Surrender Dorothy

For other uses, see Surrender Dorothy (disambiguation).

"SURRENDER DOROTHY" is a famous special effect used in the movie The Wizard of Oz, which later attained local fame as a graffito in the Washington, D.C metropolitan area.

Appearance in the movie

The first appearance of the phrase is in the famous 1939 version of The Wizard of Oz. In the scene, Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland) has reached the Emerald City with her companions, The Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), The Tin Woodsman (Jack Haley), and The Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr), and are treated to the hospitality and technological comforts of the fantastic city. As they leave the "Wash & Brush Up Co.", The Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton) appears in the sky riding her broomstick, skywriting the words "SURRENDER DOROTHY" (an edit of the originally intended phrase, "SURRENDER DOROTHY OR DIE, WWW.") The terrified townspeople of the Emerald City - and the four intrepid adventurers - respond by rushing to the chamber where the Wizard of Oz himself (Frank Morgan) resides, only to be turned away by a Major-domo (also played by Frank Morgan).

The special effect was achieved by using a hypodermic needle, spreading black ink across the bottom of a glass tank filled with tinted water.

The phrase was also later featured in Martin Scorsese's 1985 film "After Hours". In the film, Marcy (Rosanna Arquette) relates that her former husband would scream the phrase during intercourse.

Washington area graffiti

The famous graffiti in the D.C. metropolitan area first appeared on the outer loop of the I-495, the Capital Beltway, on a railroad bridge near the Washington, D.C temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Kensington, Maryland, beginning in late 1973. It was graffitied by an anonymous artist and was removed by the Maryland State Police after pressure from the Church; however, it has been periodically repainted in various forms by equally unknown persons since the initial police removal. The imposing architectural design of the Temple apparently reminded the artists of the Emerald City from The Wizard of Oz .

The rail line which contains the bridge is the old B&O Metropolitan Branch, now owned by CSX Transportation, which operates the MARC Brunswick Line and various freight trains on that branch. The location of the phrase is visible on approach driving on I-495 from the east, but only after one passes under the first of three bridges. It is the second of three bridges over the Beltway approaching from the east, with Seminary Road before it, and Linden Lane after it. It's doubly effective because as you approach the bridges, first in the distance you see only the Mormon Temple, then you pass under the first bridge, the Temple comes back into view JUST AS the words "Surrender Dorothy" appear.

Miniature SURRENDER graffiti from 2007.

It is one of the best known examples of "graffiti", and became so well known among the Mormon community that their newsletters often mentioned it as a specific example demonstrating misunderstanding of their religion.,

In summer 2007, a new piece of graffiti appeared on the rail bridge. The word "SURRENDER" was reduced in size to fit into a single section of the rail bridge, and the word "DOROTHY" was omitted from the graffiti. The original-size message is no longer visible, but its presence can still be felt at the top of the bridge, as the paint used to cover it does not exactly match the original paint on the bridge. The smaller "SURRENDER" graphic is located near the bottom of the bridge, over the far-left lane of traffic on the Outer Loop.

Law & Order

The television show Law & Order season 10 episode 224 was titled "Surrender Dorothy."