Stolen Judy Garland's Ruby Slippers From 'The Wizard Of Oz' Fetch $1 Million Reward

By Staff Reporter | Jul 15, 2015 08:06 AM EDT

TEXT SIZE    

Mention the name Dorothy Gale and you will automatically remember Judy Garland's ruby slippers in the 1939 movie adaptation of L. Frank Baum's "The Wizard of Oz."

Almost a century ago, the famed red sequinned footwear worn by actress Judy Garland, then 16 years old when she did the movie, were snatched from a Minnesota museum. The shoes were insured for $1 million; the culprit was never brought to justice and the shoes are still missing.

At present, an anonymous lover of the arts and an avid fan of the movie classic attempts to lure the shoes home by offering a large reward of $1 million for details and pertinent information on the valuable pair's whereabouts.

According to The Guardian, the beloved shoes, estimated to be worth $3 million, were designed by MGM's chief costume designer Adrian Greenberg in the 1930s. Silver was supposed to be its original color, but scriptwriter Noel Langley wanted it red to provide an impressive visual contrast to the black-and-white Kansas background when Dorothy was transported to the magical and colorful world of Oz.

John Kelsch, executive director of the museum, informed Reuters that the donor from Arizona came forward with the offer about two weeks ago after the museum celebrated the "Wizard of Oz" Festival.

"He heard of our efforts," Kelsch stated, adding that the stipulations for the reward should include the exact area of the slippers' whereabouts and the identity of the perpetrators.

Kelsch also added that the police have received large volumes of phone calls about the slippers' location since the bounty was announced, as per The Arizona Republic.

He detailed that some of the clues were "simply outrageous," but refused to go into specific details.

Judy Garland's ruby slippers from "The Wizard of Oz" have been searched for since they were stolen in 2005. Until now, one can only hope that the shoes that exemplified "the best of cinema storytelling, because they evoke memory and emotion," as described by costume designer Nadoolman Landis, be returned to their hometown in Minnesota.

pre post  |  next post
More Sections