Originally published in The Baum Bugle, vol. 63, no. 2 (Autumn 2019), pgs. 45–46
Citations
Chicago 17th ed.:
Campbell, Bill. Review of The Ruby Slippers of Oz: Thirty Years Later, by Rhys Thomas, Baum Bugle 63, no. 2 (2019): 45–46.
MLA 9th ed.:
Campbell, Bill. Review of The Ruby Slippers of Oz: Thirty Years Later, The Baum Bugle, by Rhys Thomas, vol. 63, no. 2, 2019, pp. 45–46.
(Note: typographical errors have been left in place to accurately reflect the printed version.)
THE RUBY SLIPPERS OF OZ: THIRTY YEARS LATER by Rhys Thomas. RCT Publications, 2018. 330 pages. Paperback, $23.95. ISBN: 9780359223503.
The ruby slippers are probably the most recognizable shoes in the world, but the story of their history is less well known, and well worth reading. In 1989, when the MGM film The Wizard of Oz turned 50 years old, author Rhys Thomas published his findings on the backstory of the famous footwear. In 2018, in time for the 80th anniversary of the movie, the author has released an updated version of the tale.
While remaining focused on the ruby slippers, the book also provides a fascinating glimpse at the moment when the collecting of Hollywood memorabilia moved from a small group of loyal fans to the mainstream phenomenon that it is today. The 1970 MGM auction was a watershed moment, both in preserving and destroying the relics of Hollywood. The story of the slippers begins with Kent Warner, the now infamous costumer who found the original shoes in storage while preparing for the auction. But immediately, questions arise. How many pairs of shoes were found? What became of the extra pairs? Were any destroyed in order to preserve the fiction of there being only one pair to auction? Unfortunately, Warner died in 1984, a victim of the burgeoning AIDS crisis, and took the answers to these questions with him. However, author Thomas was able to find and interview a variety of Warner’s friends and acquaintances, all of whom provided bits and pieces of the story. The complete truth may never be known, but it will remain an intriguing mystery.
Today, with easy internet access to information concerning the various pairs of shoes, it’s difficult to imagine what a daunting task Thomas faced. Kent Warner’s original acquisition of the multiple sets of shoes was questionable at best; essentially, they were liberated—or stolen—from a situation in which they would most likely have been destroyed. Consequently, they were shrouded in mystery from the start. Collectors can be notoriously private about what they own, particularly if there is a whiff of uncertainty concerning legal ownership, making it difficult to get details on the when and how of acquisition. The exception to this was Roberta Bauman, who won a pair of the shoes in a contest in 1940; she, at least, had no qualms about ownership. Rumors of celebrity shoe owners like Liza Minnelli, Sammy Davis Jr., and Debbie Reynolds all required investigation and verification. In most cases, leads led to dead ends.
Throughout the book, Thomas looks at how the shoes affected their owners, from the enjoyment Roberta Bauman found in showing her shoes to school groups to the more surreptitious pleasure Kent Warner derived from displaying the finest pair in his home. An argument is made for the existence of a curse on that particular pair, known as the Witch’s Shoes, as many who have touched them have passed away prematurely. In any event, ownership of a pair of ruby slippers has been a highlight and point of pride for the people close to them.
The prologue and final chapter contain the primary updates to the story, providing details of further shoe auctions and information on the lives (and a number of deaths) of the original sources. False claims of original shoes as well as the role played by a new generation of slipper fans and replicators provide proof of the ongoing fascination with the slippers. The 2005 theft of one pair of original ruby slippers from the Judy Garland Museum in Minnesota is also discussed—along with the subsequent recovery of the shoes thirteen years later.
In an interesting aside, the author admits that his own interest in The Wizard of Oz was sparked when Henry Littlefield’s “Parable on Populism,” presenting Oz as a political allegory, was taught in Thomas’s 1975 college history course. This theory, which has so often been erroneously presented as fact, led Thomas to seek out the original scripts for the movie while writing a story on the dissolution of the MGM script library. This, in turn, led to his research on the slippers. More proof that the road to Oz can take many forms!
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