Collection Summary
The Wizard of Oz scripts
1938-1976
12780
0.20 cubic ft. (2 boxes)
University of Wyoming. American Heritage Center.
English
Collection contains The Wizard of Oz screenplay drafts, outlines, and notes by Herman J. Mankiewicz, Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, and Edgar Allan Woolf.
History of The Wizard of Oz 1939 motion picture screenplay
The Wizard of Oz was a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). The movie was based on L. Frank Baum's children's fantasy novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The screenplay went through several writers and revisions before the final shooting. MGM hired many screenwriters including, Herman J. Mankiewicz, Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, and Edgar Allan Woolf to write separate versions of the story. They completed the final draft of the script on October 8, 1938, following numerous rewrites. It was a work of many creative minds, but Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, and Edgar Allan Woolf got the writing credits.
Scope and Content
Collection contains The Wizard of Oz screenplay drafts, outlines, and notes by Herman J. Mankiewicz, Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, and Edgar Allan Woolf.
There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes,
and the collection is open to the public.
Copyright Information
The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright,
property, and libel laws as they apply.
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There are no known other archival collections created at the date of processing.
This material was received from Cloud Hill Books from 2020-2024.
The collection was processed by Jamie J. Greene in May 2021 and updated by Brittany Heye in February 2026.
Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Collection Name, Collection
Number, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Access Terms
Langley, Noel, 1911-1980
Mankiewicz, Herman J. (Herman Jacob), 1897-1953
Ryerson, Florence
Woolf, Edgar Allan
Loew’s Incorporated
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Wizard of Oz films
Motion pictures, American
Musical films
Fantasy films
Wizard of Oz (Motion picture : 1939)
Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
Performing Arts
Container List
1The Wizard of Oz outline by Noel LangleyMarch 22, 1938
1Screenplay draft by Herman J. MankiewiczMarch 3, 1938
1Notes, screenplay draft edits, and outline by Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan WoolfJune 1938
2The Wiz screenplaySeptember 30, 1976