What colour were Dorothy's shoes?

Question

I've just seen another question on here, asking how to find/make some red shoes for someone who is playing Dorothy in a stage production of 'The Wizard of Oz'.

But I've got the strangest feeling that when I was younger I read the book by Frank L Baum, that the film is based on, and that the slippers were actually GOLD, but that the producers of the film changed them to RED because it was one of the first films in 'Glorious Technicolour'?

Could anyone tell me if I'm actually going mad, or is this correct?

Many thanks to all you film/novel buffs out there.

C x*x

Answer 1

they were red when i watched it

Answer 2

they weren't originally red but i can't remember what colout they were... gold or silver anyway...  

Answer 3

I'm not sure, but take a look at the website below. It tells everything about the shoes.

Answer 4

no they are glittery red

Answer 5

Some scholars have theorized that the images and characters used by Baum and Denslow closely resembled political images that were well known in the 1890s, specifically the debate of the day regarding monetary policy: the "Yellow Brick Road" represents the gold standard, the silver slippers represent the sixteen to one silver ratio (dancing down the road).  

Answer 6

they are red with sparkless

Answer 7

If I remember correctly they were red but I could be mistaken.

Answer 8

in the book, they are silver.. in the movie, they are red

Answer 9

I don't know, since I didn't read the book.  However, I know that the professors coat in the movie was actually once owned and worn by Frank L Baum, and this was found when the actor was trying on coats they had picked up for the prop department.

Answer 10

They were silver.  The ruby slippers were silver (like in the book) until MGM chief Louis B. Mayer realized that the Technicolor production would benefit from the slippers being colored.

Answer 11

red and they  sparkled

Answer 12

http://www.scene-stealers.com/wp-content...

glittery red :D

Answer 13

in the book they were silver and tinkled like bells when she walked

Answer 14

Silver.

Answer 15

I haven't rread the book but i think that the color of the shoes was probably red in the bok2.

Answer 16

Haha, well obviously you know what you're talking about. You're not going mad. But in the books, Dorothy's shoes were silver.  =)

Answer 17

they were red .hence dorothy,s ruby slippers.ruby as in ruby red.

Answer 18

In the book, the slippers were silver;  they were changed to ruby red for the movie

http://www.halcyon.com/piglet/books8-Zia...

"The house lands on and kills the Wicked Witch of the East, who had been wearing a magic pair of silver shoes (made ruby slippers in the Technicolor film, one of the many significant differences between Baum's and Hollywood's vision of Oz). Dorothy takes the silver shoes herself (in another change made by the film, which has the good witch assign the slippers to Dorothy). The good witch tells Dorothy that the Wizard of Oz might help her get home"

Answer 19

I thought they were silver in the book..but you're right. The red slippers were just used for the movie.

Answer 20

i only remember the red. I would do red because more people think of the shoes as red.

Answer 21

never read the book so can't help there, but in film they were red

Answer 22

The shoes in the book were silver.  Here's a passage from the book:

The Wicked Witch was both surprised and worried when she saw the mark on Dorothy's forehead, for she knew well that neither the Winged Monkeys nor she, herself, dare hurt the girl in any way. She looked down at Dorothy's feet, and seeing the Silver Shoes, began to tremble with fear, for she knew what a powerful charm belonged to them.  

Answer 23

I never knew this....but according to wiki the shoes were actually silver!

Answer 24

My daughter has the book and i think they were silver???

Answer 25

They were silver in the book, and ruby red in the movie.

Answer 26

Correction: In the book, Dorothy's shoes were silver.

Yes, you are right, the filmmakers decided that the original silver shoes should be ruby red because it was one of the first films filmed in 'Glorious Technicolor'. It obviously has to do with color and how it appeared on screen.

Answer 27

In the book, I thought they were either silver, or blue. The movie, of course they were red. But according to this site they were silver

Answer 28

I think they were red...when I look on the cover of the book, her shoes are silver. Now I'm confused!!

Answer 29

In the book the slippers were silver but in the movie and the most famous slippers is ruby