Newspaper Page Text
— Op.-Ed. Page
By Millard Grimes
Hello Yellow Brick Road
“Somewhere over the
rainbow ... there’s a land
where the dreams that
you dare to dream really
do come true...”
That land “over the
rainbow” is still there,
you know, hidden away in
40 delightful books
published during the first
half of this century.
The land, of course, is
Oz, the most complex and
entertaining fantasy land
ever devised by
American authors, and
perhaps by any authors.
Most people know Oz
only through the 1939
movie, “The Wizard of
Oz,” with Judy Garland
as Dorothy, singing about
a place “where dreams
really do come true.”
Oddly, the release of the
movie and its subsequent
'For Outstanding Coverage*
Poole Thanks HHJ
On Behalf Os Hospital
Dear Mr. Branch*:
On behalf of the Perry-
Houston County Hospital
I wish to express our
sincere appreciation for
the outstanding news
coverage the Houston
Home Journal provides
for the Perry Hospital.
There are many people
who donate money, give
medical equipment, and
provide free services for
our hospital. These
generous acts would go
unnoticed by many
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I •
MflSfWll
|| BY ROCK DIXON |j
In this corner we have
“Star Trek-The Movie”,
“Kramer vs Kramer’’
and “The Black Hole”. In
the opposite corner we
have “The Prize
Fighter”. “The Prize
Fighter” is definitely a
light weight going up
against some heavy
competition. It won’t
emerge the Champion but
it might hang in there for
a few rounds.
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popularity and numerous
repeats on television
coincided with the decline
of interest and attention
in Oz itself and the 39
other books featuring its
infinite variety of
characters and unusual
places.
A generation of chidren
has now grown up in
America who are un
familiar with Oz books
and that’s a shame
because the Oz books
were an adventure that
introduced earlier
generations to the ex
citement of reading and
in many families were as
commonplace under the
Christmas tree as fruit
and nuts (which also
aren’t under many trees
these years).
the Houston Home
Journal’s efforts in
providing complete news
coverage and recognition
for these deserving
people.
Another area of con
cern is the facilities and
various services provided
at the Perry-Houston
County Hospital. The
Houston Home Journal is
and has always provided
comprehensive coverage
of these items of interest.
So, as we close out 1979
and eagerly look forward
“The Prize Fighter”
stars Tim Conway and
Don Knotts as a retired
fighter and his trainer.
Bags (Conway) and
Shake (Knotts) are duped
into thinking they have a
chance at the Cham
pionship title. In reality
they are being used by
the mob to steal “Pops”
Rogers (David Wayne)
gym away from him. This
light little plot is all the
The first Oz book, “The
Wonderful Wizard of Oz,”
on which the movie was
based, was published in
1900, and even in my
childhood days (late 30s
and early 40s) Oz books
were not easy to find on
store racks or library
shelves. My introduction
to Oz came through
to 1980, let me say for all
the staff at the Perry-
Houston County Hospital,
we wish the Houston
Home Journal a most
successful and
prosperous new year.
Also, once again, I would
like to say thank you for
all the assistance the
Houston Home Journal
has been to the Perry
Hospital.
Very sincerely,
Max E. Poole
Administrator
movie is about but
Conway and Knotts play
it for all it is worth.
Conway is as good as he
has ever been as the
befuddled Bags. My only
problem with that is a
little Conway goes a long
way and two hours of his
routines makes for too
much. Knotts is a little
better in spreading
himself better over the
life of the film.
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1979
condensed versions of the
earliest Frank Baum
books. This small book
series sold for 10 cents
each and were designed
to bring Oz to the
audience which didn’t
have the $1.50 needed to
buy the impressively
illustrated, full-size
volumes.
White’s Book Store was
the only place in
Columbus for many years
that carried the full-size
Oz volumes and after
World War II the Oz
bocks disappeared from
the shelves of even the
book stores in larger
cities.
But finally, in this
Christmas season of 1979,
the Oz books are back in
print, and in a form which
could give them an
audience much larger
than they ever enjoyed
previously.
Del Rey Books, a
division of Ballantine,
has published seven of
the early Oz books in
paperback form, with
many of the original
illustrations, which
added so much to the
series.
I spotted my old
favorites on a curb
market rack the other
day, tucked among the
latest sex sagas and
Gothic romances, in
hoping to catch a
favorable eye.
The publisher, Lester
del Ray, a noted science
fiction author, explained
why the series is being
revived. “There has
never been a magical
kingdom quite like Oz.
The enormous explosion
of all types of fantasy in
today’s market makes us
feel that now is the time
for a brilliantly suc
cessful Oz revival.
The supporting cast is
better than the stars in
some instances. Robin
Clarke portrays the
mobster "Mike” and he is
perfect. You can get a
hint of Marlon Brando’s
"Godfather” in his raspy
voice. Cisser Cameron is
his moll “Polly” and
again it is perfect casting
with her blonde good
looks and vacant stare.
Michael LaGuardia is
properly menacing as the
current Champ ‘‘The
Butcher”.
Mary Ellen O’Neill is
very good as "Mike’s”
insane mother, but the
part as written causes the
viewer to be em
barrassed by her
problems rather than
entertained. In this
character the mental
problems are cause for
pity rather than humor.
The entire movie veers
between "Rocky” and an
old Abbott and Costello
movie. The latter being
the most predominant. If
the series of movies
planned for Knotts and
Conway materializes
they could very well be
the Abbott and Costello of
the eighties.
The makers of the
movie found it necessary
to insert one four letter
word which caused the
“PG” rating. Other than
this there is nothing to
offend small children.
They may get a little
tired at the start while the
plot is getting explained
but the sight gags of the
two stars should en
tertain them.
“The Prize Fighter”
will not win any prizes
but it is a fighter. It wins
you over to its side
against strong odds
against it. You have to be
willing to endure a slow
first half to get to the fun
and excitement of the last
half. Your total en
joyment will depend on
how amusing you think
Knotts and Conway are.
The more you like them
the better you will like the
film.
Del Rey books is giving
a new generation and the
generation that missed
out on Oz during the past
30 years a chance to find
that land “over the
rainbow,” where not only
dreams come true but the
imagination is freed from
the crippling pseudo
realism of so much recent
children’s fare.
Oz is not a fairyland, it
is a fantasy land, and
some of the finest fantasy
ever written is contained
in the 40 books about Oz.
Although written mainly
for ages 6 to 15, the Oz
books can be enjoyed by
any age group, and
especially by older
readers who have been
enchanted by the Lord of
the Rings series, the
Conan fantasies and
Mary Stewart’s King
Arthur novels.
The 32 Oz books by L.
Frank Baum, its creator,
and Ruth Plumley
Thompson, the brilliant
successor who outshone
Baum himself as a story
teller, were published
from 1900 to 1939, and it is
from these that Del Rey
is drawing the paper
backs which are now on
the stands or will be in
years to come.
Something valuable
was lost when Oz
disappeared from the (
American scene. Rock
singer Elton John’s song,
"Goodbye Yellow Brick
Road,” which referred to
the famed Yellow Brick
Road that runs through
Oz, hinted at a loss of
innocence. But the magic
of Oz was more than that.
As Baum and Thomp
son would have written,
“that’s a story for
another year,” or in this
case for next week’s
column.
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