The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical film based on L. Frank Baum’s novel of the same name. Despite not being a financial or critical success right away, it went on to become one of the most long — lasting family movies of all time. The movie is a story about a young girl from Kansas, Dorothy Gale who decides to run away from her aunt and uncle. Her wish came true when Dorothy and her dog, Toto were swept away by a tornado to a magical land of Oz. Fascinating characters such as the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, the Wizard of Oz, and the Wicked Witch of the West sparked the imaginations of young people all over the world. Because this is one of the most-watched movies of all time, the wizard of oz is in charge of having a controversial production to quality entertainment.
1.Margaret Hamilton, aka the Wicked Witch of the West, suffered second-degree burns on her face and third-degree burns on her hand after a stunt went wrong.
On set, there was a trap door that didn’t open quickly enough, causing Hamilton to become engulfed in flames. She spent six weeks in the hospital and at home recovering. Although she didn’t sue the studio, her one condition to come back was no use of fireworks anymore.
2. The Cowardly Lion costume was made of real lion hair.
The use of real lion skin to design this costume is crazy and upsetting. The attire was reportedly made from a wide mix of human hair and lion fur. I just can’t imagine how the actor managed to wear that costume for the whole film.
3. The male Munchkin actors would frequently torment Judy on set.
There were few reports found, mostly by Judy’s (actress that played Dorothy) ex-husband. He said that these older male munchkins weren’t respectful of Judy. They are said to sexually harass her by putting their hands under her dress. In fact, these older munchkins were so out of control that the production company hired a lieutenant to keep an eye on them on set. Most of them were even arrested but had to be bailed out as it was not possible for them to be out of the seen for long, because they were needed on set.
4. The original Tinman was Buddy Ebsen
Buddy Ebsen was the original man hired for the role of tin man but the aluminum dust from the makeup almost killed him, therefore he was replaced by Jack Haley. They then started using a safer makeup to prevent any mishap. Ebsen claimed to have breathing problems all because of that makeup dusk.
5. The dog (Terry) who played Toto was paid more than the munchkins
The dog was seen more worthy than the munchkins and was paid $125 a week whereas the munchkins were only paid $50 a week.
6. The studio executives at MGM treated Judy Garland terribly.
The studio treated Judy so badly that it is said that they often referred to her as “a fat pig with pigtails.” Hence, she was mistreated a lot on the set by the actors as well as the studio executives.
7. The head of the studio forced Judy to go on a strict diet
Because the studio executives weren’t satisfied with Judy’s appearance and so forced her to follow a strict diet of “chicken soup, black coffee, and cigarettes, along with pills to reduce her appetite.”
8. The snowstorm in the poppy field was actually Asbestos
In the scene to create an effect of snow and to make it more realistic they used asbestos. These were mostly used back in the day as it was fireproof and closely resembled real snow.
9. Actress who played Auntie Em, Clara Blandick committed suicide at the age of 85
She got ready one last time, put on her best clothes and took an overdose of sleeping pills.
Keeping in mind these sad facts about the movie and its people it is not wrong to say that everyone was affected, one way or the other, in making of the movie. It was all all-time favorite musical films back in the day with a dark side behind these wonderfully colorful scenes. Its because of this movie Garland struggled a lot in her personal life from an early age, both physically and mentally.
In the year 2019 a biographical drama film named “Judy” was released, based on the life of American actress Judy Garland. The movie shows everything that she did in her early years and the last year when she died.
