Ray Bolger makes loose-limbed comedy feel friendly. His Scarecrow is funny company, and we rate the way he puts an eccentric dancer's skill at the service of a character who is pleased to have companions.
Fi1m perspective
The Scarecrow's loose limbs are funny, but Bolger does not let the dancing become his only quality. In The Wizard of Oz (1939), he gives the character an easy amiability that makes the physical comedy feel unforced. We warmed to him because he seems so pleased to belong to the travelling group. That pleasure gives us a reason to care about him beyond waiting for the next bit of comic business.
His dance style combined comedy, improvisation and loose-limbed movement, with gestures made to serve the character. His Broadway breakthrough, On Your Toes (1936), included George Balanchine's “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue” ballet, and he signed with MGM that year. That background matters when watching Oz: we can appreciate the comic timing without treating the performance as a succession of clever steps. There is considerable control in making movement look this loose.
Victor Fleming's film also gives him partners who make the friendliness credible. Jack Haley's gentle Tin Man complements Bolger, while Judy Garland listens to both with enough interest to make the friendship count. Bolger's pleasure in being part of that group is something we value as much as the physical dexterity. The film's comic business does occasionally go on too long, particularly around Bert Lahr's broader, fussier Cowardly Lion, but Bolger helps keep the journey from becoming a string of separate turns.
His subsequent screen work included Chris Maule in The Harvey Girls (1946) and the villain Barnaby in Babes in Toyland (1961). Between those films, he returned to Broadway for Where's Charley? (1948), bringing song, speech, gesture and dance together in a comic performance. Hollywood's routine material did not always use those abilities fully, so the filmography is an imperfect guide to what he could do. For a first encounter, choose Oz and give the comic footwork as much attention as the songs.
Biography
Ray Bolger (born Raymond Wallace Bolger) was an American actor, dancer and singer. He began his career in vaudeville as half of the act Sanford and Bolger, and appeared in numerous Broadway shows. He made his film debut in The Great Ziegfeld (1936) and was under contract with MGM.
Bolger is best known for his performance as the Scarecrow (and his Kansas counterpart Hunk) in The Wizard of Oz (1939). He had originally been cast as the Tin Man but swapped roles. His other notable film roles include appearances in Babes in Toyland (1961) and Annie (1982). On stage he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for Where's Charley? (1948).
Bolger hosted his own television series, Where's Raymond? (later The Ray Bolger Show), in the 1950s and made guest appearances on various programmes. He died in Los Angeles in 1987.
