Actors bring different techniques, abilities, and styles to their roles. Actors may be categorized into different acting styles. The main acting styles are impersonators, interpreters, personality, wild card, and character acting (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014). Some of the actors in The Wizard of Oz (LeRoy & Fleming, 1939) can be classified by these different types.
Ray Bolger played the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz (LeRoy & Fleming, 1939). In this film, he was playing as a character actor. He brought the characters of Scarecrow and Hunk (his role in Kansas in the film) to life. He leveraged his skills as an actor and experience in singing and dancing to support the stylized portrayal of the role. Ray Bolger appeared to focus on inhabiting the character rather than reinterpreting the character to reflect his own personality. His dancing experience was leveraged in the “If I Only Had a Brain” musical number in the film. The combination of fantasy, costumes, and singing allows for both exaggerated and stylized acting performances in many of the musical numbers in this film. Outside of this film, he was a personality appearing in multiple Broadway shows, movies and television programs.
The Wizard of Oz (LeRoy & Fleming, 1939) video clip by Movieclips (2011).
Jack Haley played the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz (LeRoy & Fleming, 1939). He brought his experience in acting, singing, and dancing in multiple screen musicals to portraying the characters of Tin Man and Hickory (his role in Kansas in the film). “At the time it was just one more movie role for Haley, and an especially arduous one because of the discomfort of his costume and make-up” (Stephenson, 2010, para. 8). His singing experience was leveraged in the “If I Only Had a Heart” musical number in the film. Prior to The Wizard of Oz, “His comedy persona was by now established: he played a wide-eyed, somewhat shy and ingenuous fellow, what he called a ‘Milquetoast’ character” (Stephenson, 2010, para. 4). The character of the Tin Man presents similar attributes. The role could have been adapted by the writers and director to play to Jack Haley’s established persona. This adaptation creates the combination of a personality actor using a character acting style.
The Wizard of Oz (LeRoy & Fleming, 1939) video clip by WB Movies (2010).
Judy Garland played the role of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (LeRoy & Fleming, 1939). She leveraged her acting and singing experience to present a realistic portrayal of Dorothy. Prior to the role, she was already an established singer and movie star. “A star is a distinctive screen persona who is well known and popular with the moviegoing public, often to the point that some avid movie fans become deeply curious about the actor’s private life” (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014, section 5.5, para. 6). The role of Dorothy appeared to be aligned with the personality of Judy Garland. The studio worked to manage the obsession with Judy Garland. “MGM seemed determined to maintain an image of Judy Garland at first as a little girl and then as an immature woman, when she was long past adolescence” (Card, 2010, para. 7). She had another great performance in the musical A Star Is Born (Luft & Cukor, 1954). Her Carnegie Hall concert performance in 1961 was “…described as the greatest night in show business history” (Card, 2010, para. 13). Her fans continued to follow both her public and private life. She continued to be popular as a singer and star for the remainder of her career.
Judy Garland’s immense popularity demonstrates the difficulty associated with an established personality and star moving into other acting categories. I believe an actor has the ability to determine their individual acting style. The wild card style reflects those actors that have the ability to move between the different styles (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014). Some actors can choose to move between styles to best portray individual roles while other actors will favor a particular style. If an actor becomes popular some of that flexibility may be lost. An actor may be selected due to a past performance and be expected to use a similar style. If an actor becomes famous, their past acting styles can influence the expectations of the studio, audience, film crew, and critics. Popularity, expectations, and positive reinforcement can lock an actor into particular acting styles.
References
Card, J. D. (2010). Judy Garland. American National Biography (From Oxford University Press).
Luft, S. (Producer), & Cukor, G. (Director). (1954). A star is born [Motion picture]. USA: Warner Bros.
Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2014). Film: From watching to seeing (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
LeRoy, M. (Producer), & Fleming, V. (Director). (1939). The wizard of Oz [Motion picture]. USA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).
Movieclips. (2011, May 26). If I only had a brain – The wizard of Oz (4/8) movie clip (1939) HD [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nauLgZISozs
Stephenson, W. (2010). Jack Haley. American National Biography (From Oxford University Press).
WB Movies. (2010, April 19). Heartless – The wizard of Oz [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF0zKH7ksPk
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