The Wizard of Oz is a production.
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy comedy-drama film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , and the best-known and most commercially successful adaptation based on the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum . It was MGM 's most expensive production to date and did not completely recoup the studio 's investment nor turn a profit until theatrical re-releases starting in 1949 . It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming ( who left production to take over direction on the troubled Gone with the Wind production ) .