Where Did ‘Wizard of Oz’ Actually Premiere in the Summer of 1939?

Based on the novel by L. Frank Baum, Wizard of Oz is the story of Dorothy (Judy Garland), a sweet Kansas girl who is swept by a tornado to a magical land of colorful characters and exciting adventures. This American film classic also stars Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Billie Burke, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr and Margaret Hamilton and was released in the summer of 1939 — but where?

There has been much speculation on the actual premiere date and city, so we reached out to entertainment journalist and Oz historian Ryan Jay. “The Wizard of Oz officially premiered in Hollywood on August 15, 1939, at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre,” Jay said. “The film opened in wide release on August 25; however, as is often the case with major motion pictures, there are test, promotional, press and other types of screenings prior to the wide release.”

Based on published accounts, vetted from MGM’s The Wizard of Oz legal files, Jay shared a chronological list of the film’s various showings, up to the film’s release:

June: in San Bernardino, Pomona, and San Luis Obispo, CA: sneak previews, which resulted in editing the film from 2 hours to approximately one hour and forty minutes runtime

Aug. 9, NY & LA: Private press showings

Aug. 11: Cape Cod, MA, Kenosha & Racine, WI

Aug. 12, Oconomowoc, WI: Enterprise newspaper (local Oconomowoc), published an ad for the “World Premiere” at Strand Theatre (the theatre’s owners, Harley and Ruth Huebner, were reportedly told by the local film distributor at the time that theirs was the first engagement of the movie), it held a 5 day run through August 16.

Aug. 12 – 14: Opened in at least 9 other cities, including Augusta, ME

Aug. 15, Hollywood: Official premiere in Hollywood at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre

Aug. 17, NYC: East Coast premiere at Capitol Theatre

Aug. 17: Spirit Lake, IA

Aug. 25, 1939: The Wizard of Oz opens nationwide

Everett Collection

This was all very interesting to us, as we are located in Wisconsin and always thought that Oconomowoc was the actual premiere location. But, alas; were we wrong?

“All of this to say, the technical premiere was Aug 15, 1939; however, for all of the various showings prior to then, Oconomowoc’s Strand Theatre did showcase the film for 5 days, beginning on Aug 12, and the city’s paper Oconomowoc Enterprise did promote it as the world premiere.”

Why Oconomowoc, of all places? A very prosperous city located about 45 minutes outside of Milwaukee, WI, it was likely chosen for its midwestern charm, to gauge typical American family reactions ahead of the wide release.

Public Domain

“Herbert Stothart, Oscar-winning composer of the film’s score (pictured above), had a family summer home at Okauchee Lake, on the northeast border of Oconomowoc,” Jay said. “His niece, Jean Dannenfelser, has said her uncle’s connection to Okauchee Lake inspired the local premiere.”

Now this would explain why a small midwestern town that only had a population between 4,000-4,500 at the time (it now boasts about 20,00) would have such a big movie production premiere. The Oconomowoc’s Strand Theatre is still very proud of the fact that they were able to hold such a significant event and celebrate every year.

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