I am a grown-up. My childhood fears are all in the past – except one. I am still petrified by the flying monkeys in The Wizard of Oz.
I’m bringing this up because Helaine informs me the Wizard of Oz is on TV tonight (WPIX-11 from New York). Helaine was scarred by this movie as well.
When I was a kid, The Wizard of Oz ran yearly. CBS made a big deal of it – an event. I avoided it.
I guess sometime early on, I watched and saw monkeys flying from the castle’s tower and panicked. That one scene is one of the few childhood nightmares I remember. Rather than face my fears, I just stopped watching.
Helaine’s problem with the movie is different. She was petrified by the Wicked Witch of the West, aka Margaret Hamilton. As was the case with me, Helaine had nightmares featuring this “Wizard” character.
Later, Hamilton went on to be featured in a series of commercials as Cora, pitching Maxwell House Coffee.
When we moved to Connecticut, Margaret Hamilton lived here! Helaine says, if she had known, we’d still be in Buffalo. As it turns out, Margaret died a year later, though Helaine has suspicions otherwise.
It’s a pretty intense movie for little kids. We can’t be the only ones who still get the heebie jeebies.