THE WIZARD OF OZ / LE MAGICIEN D' OZ (1939) POSTER, FRENCH

Few films have enjoyed such enduring popularity as the 1939 adaptation of L. Frank Baum's children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Judy Garland leads a delightful kooky cast of characters through a colourful fantasy landscape, occasionally waylaid by a scheming witch or a cheery musical interlude. After being largely overlooked during her first two years at MGM, Garland established herself as a talented young actress in her performance in Oz. Her childlike features, along with charm and energy that she brought to the role of Dorothy, made her an instant hit with children and adults alike. A particularly interesting feature of the film is its close attention to colour. Technicolor had recently developed the first three-colour camera, making available a full range of colours as opposed to the red-green hues of earlier techniques. Hollywood was cautious about adopting the new technology, apart from the added expense, it was necessary to film with very bright lights, which made on-set temperatures very uncomfortable, but it broadened the creative opportunities open to the directors.

Boris Grinsson was a freelance artist, specialising in film poster art. His career spanned forty years (from the 1930's to the 1970's), and he produced a vast body of work in a variety of genres, including This Gun for Hire (1942), Gilda (1946), The Lady from Shanghai (1948) and From Russia with Love (1963), together with poster for The Wizard of Oz, which is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year. Owing to World War II this film did not get released in France until 1946.