Saturday, April 7, 2012

Glinda; Good Witch of Where?

Good Witch or not, Glinda was the first person Dorothy met in Oz after her deadly arrival. We all know her from the 1939 MGM movie, Wizard of Oz under somewhat false pretenses as the Good Witch of the North.

(I see Margarette Pellegrini in the background)

In reality, She first appeared in L. Frank Baum's first book; The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) as Glinda: Good Witch of the South and Ruler of the Quadling Country, which encompasses the southern lands of Oz. In the movie, She was made the Good Witch of the North in order to make it snow, which is what wakens Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion... and Toto too!
It certainly was easier than trying to render the Queen of the Field Mice and Her subjects saving the Cowardly Lion from the deadly scent of the poppies, especially given the technology of 1939 Hollywood.

Here, we get a look at Billie Burke, the actress who played Glinda so well.


She looks pretty hot for a witch, although, by her own admission "only bad witches are ugly."

Here is our last look at Glinda from the book, Glinda of Oz (1920), which was published following L. Frank Baum's death the year before. This was the final chapter of the Royal Historian's work.


Earlier in Her career as Good Witch of the South, we find Glinda flying 1st Class with the Mist Maidens.


As Time marched onward, Glinda evolved, as all Oz folks do when our perceptions evolve. Be it in cartoons, 





or in the world of the Muppets


or even the Big Apple of The Wiz.


I did run across an image of Ozzy Osborne's daughter, Kelly Osborne, dressed up as Glinda; Good Witch of the South and Ruler of the Quadling Country.


This continues the trend of what I call the Adultification of Oz; although in this instance, I can live with it. 

James C. Wallace II
Royal Liaison to Princess Ozma

4 comments:

  1. That's Ozma flying with the Mist Maidens, not Glinda.

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    Replies
    1. I stand corrected, though at the time, my research suggested it was Glinda.

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  2. I find Glinda's evolution across different mediums fascinating.

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