Contrary to what has been popularized in previous years, The Wizard of Oz was very popular with both audiences and critics and wasn’t a “flop.” But as with many other misconceptions about the film that have become legends over years, people today still think it bombed. If that were the case, it wouldn’t have been nominated for the Academy Award for “Best Picture” in a year that is now considered the greatest year in Hollywood. So many classics were released it’s almost embarrassing. The “flop” scenario makes for a great comeback story that’s appealing to the public and sells more copy, or in this day and age, gets more clicks.

When The Wizard of Oz was released in August 1939, Judy Garland stepped into a unique class of immortality. In hindsight it seems inevitable when looking back at her life and career that this would happen. Her star was basically on the ascent continuously. The proceeding years point to the inevitability of a milestone like The Wizard of Oz in Judy’s career. 

At the time of its release, the success of the film wasn’t a given. It was the first big budget live action musical fantasy film made in three-strip Technicolor. MGM was taking a big risk. But as has been pointed out, at the time MGM could afford a “prestige picture” every few years that even if it didn’t make a lot of money, it added prestige to the studio. That’s what The Wizard of Oz was. The fact that the film came out so well exceeded many people’s expectations. When it was completed, those in the know could see that it was special. People like uncredited co-producer Arthur Freed and certainly everyone in the music departments. Once the preview feedback came in the studio knew they had a unique film on their hands. After it went into general release, it was a hit. Judy and “Over the Rainbow” and the character of “Dorothy Gale” became forever linked. To this day, 100 years after Judy Garland’s birth, she is still known as “Dorothy.”

In most careers, the success of Oz would have been the pinnacle and enough for one year. But for Judy, 1939 brought her another huge hit, Babes in Arms. It made Judy and her co-star Mickey Rooney America’s top teens and spawned a new genre, the “Let’s put on a show!” youth musical. The genre is so ubiquitous that it’s often lampooned today. All any comedian or character has to say is “Hey kids, let’s find a barn and put on a show” and everyone gets the same image. The film was so popular that Mickey Rooney was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor of 1939. Oddly, Judy wasn’t nominated for Best Actress. No one would have beat Vivien Leigh’s performance in Gone With The Wind anyway. Judy was relegated to being awarded the “Juvenile Oscar” which was a miniature Oscar given out occasionally when a juvenile performance was so great it needed to be recognized. Years later she would jokingly call it her “Munchkin award.”

To celebrate her success, Judy was invited to put her hand and footprints in the forecourt of Grauman’s Chinese Theater. The event took place the night of the world premiere of Babes in Arms at the theater. It was another sign that Judy Garland had reached the top.

For most people, that would be enough. But Judy Garland wasn’t most people and MGM wasn’t your standard studio. As a contract player at MGM, she still had her duties to the studio. She wouldn’t begin work on her next film until early 1940, but she still had personal appearances, sittings for portraits and publicity photos, schooling, and her usual vocal training with Roger Edens. MGM kept her in the public consciousness by allowing her to be a weekly regular on the NBC Radio show, “The Pepsodent Show Starring Bob Hope.” She also recorded a few singles for Decca Records.

Born Jackie Jean Crouch in 1926 in Kensett, Arkansas, Holt began performing early—singing on Oklahoma City radio at age 6 and touring with Bob Wills’ Texas Playboys by age 10.

She adopted the stage name Georgia Holt and emerged in the 1950s as a model and bit‑part actress. Holt appeared uncredited in several films, including A Life of Her Own (1950) and Grounds for Marriage (1951), and was featured in TV shows like I Love Lucy (1956) and The Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet.

By the mid-1950s, she regularly worked as a club singer, leveraging her earlier musical roots. After the 1950s, she continued with various careers—including running an antiques store—and later took club singing gigs.

Even early in his career, Depp possessed a unique charisma that set him apart from other “flavor-of-the-month” heartthrobs. He had an intrinsic magnetism that made him engaging to watch, even when he reportedly appeared bored on screen in later seasons of 21 Jump Street (as he disliked the teen idol label).

While he was initially noticed for his looks, there were early indications that he was more than just a pretty face. Critics and audiences would later realize he could truly act, even though he took a while to shed the “teen heartthrob” status. He was seen as having a deeper, more artistic sensibility than his image suggested.

Interestingly, Depp himself was uncomfortable with the “teen idol” label and the “product” image that 21 Jump Street created. He wanted to pursue more challenging and interesting roles, which he would famously do in the 1990s with films like Cry-Baby and Edward Scissorhands, often deliberately choosing roles that “de-glamorized” him.