 Although Judy Garland (I) (qv) was always the favorite to play  Dorothy, there were many other actresses in Hollywood who were also  considered to play her. Among them were Shirley Temple (qv), who  was closer to the actual age of Dorothy and extremely popular at the  time. However, her vocal talents were deemed by producers  Mervyn LeRoy (qv) and Arthur Freed (qv) to be inadequate for the  scope of the role. Deanna Durbin (qv), the operatic rival to  Garland, was also a consideration, as was Bonita Granville (qv).