was far more sedate than the version in the film. During filming, Cukor and LeRoy decided a more energetic rendition better suited Dorothy's initial meeting with

930-1105: A disabled beggar boy living with his (presumably) widowed mother in the Holy Land. They are visited by the Three Wise Men who are on their way to see the Christ Child, and when Amahl offers his crutch as a gift, he is miraculously cured. In 1978, it returned to television, with less success. TV programmes which have had special Christmas episodes in the United Kingdom include Top of the Pops (from 1960s-2006), Morecambe and Wise (1970s), The Two Ronnies (1980s), Stars in Their Eyes , Only Fools and Horses (both 1990s), and more recently, Doctor Who , Top Gear (both 2000s), Downton Abbey (2010s) and The Repair Shop (2020s). The 1982 animated tale The Snowman has been screened for many years during

1023-423: A farm owned by her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em. Dorothy's neighbor, Almira Gulch, who had been bitten by Dorothy's dog, Toto, obtains a sheriff's order authorizing her to seize Toto. Toto escapes and returns to Dorothy, who runs away to protect him. Professor Marvel, a charlatan fortune-teller, persuades Dorothy to go home because Aunt Em is heartbroken. She returns just as a tornado approaches the farm. Unable to get into

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1116-466: A hundred little people to play Munchkins; this meant that most of the film's Oz sequences would have to be shot before work on the Munchkinland sequence could begin. According to Munchkin actor Jerry Maren , the little people were each paid over $ 125 a week (equivalent to $ 2,700 today). Meinhardt Raabe , who played the coroner, revealed in the 1990 documentary The Making of the Wizard of Oz that

1209-538: A little insect on ahead to take the fight out of them." Another musical number cut before release came right after the Wicked Witch of the West was melted and before Dorothy and her friends returned to the Wizard. This was a reprise of "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" (blended with " We're Off to See the Wizard " and "The Merry Old Land of Oz") with the lyrics altered to "Hail! Hail! The witch is dead!" This started with

1302-653: A one-off TV special by the UK pop group Other uses [ edit ] Christmas Special (album) , a 2010 album by The Boy Least Likely To Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Christmas Special . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Christmas_Special&oldid=1256841311 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

1395-461: A person who has "lost the Christmas spirit" and through "Christmas magic" regains it (commonly by a romantic encounter; frequently one of the two in the romance is a single parent or has lost someone special around a prior Christmas season). Another theme plays on the "big city-small town" dynamic, whereby a lead character has either left a small hometown for the big city (and has had to return), or

1488-507: A promise from Dorothy to write to him. The scene implies that romance will eventually develop between the two, which also may have been intended as an explanation for Dorothy's partiality for the Scarecrow over her other two companions. This plot idea was never totally dropped, and is especially noticeable in the final script when Dorothy, just before she is to leave Oz, tells the Scarecrow, "I think I'll miss you most of all." Much attention

1581-511: A relative newcomer, with a recognized operatic voice; and Judy Garland , the most experienced of the three. Officially, the decision to cast Garland was attributed to contractual issues. Ray Bolger was originally cast as the Tin Man and Buddy Ebsen was to play the Scarecrow. Bolger, however, longed to play the Scarecrow, as his childhood idol Fred Stone had done on stage in 1902 ; with that very performance, Stone had inspired him to become

1674-596: A role remarkably similar to the Wicked Witch in the Judy Garland film Babes in Arms (1939). According to Aljean Harmetz, the "gone-to-seed" coat worn by Morgan as the Wizard was selected from a rack of coats purchased from a second-hand shop. According to legend, Morgan later discovered a label in the coat indicating it had once belonged to Baum, Baum's widow confirmed this, and the coat was eventually presented to her. However, Baum biographer Michael Patrick Hearn says

1767-520: A singing contest, in which Dorothy's swing style enchanted listeners and won the grand prize. This part was initially written for Betty Jaynes , but was later dropped. Another scene, which was removed before final script approval and never filmed, was an epilogue scene in Kansas after Dorothy's return. Hunk (the Kansan counterpart to the Scarecrow) is leaving for an agricultural college, and extracts

1860-592: A tearful farewell with her friends, Dorothy heeds Glinda's instructions by tapping her heels three times and repeating, "There's no place like home." Dorothy is transported back to Kansas, where she awakens in her own bed. Aunt Em attends to her while Uncle Henry and the farm hands stand by. Professor Marvel stops in as Dorothy describes Oz, telling the farm hands and the Professor they were there too, and they smile, humoring her. As Dorothy hugs Toto, she gratefully exclaims, "Oh, Auntie Em, there's no place like home!" In

1953-413: A vaudevillian in the first place. Now unhappy with his role as the Tin Man (reportedly claiming, "I'm not a tin performer; I'm fluid"), Bolger convinced producer Mervyn LeRoy to recast him in the part he so desired. Ebsen did not object; after going over the basics of the Scarecrow's distinctive gait with Bolger (as a professional dancer, Ebsen had been cast because the studio was confident he would be up to

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2046-456: Is celebrated for its use of Technicolor , fantasy storytelling, musical score, and memorable characters. It was a critical success and was nominated for five Academy Awards , including Best Picture , winning Best Original Song for " Over the Rainbow " and Best Original Score for Stothart; an Academy Juvenile Award was presented to Judy Garland. While the film was sufficiently popular at

2139-559: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Christmas by medium It also includes animation, comics, and children's books, including A Charlie Brown Christmas , How the Grinch Stole Christmas! , and Frosty the Snowman . Many Christmas stories have been adapted to movies and TV specials , and have been broadcast and repeated many times on TV. Since

2232-475: Is from Kansas and accidentally arrived in Oz in a hot air balloon. When he offers to take Dorothy back to Kansas with him aboard his balloon, she accepts, but Toto jumps off and Dorothy goes after him, and the balloon accidentally lifts off with just the Wizard aboard. Glinda reappears and tells Dorothy she always had the power to return to Kansas using the ruby slippers, but had to find that out for herself. After sharing

2325-500: Is included on the two-CD Rhino Record "deluxe" soundtrack edition. Garland was to sing a brief reprise of "Over the Rainbow" while Dorothy was trapped in the Witch's castle, but it was cut because it was considered too emotionally intense. Because Garland sung the reprise live on set, only the underscoring from the final edit survives. However, the on-set audio of the scene when it was originally filmed under Richard Thorpe still exists and

2418-430: Is the second-most lucrative season for the industry. In fact, a few films each year open on the actual Christmas Day holiday. Christmas movies generally open no later than Thanksgiving, as their themes are not so popular once the season is over. Likewise, the home video release of these films is typically delayed until the beginning of the next year's Christmas season. American Christmas-themed films are also broadcast on

2511-781: The Jurassic Park movies, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory , the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, the DC Extended Universe movies and Peter Jackson 's Middle Earth saga , as well as several animated Disney , DreamWorks , Aardman , Studio Ghibli , Illumination , Laika and Pixar movies. Others have some scenes during the Christmas season, such as the Harry Potter films which are frequently included in

2604-588: The Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Over the Rainbow". The song ranks first in the AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs and the Recording Industry Association of America 's " 365 Songs of the Century ". MGM composer Herbert Stothart , a well-known Hollywood composer and songwriter, won the Academy Award for Best Original Score . Georgie Stoll was associate conductor, and screen credit

2697-758: The Cincinnati Pops , and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Many radio stations begin to add Christmas music to their rotation in late November, and often switch to all-Christmas programming for December 25. Some do for part of or all of December 24 as well. A few stations switch to all-Christmas music for the entire season (some beginning as early as mid-November); in Detroit, 100.3 WNIC in 2005 started Christmas music day and night on midnight of October 31 because programmers believed that at least some listeners who are attracted by

2790-752: The Evil Queen in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ) to the familiar "ugly hag". She was replaced on October 10, 1938, just three days before filming started, by MGM contract player Margaret Hamilton . Sondergaard said in an interview for a bonus feature on the DVD that she had no regrets about turning down the part. Sondergaard would go on to play a glamorous feline villainess in Fox 's version of Maurice Maeterlinck 's The Blue Bird in 1940. Hamilton played

2883-473: The Hallmark Channel and its companion channel Hallmark Movies & Mysteries , which during the holiday season generally feature new films along with reruns of favorites from prior years. Actresses Candace Cameron Bure , Lacey Chabert , and Danica McKellar , along with actor Niall Matter , are frequently featured in lead or major roles. The films themselves generally feature a similar theme of

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2976-752: The United Kingdom , during the 2000s ITV usually showed a James Bond and/or a Harry Potter film(s) during the Christmas Holidays whilst the BBC showed the Chronicles of Narnia and/or High School Musical films. And for many years Channel 5 have shown American/Canadian made-for-TV Christmas films during the weeks before Christmas. In North America, the holiday movie season often includes release of studios' most prestigious pictures, in an effort both to capture holiday crowds and to position themselves for Oscar consideration. Next to summer, this

3069-434: The "horse of a different color" scene, Jell-O powder was used to color the white horses. Asbestos was used to achieve some of the special effects, such as the witch's burning broomstick and the fake snow that covers Dorothy as she sleeps in the field of poppies. The Wizard of Oz is famous for its musical selections and soundtrack. Its songs were composed by Harold Arlen , with lyrics by E. Y. "Yip" Harburg . They won

3162-576: The 2005 BFI ( British Film Institute ) list of "50 films to be seen by the age of 14" and is on the BFI's updated list of "50 films to be seen by the age of 15" released in May 2020. The Wizard of Oz has become the source of many quotes referenced in contemporary popular culture. The film frequently ranks on critics' lists of the greatest films of all time and is the most commercially successful adaptation of Baum's work. In rural Kansas , Dorothy Gale lives on

3255-406: The 35 ft (11 m) of muslin from a steel gantry and connected the bottom to a rod. By moving the gantry and rod, he was able to create the illusion of a tornado moving across the stage. Fuller's earth was sprayed from both the top and bottom using compressed air hoses to complete the effect. Dorothy's house was recreated using a model . Stock footage of this tornado was later recycled for

3348-464: The Baum family denies ever seeing the coat or knowing of the story; Hamilton considered it a rumor concocted by the studio. The production faced the challenge of creating the Tin Man's costume. Several tests were done to find the right makeup and clothes for Ebsen. Ten days into the shoot, Ebsen suffered a toxic reaction after repeatedly inhaling the aluminum dust (which his daughter, Kiki Ebsen, has said

3441-453: The Christmas carol " Silent Night " and the story of " Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus " are two examples. Sometimes, family films and classics boasting special effects and/or uplifting messages, but having no real relation to Christmas, are telecast during the season as part of the holiday programming. The Wizard of Oz , for instance, was always telecast during the Christmas season between 1959 and 1962. Other films often seen around

3534-422: The Christmas chart has been dominated by the winner of The X Factor and various social media backed records aimed to hijack the charts. As with television, British radio programmes also schedule Christmas specials. These mainly include comedy shows such as I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue and The Now Show . The Music Choice channels have over the past few years have begun playing Christmas music as early as

3627-483: The Christmas music will remain loyal listeners when the station reverts to its standard format on Boxing Day . Radio stations also broadcast traditional Western art music, such as the "Hallelujah" chorus from Handel 's Messiah . Among other pieces inspired by Christmas are Tchaikovsky 's ballet The Nutcracker and the popular suite drawn from it, and Johann Sebastian Bach 's " Christmas Oratorio " (BWV 248). Some radio stations play Christmas music commercial-free

3720-608: The Christmas period (usually Christmas Eve or Christmas Day), and the 1991 short animated film, Father Christmas , by the same artist and company, is usually broadcast around the same time. Adaptations of novels from Charles Dickens are also common around Christmas time. Along with A Christmas Carol (the most popular due to its Christmas season setting, and the message portrayed), these also include Bleak House (2005), Oliver Twist (2007) and Great Expectations (2011), among others. These adaptations usually feature all-star casts. Christmas Day begins at 12 at night with

3813-517: The Christmas period are Singin' in the Rain , Some Like it Hot , Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines , Casablanca , The Golden Compass , Great Expectations , Annie , Grease , The Adventures of Robin Hood , Johnny Depp 's Alice Saga , Sunshine on Leith , The Star Wars Saga , Transformers , The Simpsons Movie , Cinderella , Maleficent , Into

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3906-575: The East . Her sister, the Wicked Witch of the West , suddenly appears. Before she can seize her deceased sister's ruby slippers , Glinda magically transports them onto Dorothy's feet and tells her to keep them on. Because the Wicked Witch has no power in Munchkinland, she leaves, but swears vengeance upon Dorothy and Toto. Glinda tells Dorothy to follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City,

3999-519: The Kansas sequence. They completed the final draft of the script on October 8, 1938, following numerous rewrites. Others who contributed to the adaptation without credit include Irving Brecher , Herbert Fields , Arthur Freed, Yip Harburg, Samuel Hoffenstein , Jack Mintz, Sid Silvers, Richard Thorpe , George Cukor and King Vidor . Only Langley, Ryerson, and Woolf were credited for the script. In addition, songwriter Harburg's son (and biographer) Ernie Harburg reported: So anyhow, Yip also wrote all

4092-674: The Library of Congress as one of the first 25 films for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant"; it is also one of the few films on UNESCO 's Memory of the World Register . The film was ranked second in Variety ' s inaugural 100 Greatest Movies of All Time list published in 2022. It was among the top ten in

4185-572: The MGM costume and wardrobe department, under the direction of designer Adrian , had to design over 100 costumes for the Munchkin sequences. They photographed and cataloged each Munchkin in their costume so they could consistently apply the same costume and makeup each day of production. Gale Sondergaard was originally cast as the Wicked Witch of the West, but withdrew from the role when the witch's persona shifted from sly and glamorous (thought to emulate

4278-559: The Nativity Story, or episodes of variety shows highlighting Christmas music. They were often hosted by such celebrities as Perry Como , Jane Wyatt , or Florence Henderson . (A notable exception was The Spirit of Christmas in 1950, which, although featuring an appearance by Alexander Scourby , who also narrated, starred the Mabel Beaton Marionettes.) This all changed once variety shows began dying out in

4371-629: The Red-Nosed Reindeer and A Charlie Brown Christmas . Some local affiliates provide the Yule Log , a block of time either on Christmas morning or both during the evening hours of Christmas Eve and Christmas morning showing footage of a fireplace, coupled with popular Christmas music. Some local affiliates that provide the Yule Log simulcast Christmas music from a radio station playing it. Every Christmas Day , ABC (since 1996) airs

4464-437: The Scarecrow, and it was rerecorded. The original version was considered lost until a copy was discovered in 2009. All lyrics are written by E. Y. Yip Harburg; all music is composed by Harold Arlen Some musical pieces were filmed and deleted later, in the editing process. The song "The Jitterbug", written in a swing style, was intended for a sequence where the group journeys to the Witch's castle. Owing to time constraints, it

4557-419: The UK are specially commissioned separately to a production season , and many are extended from the usual episode length. For example, the 2007 Doctor Who Christmas special was 71 minutes as opposed to the standard 45 minutes, was broadcast six months after the third series had finished and four months before the fourth series started. UK Christmas specials may or may not feature the holiday itself as part of

4650-460: The Wind . It stars Judy Garland , Frank Morgan , Ray Bolger , Bert Lahr , Jack Haley , Billie Burke , and Margaret Hamilton . Noel Langley , Florence Ryerson , and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, while others made uncredited contributions. The music was composed by Harold Arlen and adapted by Herbert Stothart , with lyrics by Edgar "Yip" Harburg . The Wizard of Oz

4743-405: The Witch's guard saying "Hail to Dorothy! The Wicked Witch is dead!" and dissolved to a huge celebration by the citizens of the Emerald City, who sang the song as they accompanied Dorothy and her friends to the Wizard. Today, the film of this scene is also lost, and only a few stills survive, along with a few seconds of footage used on several reissue trailers. The entire audio track was preserved and

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4836-896: The Woods , Oz the Great and Powerful , Sam Raimi 's Spider Man trilogy , Paddington , Around the World in Eighty Days , Chitty Chitty Bang Bang , E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial , Robert Downey Jr 's Sherlock Holmes Saga , Fiddler on the Roof , My Fair Lady , Mary Poppins , Enchanted , the Mamma Mia! saga , Bridesmaids , Oliver! , Crocodile Dundee , King Kong , The Railway Children , The Sound of Music , Bedknobs & Broomsticks ,

4929-468: The battle of the bands and artists to make it to the Christmas No. 1 spot, recognised on the first Sunday before, or on, Christmas Day. Many of these songs are festive, while others are novelty songs that remain but briefly at the top of the chart. Gospel singer Cliff Richard is a fixture of Christmas charts, appearing nearly every year, and subsequently being mocked for doing so. In more recent years

5022-421: The beginning of November, instead of waiting till after Thanksgiving. The Wizard of Oz (1939 film) The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). An adaptation of L. Frank Baum 's 1900 children's fantasy novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming , who left production to take over the troubled Gone with

5115-404: The box office, it failed to make a profit for MGM until its 1949 re-release, earning only $ 3 million on a $ 2.7 million budget, making it MGM's most expensive production at the time. The 1956 television broadcast premiere of the film on CBS reintroduced the film to the public. According to the U.S. Library of Congress , it is the most seen film in movie history. In 1989, it was selected by

5208-624: The cast pointed out her breasts and made other lewd comments. Victor Fleming slapped her during the Cowardly Lion's introduction scene when Garland could not stop laughing at Lahr's performance. Once the scene was done, Fleming, reportedly ashamed of himself, ordered the crew to punch him in the face. Garland, however, kissed him instead. She was also forced to wear a cap on her teeth due to the fact some of her teeth were misaligned and also had to wear rubber discs on her nose to change its shape during filming. Claims have been made in memoirs that

5301-433: The castle. They free Dorothy, but are pursued and finally cornered by the Witch and her guards. The Witch taunts them and sets fire to the Scarecrow's arm. When Dorothy throws a bucket of water onto the Scarecrow, she inadvertently splashes the Witch, causing her to melt away. The Witch's guards gratefully give Dorothy her broomstick, and the four return to the Wizard, but he tells them to return tomorrow. When Toto pulls back

5394-611: The day after Christmas while NBC airs a Premier League soccer match that same day. Christmas specials based on classical music have also been well received. Among them, in addition to the previously mentioned Amahl and the Night Visitors , have been the many telecasts of the ballet The Nutcracker , and concert specials featuring musicians such as the Boston Pops , the Mormon Tabernacle Choir ,

5487-423: The daylight-bright lighting the early Technicolor process required, which could heat the set to over 100 °F (38 °C), which also had the side effect of bringing the production's electricity bill to a staggering estimate of $ 225,000 (equivalent to $ 4,928,469 in 2023). Bolger later said that the frightening nature of the costumes prevented most of the Oz principals from eating in the studio commissary; and

5580-477: The dialogue in that time and the setup to the songs and he also wrote the part where they give out the heart, the brains, and the nerve, because he was the final script editor. And he – there was eleven screenwriters on that – and he pulled the whole thing together, wrote his own lines and gave the thing a coherence and unity which made it a work of art. But he doesn't get credit for that. He gets lyrics by E. Y. Harburg, you see. But nevertheless, he put his influence on

5673-499: The entire day on Christmas Day, with only interruptions for Christmas messages from station personnel and personnel from the station's parent company. Others, like 96.5 KOIT in San Francisco do on both part of or all of Christmas Eve and the entire day Christmas Day. Frequently, the first song played on an "all-Christmas" station is the popular tune It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas . The UK music industry features

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5766-573: The film from Cukor's creative realignment, as producer LeRoy had already expressed his satisfaction with the film's new course. Production on the bulk of the Technicolor sequences was a long and exhausting process that ran for over six months, from October 1938 to March 1939. Most of the cast worked six days a week and had to arrive as early as 4 a.m. to be fitted with makeup and costumes, and often did not leave until 7 pm or later. Cumbersome makeup and costumes were made even more uncomfortable by

5859-588: The film's end credits, whenever a Kansas character has a counterpart in Oz, only the Kansas character is listed. For example, Frank Morgan is listed as playing Professor Marvel, but not the Wizard of Oz. The only Oz characters listed in the credits are Glinda and the Munchkins. Uncredited Production on the film began when Walt Disney 's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) showed that films adapted from popular children's stories and fairytales could be successful. In January 1938, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer bought

5952-401: The frequently drunk actors portraying the Munchkins propositioned and pinched her. Garland said that she was groped by Louis B. Mayer . Arnold Gillespie , the film's special effects director, employed several techniques. Developing the tornado scene was especially costly. Gillespie used muslin cloth to make the tornado flexible, after a previous attempt with rubber failed. He hung

6045-442: The guard relents due to Dorothy's grief, and the four are led into the Wizard's chambers. The Wizard appears as a giant ghostly head and tells them he will grant their wishes if they bring him the Wicked Witch's broomstick. During their quest, Dorothy and Toto are captured by flying monkeys and taken to the Wicked Witch, but the ruby slippers protect her and Toto manages to escape, leading the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion to

6138-401: The hero of the former, George Bailey , is a businessman who sacrificed his dreams to help his community. On Christmas Eve, a guardian angel finds him in despair and prevents him from committing suicide, by supernaturally showing him how much he meant to the world around him. A few films based on fictionalized versions of true stories have become Christmas specials themselves. The story behind

6231-643: The home of the Wizard of Oz , as he might know how to help her return home as the bubble makes her vanish and float away. Along the way, Dorothy meets the Scarecrow , who wants a brain; the Tin Man , who wants a heart; and the Cowardly Lion , who wants courage. The group reaches the Emerald City, despite the efforts of the Wicked Witch. Dorothy is initially denied an audience with the Wizard by his guard, but

6324-460: The late 1980s and Rankin-Bass began producing more and more Christmas specials. One notable television special usually seen at Christmas was Amahl and the Night Visitors , commissioned by NBC and telecast annually in the U.S. from 1951 to 1966. It was the first opera written especially for television. Composed by Gian-Carlo Menotti with a libretto in English by the composer, the opera told of

6417-524: The league's first game telecasts on over-the-air network television each season. NBC airs the Vatican Midnight Mass service at St. Peter's Basilica on Christmas Eve night (having broadcast the service annually since 1972, typically in place of the network's regular late-night programming), and usually airs an ice skating special (often on the weekend prior to or of the holiday). Additionally, CBS usually airs college basketball games

6510-466: The locked storm cellar, Dorothy takes cover in the farmhouse and is knocked unconscious as the tornado lifts the house and drops it intact onto an unknown land. Dorothy awakens and is greeted by a good witch named Glinda , who floats down in a bubble and explains that Dorothy has landed in Munchkinland in the Land of Oz , and that the Munchkins are celebrating because the house landed on the Wicked Witch of

6603-564: The magical elements. In his outline, the Scarecrow was a man so stupid that the only employment open to him was scaring crows from cornfields, and the Tin Woodman was a criminal so heartless that he was sentenced to be placed in a tin suit for eternity. This torture softened him into somebody gentler and kinder. Cannon's vision was similar to Larry Semon 's 1925 film adaptation , in which the magical elements are absent. Afterward, LeRoy hired screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz , who delivered

6696-476: The makeup with alcohol to prevent infection. Since the film has been released, credible stories have come out indicating that Judy Garland endured extensive abuse during and before filming from various parties involved. The studio went to extreme lengths to change her appearance, including binding her chest and giving her Benzedrine tablets to keep her weight down, along with uppers and downers that caused giggling fits. There were claims that various members of

6789-494: The narrative. While the season receives almost universal acknowledgement on British TV, some channels and programmes have tried "alternative" or "anti-Christmas" ideas. One example is Channel 4 which has run an Alternative Christmas message since 1993. In 2009, two movie channels renamed themselves for the season; Sky Movies Screen 2 became Sky Movies Christmas Channel and Movies 24 became Christmas 24 . From 2010, changes to Sky Movies line-up meant that Sky Movies Showcase

6882-432: The popularization of home video in the 1980s, their many editions are sold and re-sold every year during the holiday shopping season. Notable examples are the many versions of the ballet The Nutcracker , the 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life , and the similarly themed versions of Dickens' A Christmas Carol , in which the elderly miser Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by ghosts and learns the errors of his ways. By contrast,

6975-512: The rights to L. Frank Baum's popular novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from Samuel Goldwyn . Goldwyn had considered making the film as a vehicle for Eddie Cantor , who was under contract to Samuel Goldwyn Productions and whom Goldwyn wanted to cast as the Scarecrow. The script went through several writers and revisions. Mervyn LeRoy 's assistant, William H. Cannon , had submitted a brief four-page outline. Because recent fantasy films had not fared well, he recommended toning down or removing

7068-449: The role, but the studio refused to spare him during the long shooting schedule. Instead, another contract player, Frank Morgan , was cast on September 22. Veteran vaudeville performer Pat Walshe was best known for his performance as various monkeys in many theater productions and circus shows. He was cast as Nikko, the head Winged Monkey , on September 28, traveling to MGM studios on October 3. An extensive talent search produced over

7161-462: The same dire effect on Haley, he did at one point suffer an eye infection from it. To keep down on production costs, Haley only rerecorded "If I Only Had a Heart" and solo lines during "If I Only Had the Nerve" and the scrapped song "The Jitterbug"; as such, Ebsen's voice can still be heard in the remaining songs featuring the Tin Man in group vocals. LeRoy, after reviewing the footage and feeling Thorpe

7254-464: The scenes Garland and Hamilton had already completed had to be reshot. Cukor also suggested the studio cast Jack Haley, on loan from Fox, as the Tin Man. Cukor did not shoot any scenes for the film, but acted merely as a creative advisor to the troubled production. His prior commitment to direct Gone with the Wind required him to leave on November 3, 1938, when Victor Fleming assumed directorial responsibility. As director, Fleming chose not to shift

7347-430: The showing of Midnight Mass on the BBC . In addition, the monarch annually broadcasts a 10-minute speech on Christmas Day at 3 p.m. Many long-running British soap operas have Christmas specials, usually involving a dramatic storyline developed over several weeks which culminates at Christmas. Often these stories are tragic, involving a death, divorce, a dramatic revelation or similar event. Most Christmas specials in

7440-515: The songs written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg . Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf submitted a script and were brought on board to touch up the writing. They were asked to ensure that the story stayed true to Baum's book. However, producer Arthur Freed was unhappy with their work and reassigned it to Langley. During filming, Victor Fleming and John Lee Mahin revised the script further, adding and cutting some scenes. Haley and Lahr are also known to have written some of their dialogue for

7533-441: The studio misrepresented as an "allergic reaction") in the aluminum powder makeup he wore, though he did recall taking a breath one night without suffering any immediate effects. He was hospitalized in critical condition and was subsequently forced to leave the project. In a later interview (included on the 2005 DVD release of The Wizard of Oz ), he recalled that the studio heads appreciated the seriousness of his illness only after he

7626-406: The task of replicating the famous "wobbly-walk" of Stone's Scarecrow), he recorded all of his songs, went through all the rehearsals as the Tin Man and began filming with the rest of the cast. W. C. Fields was originally chosen for the title role of the Wizard (after Ed Wynn turned it down, considering the part "too small"), but the studio could not meet Fields' fee. Wallace Beery lobbied for

7719-567: The thing. The original producers thought that a 1939 audience was too sophisticated to accept Oz as a straight-ahead fantasy; therefore, it was reconceived as a lengthy, elaborate dream sequence . Because they perceived a need to attract a youthful audience by appealing to modern fads and styles, the score had featured a song called "The Jitterbug", and the script had featured a scene with a series of musical contests. A spoiled, selfish princess in Oz had outlawed all forms of music except classical music and operetta . The princess challenged Dorothy to

7812-499: The toxicity of Hamilton's copper-based makeup forced her to eat a liquid diet on shoot days. It took as many as twelve takes to have Toto run alongside the actors as they skipped down the Yellow Brick Road. All the Oz sequences were filmed in three-strip Technicolor , while the opening and closing credits , and the Kansas sequences, were filmed in black and white and colored in a sepia-tone process. Sepia-tone film

7905-478: The viewing rotation. The action film Die Hard is seen by some as a Christmas film, as it takes place on the holiday, and is often viewed during the season, although whether or not Die Hard should be considered a Christmas film has been debated due to its story not being about the holiday itself. Others in this category include Iron Man 3 , Lethal Weapon , Batman Returns , Eyes Wide Shut , Female Trouble , Shazam! and Doctor Zhivago . In

7998-593: Was also used in the scene where Aunt Em appears in the Wicked Witch's crystal ball. The film was not the first to use Technicolor, which was introduced in The Gulf Between (1917) as a two-color additive process, nor the first to use the three-color subtractive Technicolor Process 4 , which made its live-action debut during a sequence in The Cat and the Fiddle (1934). In Hamilton's exit from Munchkinland,

8091-499: Was cut from the final theatrical version. The film footage of the song has been lost, although silent home-film footage of rehearsals has survived. The audio recording of the song was preserved, and was included in the two-CD Rhino Records deluxe edition of the soundtrack, as well as on the film's VHS and DVD editions. A reference to "The Jitterbug" remains in the film: The Witch tells her flying monkeys that they should have no trouble apprehending Dorothy and her friends because "I've sent

8184-418: Was given to George Bassman , Murray Cutter , Ken Darby and Paul Marquardt for orchestral and vocal arrangements. (As usual, Roger Edens was also heavily involved as an unbilled musical associate to Freed.) The songs were recorded in the studio's scoring stage before filming. Several of the recordings were completed while Ebsen was still with the cast. Although he had to be dropped from the cast because of

8277-479: Was given to the use of color in the production, with the MGM production crew favoring some hues over others. It took the studio's art department almost a week to settle on the shade of yellow used for the Yellow Brick Road . Several actresses were reportedly considered for the part of Dorothy, including Shirley Temple from 20th Century Fox , at the time, the most prominent child star; Deanna Durbin ,

8370-437: Was hospitalized. Filming halted while a replacement for him was sought. No footage of Ebsen as the Tin Man has ever been released – only photos taken during filming and makeup tests. His replacement, Jack Haley , assumed Ebsen had been fired. The makeup used for Haley was quietly changed to an aluminum paste, with a layer of clown white greasepaint underneath, in order to protect his skin. Although it did not have

8463-406: Was made of leather-covered buckram , and the oil used to grease his joints was made from chocolate syrup . The Cowardly Lion's costume was made from real lion skin and fur. Due to the heavy makeup, Bert Lahr could only consume soup and milkshakes on break, which eventually made him sick. After a few months, Lahr put his foot down and requested normal meals along with makeup redos after lunch. For

8556-447: Was rushing the production, adversely affecting the actors' performances, had Thorpe replaced. During reorganization on the production, George Cukor temporarily took over under LeRoy's guidance. Initially, the studio had made Garland wear a blonde wig and heavy "baby-doll" makeup, and she played Dorothy in an exaggerated fashion. Cukor changed Garland's and Hamilton's makeup and costumes, and told Garland to "be herself". This meant that all

8649-603: Was used for Sky Movies Christmas Channel. On 16 November 2012, two music channels renamed themselves; Bliss became Blissmas and Greatest Hits TV was rebranded as Christmas Hits TV . In the United States, many television series (particularly those of a family-oriented nature) produce a Christmas episode, although seldom outside of a season's production block. Stand-alone Christmas specials are also popular, from newly created animated shorts and movies to repeats of those that were popular in previous years, such as Rudolph

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