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The Ruby Slippers

Dorothy Gale, played by 17-year-old Judy Garland, wore these slippers in the classic 1939 MGM film based on L. Fank Baum's novel. In Baum's stories, the magical shoes are silver; in the film, they were changed to ruby-red to capitalized on the richness of the Technicolor film process. Several pairs were made for the film. Garland wore this pair for dance scenes because their felt soles muffled her footsteps on the yellow brick road. The Wizard of Oz has endured as a classic American movie musical—and even grown in popularity over the years. Starting in 1956, television introduced the film to new generations who found pleasure in Baum's tale of a fantastic quest in a land of illusion.