A quick question: Can you remember Dorothy's surname in The Wizard of Oz?
No? There we have it. When we can simply refer to 'Dorothy' we know we're talking about an iconic film. And with that comes iconic film memorabilia.
And when we talk about iconic film memorabilia it really doesn't get any better than Wizard of Oz film memorabilia.
Word's just reached us that a judge has just blocked the sale of the dress worn by Judy Garland amid an ownership row.
The iconic blue and white checked dress that had been lost for years, but rediscovered in a long lost shoe box by the Catholic University of America last year.
The University had hoped to sell the dress for $1.2m at a Bonhams Auction until the Judge intervened following a law suit filed by the niece of Father Gilbert Hawke who, it's claimed, had initially been given the dress as a personal gift from the actress Mercedes McCambridge.
Judy Garland wore several similar dresses during the filming of The Wizard of Oz, the one due to be auctioned being one that she wore in the scene in the castel with the Wicked Witch of the Wast.
Given Marilyn Monroe's 'Happy Birthday Mr President' dress sold for $4.8m back in November 2016, surely Dorothy's dress is worth more than $1.2m.
And where is the rest of the Wizard of Oz Film Memorabilia?
Well, it's generally acknowledged that the Tin Man costume and The Wicked Witch's dress have been lost and many of the other costumes were auctioned by MGM in the 1970's.
The Cowardly Lion head is displayed at the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles.
The Smithsonian Museum has the Scarecrow costume and a pair of Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers.
Image:Wikimedia
A pair of Dorothy's ruby slippers were sold by Christies in June 1988 for $165,000, a record at the time.
The same pair were sold again by Christies in May 2000 for $666,000.
There are believed to be four pairs of ruby slippers know to exist, another pair sold for £1.5m.
The final pair were owned by collector Michael Shaw who had purchased the shoes in 1970 for $2,000.
This pair was actually stolen from a Judy Garland museum in Grand Rapid, Minnesota in 2005, with Shaw's insurance company eventually paying an $800,000 insurance claim.
Our personal favourite is Bert Lahr's Cowarldy Lion costume that was found stored at the MGM lot in Hollywood and sold for $3m in 2014, again at Bonhams.
Image: Bonhams
Did you know the costume was made of real lion skin and fur?
In 2018 Profiles in History sold one of Dorothy's wigs for $17,920 against an estimate of $800-$1,200.
This was a little different as the wig was blonde.
It was worn by Judy Garland during the first week of shooting scenes for the movie until the producers decided against the blonde hair and changed Dorothy's appearance to the Dorothy we know today..
And most recently in March 2022 the oil can carried by the Tin Man sold for £190,000 at auction.
It was actually one of seven used by Tin Man actor Jack Haley during filming.
That means there's still six out there guys. Happy hunting.
p.s. Dorothy's surname was Gale, in case you didn't remember.