The Wizard of Oz

The rally today at school is a Wizard of Oz theme, and since the campus is buzzing with Oz fever, I thought I would give some trivia about the classic film. What are your fondest memories of The Wizard of Oz?

–When Aunt Em tells Hickory that “she saw him tinkering with that contraption” (after Dorothy falls in the pigpen), she’s referring to a wind machine that Hickory is trying to invent, which is focused on in a deleted scene. This machine, consisting of a boiler, funnel, wires, tubes, etc. is intended to break up winds in order to prevent tornadoes.

–The “tornado” was a 35-foot-long muslin stocking, spun around among miniatures of a Kansas farm and fields in a dusty atmosphere.

–Although it has been long believed that Lorraine Bridges dubbed Billie Burke’s singing voice in the film, she actually did not. Ms. Burke did her own singing as Glinda, the Good Witch of the North.

–At the time that CBS purchased the television rights to The Wizard of Oz (1939), MGM had sold most of its pre-1950’s film library to individual stations across the U.S. The two major films they had not sold were Gone with the Wind (1939) (which MGM controlled the rights to) and “The Wizard of Oz”. It would be twenty more years before “Gone With the Wind” would come to television.

–While filming the scene where Dorothy slaps the Cowardly Lion, Judy Garland got the giggles so badly that they had to take a break in shooting. The director, Victor Fleming, took her aside, gave her a quick lecture, and then slapped her. She returned to the set and filmed the scene in one take. Fleming was afraid that this would damage his relationship with Garland and even told a co-worker he wished that someone would hit him because of how bad he felt, but Garland overheard the conversation and gave him a kiss on the nose to show that she bore no hard feelings. In the film she can still be seen to be stifling a smile between the lines “Well, of course not” and “My, what a fuss you’re making”.

–In 1898, Dorothy Louise Gage was born to the brother and sister-in-law of Maud Gage Baum, wife of author L. Frank Baum. When little Dorothy died exactly five months later, Maud was heartbroken. Baum was just finishing “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” and, to comfort his wife, named his heroine after Dorothy, changing her last name to Gale in his second book. Dorothy Gage was buried in Evergreen Memorial Cemetery in Bloomington, Illinois, where her grave was forgotten until 1996 when it was rediscovered. When Mickey Carroll, one of the last existing Munchkins from the movie, learned of the discovery, he was eager to replace her deteriorated grave marker with a new one created by his own monument company. The new stone was dedicated in 1997 and the children’s section of the cemetery renamed the Dorothy L. Gage Memorial Garden, in the hope that bereaved families would be comforted in thinking of their lost children as being with Dorothy from “The Wizard of Oz”.

–When the wardrobe department was looking for a coat for Frank Morgan (Professor Marvel / The Wizard), they decided they wanted one that looked like it had once been elegant but had since “gone to seed”. They visited a second-hand store and purchased an entire rack of coats, from which Morgan, the head of the wardrobe department, and director Victor Fleming chose one they felt gave off the perfect appearance of “shabby gentility”. One day, while he was on set in the coat, Morgan idly turned out one of the pockets and discovered a label indicating that the coat had been made for L. Frank Baum. Mary Mayer, a unit publicist for the film, contacted the tailor and Baum’s widow, who both verified that the coat had at one time been owned by the author of the original “Wizard of Oz” books. After the filming was completed, the coat was presented to Mrs. Baum.

–The name for Oz was thought up when the creator, Frank Baum, looked at his filing cabinet and saw A-N, and O-Z, hence “Oz.”

–In 1939, Montreal lifted its law restricting minors under 16 from admission to theaters, presumably without an accompanying adult. This lift was done exclusively for this film and apparently sent a rush of children to theaters, according to a 1939 issue of Variety. Earlier that year, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) unsuccessfully attempted to lift the ban.

–A recent study claimed that this is the most watched movie in film history, largely due to the number of television screenings each year as well as video which has enabled children of every generation to see it.

–The Tin Woodsman costume worn by Jack Haley was reportedly so stiff that he had to lean against a board to rest. Thirty-eight years later, Anthony Daniels (who played C-3PO in the Star Wars movie series) had the same problem with his costume.

–The shot of Dorothy’s house falling from the sky was achieved by filming a miniature house being dropped onto a sky painting on the stage floor, then reversing the film to make the house appear to fall towards the camera.

–In the first take of the scene when the Wicked Witch of the West leaves Munchkinland, the smoke that was supposed to go up around her came early, and started forming before she stepped on the platform she was supposed to be on. On the second take, part of Margaret Hamilton’s cape became caught in the platform when the burst of fire appeared. Her make-up heated up causing second- and third-degree burns on her hands and face, and it was later discovered that one of the key components in her make-up was copper. The producers used the first take. You’ll notice the early appearance of the red smoke.

–When The Witch tries to get off the Ruby Slippers, fire strikes her hands. This “fire” was actually dark apple juice spewing out of the shoes. The film was sped up to make it look like fire.

–When it first opened in 1994, the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas had extensive decor related to this film decorating the casino and various parts of the resort, including life-sized statues of the main characters (including Toto) near the casino entrance. In 2000 nearly all of this decor was removed in a major renovation, and the casino is now generically themed around motion pictures.

–In the song “If I Only Had A Heart”, the girl who says, “Wherefore art thou, Romeo?” is Adriana Caselotti, the voice of Snow White in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937).

–MGM paid $75,000 for the film rights to L. Frank Baum’s book, a towering sum at the time.

–Multiple styles of ruby slippers were tested by the MGM wardrobe department before they settled on the low schoolgirl-style pumps with bows. One proposed style had curled up toes, known as the “Arabian” slippers (created by designer Adrian), which now belong to Debbie Reynolds. Another proposed style, the “Bugle Bead” shoes, are without bows and have yet to publicly surface. An entire book was published with trivia and history of the numerous test styles: “The Ruby Slippers of Oz” by Rhys Thomas (Tale Weaver Publishers, 1989) Thomas speculates that there were seven pairs, and the whereabouts of five are known. Each has an estimated value of $1.5 million, making them the most expensive Hollywood memorabilia. They have been dubbed by some as “The Holy Grail” of all Hollywood nostalgia. One pair was sold to Hollywood memorabilia collector David Elkouby for $666,000.00 in a May 2000 auction. The pair in the Smithsonian are mismatched.

–Walt Disney was the unwitting impetus behind getting the film started. Louis B. Mayer was determined to come up with something that would equal the success of Disney’s runaway smash, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) which had become the most successful film of all time in a matter of months. Walt originally wanted to make ‘The Wizard Of Oz’ after ‘Snow White’ but MGM owned the rights to the book. In the 80’s the Disney studios made a semi-sequel Return to Oz (1985).

–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.

–The film started shooting on 13 October 1938 and was completed on 16 March 1939 at a then-unheard-of cost of $2,777,000. It earned only $3,000,000 on its initial release.

— If you look very closely at the Wicked Witch that Miss Gulch transformed into while Dorothy looks out her bedroom window during the tornado, you will see a shimmer from her shoes-she’s wearing the Ruby Slippers. That means that she is the Wicked Witch of the East, who is soon to be killed when Dorothy’s house falls on her. Margaret Hamilton has never been credited for playing this role (which is practically a cameo). This shimmer from her shoes is even more obvious when watching a better-quality copy of the film, such as the 1989 50th anniversary laserdisc version or the 1999 60th anniversary Warner Bros. DVD restored version.

–The Munchkins are portrayed by the Singer Midgets, named not for their musical abilities, but rather for Leo Singer, their manager. The troupe came from Europe, and a number of the Munchkins took advantage of the trip to immigrate and escape the Nazis. Professional singers dubbed most of their voices as many of the Midgets couldn’t speak English and/or sing well. Only two are heard speaking with their real-life voices – the ones who give Dorothy flowers after she has climbed into the carriage.

–The horses in Emerald City palace were colored with Jell-O crystals. The relevant scenes had to be shot quickly, before the horses started to lick it off.

–When filming first started, Judy Garland wore a blond wig and heavy, “baby-doll” makeup. When George Cukor assumed the role of intermediate director (after MGM fired the original director and before they found a replacement), he got rid of the wig and most of the makeup and told her to just be herself.

–According to lead Munchkin Jerry Maren, the “little people” on the set were paid $50 per week for a 6-day work week, while Toto received $125 per week.

–Although Judy Garland 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, who was closer to the actual age of Dorothy and extremely popular at the time. Since she was under contract to 20th Century Fox, a deal was offered to trade her to MGM in exchange for Clark Gable and Jean Harlow, which was voided by Harlow’s untimely death. Temple’s vocal talents were deemed by producers Mervyn LeRoy and Arthur Freed to be inadequate for the scope of the role. Deanna Durbin, the operatic rival to Garland, was also a consideration, as was Bonita Granville.

–The original concept for the Wicked Witch of the West was to have her resemble a strikingly beautiful woman much in the same way the Evil Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) was conceived. Producer Mervyn LeRoy originally cast MGM beauty Gale Sondergaard in the role as a sleek, sexy Wicked Witch of the West. However, the presence of a sexy Wicked Witch left a large plot hole within the script, for it played against the idea that bad witches were ugly. Convinced that the point was important, LeRoy retested Sondergaard as an ugly witch. Looking hideous in the make-up, she immediately declined the role and was replaced with Margaret Hamilton.

–Judy Garland had to wear a painful corset-style device around her torso so that she would appear younger and flat-chested.

–Many of the Wicked Witch of the West’s scenes were either trimmed or deleted entirely, as Margaret Hamilton’s performance was thought too frightening for audiences.

–Margaret Hamilton, a life-long fan of the Oz books, was ecstatic when she learned the producers were considering her for a part in the film. When she phoned her agent to find out what role she was up for, her agent simply replied, “The witch, who else?”

–Throughout the rest of his career, Jack Haley denounced the idea that the making of this film was enjoyable. He frequently quipped “Like Hell, it was; it was work!”

–George Cukor not only changed Judy Garland’s physical appearance in the film to the way it looks in the finished version, but also modified the Scarecrow’s makeup. Later, when Victor Fleming had been assigned to direct, Jack Haley began filming his first scene as the Tin Man, the scene in which Dorothy and the Scarecrow first discover him. Buddy Ebsen, who had been playing the Tin Man, had to back out because of an allergic reaction to his makeup, and never filmed this scene; he had only filmed scenes that take place in the second half of the film, after the four travelers have been to the Wash and Brush Up Co. at the Emerald City. Haley had been filming his first scene for three days before anyone realized that he had no “rust” on his “tin” costume, even though in the story he was supposed to have been standing rusted for an entire year. The rust was immediately applied to it.

–Judy Garland’s dress and blouse were in reality not white but pale pink. True white did not photograph properly in Technicolor and made the blue of her checked dress seem too bright.

–Margaret Hamilton said that whenever she saw the scene where Frank Morgan as the Wizard is giving Dorothy’s friends gifts from his “black bag” (a diploma for the Scarecrow, a ticking heart for the Tin Man, and a medal for the Cowardly Lion), she got teary eyed, because “Frank Morgan was just like that in real life – very generous”.

Have a great weekend friends!