One of the subjects we discussed, last week, was that of YouTube--which is, I think, one of the great developments in
modern media. The site, of course,
includes (among its other features) video clips from old TV shows (or entire
videos of old shows); audio from old radio programs; both brief and lengthy scenes from movies (as well as entire movies); videos of current news events and news-related broadcasts; archival/history-related
films, newscasts and newsreels; videos from sports; and a vast amount of recorded
music (and music performances--from radio, TV, film, and concerts). There is also, of course, a great deal of junk
on YouTube--including a lot of offensive junk--yet the site's virtues
are substantial.
During the WBZ program, I mentioned having seen The Wizard of Oz on TV the previous week--and that I subsequently found, on YouTube, one of my favorite
scenes from the film; I wanted to watch it again (despite having just watched
it, that night--and having seen it many other times, through the years). It was the famous scene, near the film's end, in
which Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion (Judy Garland,
Jack Haley, Ray Bolger, and Bert Lahr) meet with the Wizard (Frank Morgan). The part of the scene featuring Jack Haley and
Frank Morgan is, I think, one of the most beautiful in the film.
As many will recall, the Wizard tells the Tin Man:
"And remember, my sentimental friend, that a heart is
not judged by how much you love, but by
how much you are loved by others."
Here is a link to the scene:
I also mentioned, during the radio show, another notable scene
from the movie, in which Dorothy and the Scarecrow first encounter the Tin
Man. In the scene, memorably, the Tin Man tells
them: "The tinsmith
forgot to give me a heart."
Jack Haley was from the Boston area, and his pronunciation
of the word "heart" has a distinct Boston flavor to it. (It sounds like
"haht.")
In response, Ray Bolger (also from the Boston area) and Judy
Garland appear (at least to me) to make an inside joke, of sorts, about Haley's
pronunciation. They say, to the Tin Man, "No haht?" (It sounds as if they are both pronouncing it
this way--though it is conceivably just Bolger; his voice, at this moment, seems a
little louder than Garland's, and as a consequence slightly overshadows her words.)
The above exchange begins at
approximately 2:05, in the link below (it is followed by Haley's performance
of "If I Only Had a Heart"):
I mentioned, to Morgan, Haley's pronunciation of "heart"--and in particular, the funny response by Ray Bolger and Judy Garland. Yet in thinking about it, I believe that I was, perhaps, a bit too definitive about the latter subject. While I do believe that what I suggested was likely accurate--that this was a Boston/New England-related "inside joke"--I nonetheless wish my remarks had been expressed with a little hedging. I mean--I could be wrong about it. :)
