"Surrender Dorothy" is a famousspecial effect used in the 1939 filmThe Wizard of Oz, where theWicked Witch of the West flies on her broomstick to write the two-word phrase across the sky. The phrase later attained local fame asgraffiti in theWashington, D.C., metropolitan area.
The phrase first appears in the 1939 version ofThe Wizard of Oz, not in thenovel or any previousadaptation. In the scene,Dorothy Gale has reached theEmerald City with her companionsThe Scarecrow,Tin Woodman, andCowardly Lion, where they are treated to the hospitality and technological comforts of the fantastic city. As they leave the "Wash & Brush Up Co.", theWicked Witch of the West appears in the sky riding her broomstick,skywriting the words "SURRENDER DOROTHY". The frightened townspeople of the Emerald City and the four protagonists respond by rushing to the chamber where the Wizard of Oz himself resides.
The special effect was achieved by using a hypodermic needle, spreading black ink across the bottom of a glass tank filled with tinted water.[1]
In the first 120-minute test screening of the film, the message was longer, reading "SURRENDER DOROTHY OR DIE — W W W".[2] This longer version of the phrase was later restored in 2025 via CGI forThe Wizard of Oz at Sphere, an immersive4D version of the film screening atSphere in theLas Vegas Valley.[3]
In 1974, students ofConnelly School of the Holy Child displayed the message on the illuminated bridge carrying Linden Lane over the outer loop ofI-495 (the "Capital Beltway") near theWashington D.C. Temple ofthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints inKensington, Maryland. The message was an advertisement for their school's production ofThe Wizard of Oz, and was made by pressing newsprint into the bridge's chain-link fence.[4]
It is not clear when the message was first written in paint. In the 1980s, it was common to see it on the adjacent railroad bridge, which carries theCSX Transportation'sMetropolitan Subdivision.[5] It has been removed and re-painted many times since.[6][7]
The railroad bridge is the second of three bridges over the Beltway near that point. Motorists approaching from the east see the temple first, then the Seminary Road bridge, then the temple and the location of the phrase on the railroad bridge. The Linden Lane bridge is the third bridge.
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 previous message is no longer visible, but may still be detected 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 theOuter Loop. On August 24, 2018, "SURRENDER DONALD" lettering (referring to US presidentDonald Trump) was spotted on the same bridge over the Washington Beltway. Evidently, the sign was made of easily removable letters that minimize property damage and was installed between 4 and 5 a.m. Reportedly, Claude Taylor and his MadDog PAC claimed responsibility.[8] On November 5, during the2020 United States presidential election, "SURRENDER DONALD" appeared again – this time in paint.[9]
7 Locks Brewery in Rockville, Maryland initially named a beer Surrender Dorothy, with a version of the graffito/LDS church image on the label. Turner Entertainment, owner of The Wizard of Oz, opposed the use of the name and image by the brewery, which changed the beer name to "Surrender" and the can label to include "Dorothy" being painted over.[10]
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The phrase was also later featured in Martin Scorsese's 1985 filmAfter Hours. In the film, Marcy (Rosanna Arquette) relates that her former husband would scream the phrase during his climax.[11][user-generated source]
As part of the promotional campaign forThe Wizard of Oz at Sphere, aviral marketing stunt involving the phrase beingskywritten aboveLong Beach, California andRobert Moses State Park inFire Island, New York took place over theFourth of July weekend, with the help of theFarmingdale-basedSkytypers Air Show Team.[12]
The 2025 filmWicked: For Good, a re-imagining ofThe Wizard of Oz based on the second act of the stage showWicked, featuresElphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) skywriting the message "Our Wizard Lies" above Munchkinland. In an inversion of the 1939 film, the message is instead written by clearing the clouds.[13]
