Original artwork, not a still
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!
— The Wizard of Oz ‧ 1939
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The Wizard's last, desperate bluff, and the original 'ignore the machinery' line. It is where Oz stops being a god and becomes a showman, and the film's point that the power you fear is mostly stagecraft. It is still how people call out a fraud: anyone hiding the real person pulling the levers gets told to pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for The Wizard of OzShow the scene
In The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939), Dorothy and her friends return to the Emerald City with the Wicked Witch's broom, only to be told by the Wizard to come back tomorrow. They protest, and Toto pulls back a curtain in the throne room, revealing the great Wizard to be an ordinary man working machinery. He tries to brush it off with the order to pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. Dorothy's friends confront him, and he admits he is a humbug before giving each of them a token for the quality they sought.
Sources (2)
- Wikipedia: The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)PlotReference checked
- Wikiquote: The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)The Wizard sectionReference checked
Context reviewed
