European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 22, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Daily Magazine by Aljean Harmetz new York times returning anywhere after 46 years is returning to of that technicolor world of Ruby slippers and the wicked Witch of the West is a Booby trap of immense return to the Walt Disney movie that opened in the United states in must do More than com Pete with an old movie starring Judy since it was first shown on television in mems 1939 the wizard Foz has become an american return to of is neither a remake nor a the Dorothy in return to of is seven years younger than the Dorothy played by 16yearold Judy the the tin Woodman and the cowardly lion at peripheral the wizard does not there Are no and return to of is not a return to of takes much of its plot from Frank Baums third ozma and Many of its charac ters from his the land of can Titok the mechanical Jack pumpkin Bill Ina the talking and the evil Granite Nome King be welcomed into the imaginations of Chil Dren and adults who have been saturated with mems brighter fantasy Walter director and coauthor of return to Calls his movie dark at the Emerald City has been destroyed and dorothys companions Are puppets and return to of stars Nicol Williamson As the Nome King Jean who created the role of the parlor maid Rose in As the wicked Prin Cess Mombi Piper Laurie As auntie pm and Fairuz who turned 10 while making the As Dor balk and her 41year old director both seem to really believe in the existence of at first a phlegmatic Man with a drooping Mustache and steel rimmed seems the wrong Choice for director of a he could easily play dorothys Uncle that prematurely aged Farmer in faded he lives at Black Berry a farmhouse built in 1875 in a nearly inaccessible town 500 Miles North of los his meticulous Ness brought him Academy award nominations for sound editing for Francis Coppola conversation in 1974 and apocalypse now in and nominations for film editing for Julia in 1977 and for apocalypse return to of is his directing the film was budgeted at million and completed for the movie was shut Down twice and its director and producer fired in other things went much More smoothly than they did in the wizard of of had three directors and 10 screen buddy Ebsen was poisoned by his makeup and had to relinquish his role of tin Woodman to Jack Margaret Hamilton As the wicked Witch was severely and the budget climbed to an astronomical the Story of return to of began in 1980 when Tom then head of production at was looking for new and Tom had worked his Way Down to says asked what movie he might be interested in Murch responded the other of Murches As a Canadian missionary daughter growing up in had confused of with the Canada she had never and later transferred that wonder to her Disney owned rights to All 14 of the of books written by Baum except the first the wonderful wizard of published in and the books were beginning to go into Public do said speaking it seemed like a Good idea to use i told Walter to go ahead even though Hes not the most demonstrative person in the when he talked about the of he came to Murch and his Gill chose their visual tone from John the Illustrator of All the books except the but they could not free themselves completely from the images of the 1939 Baums magical Silver shoes became Ruby slippers in the Mem and Ruby slippers they one of the villains a Man with wheels for hands and feet sounds like Margaret Hamiltons wicked the survivor of a Talent Hunt that auditioned girls in eight has eyes and bearing reminiscent of when Murch gave Disney his first draft screenplay in the Spring on the studio was Murch says his Frame was considered too weird and problems with the scary scenes in Kansas continued through pre views of the almost finished film three years Murch got his Friend Gary producer of Star hired As sets and robot controlled characters were in november the president of production who had replaced shut the movie Down because it was Over there was a the movie would be made on a firm budget of Kurtz was made executive producer and encouraged to use his expertise with merchandising and foreign he was replaced As producer by Paul Paul did an effective but Hes very and he rubbed Walter the wrong said with an immensely complicated movie to direct and without the psychological support of his Murch Floun forty Days into he was a week behind Berger went to Mas Lansky told him that Murch had to be within an Berger was being bombarded by agents for other at he was Awak ended by a Call from George who was in who had worked with Murch since their Days at the University of Southern California film school said youre making a Murch recalled Georges main card was to Tell Berger that whoever he the picture would be in worse he would have to shut Down for six weeks to get another and the director would want to redo the script and Walt Disney pictures the cowardly the tin Dorothy Fairuz Bill Ina the talking Jack the scarecrow and the regal robot Tik july 1985 the stars and stripes Page 13