Quaker Oats Oatmeal, Old Fashioned, 80 Oz (Pack of 2)
From offscreen friendships and jarring pay inequality to the special furnishings and makeup tricks that brought some of the globe'southward favorite film characters to life, The Wizard of Oz (1939) had so much going on behind the emerald pall and the Technicolor gloss of an astonishing fantasy world.
In accolade of the 80th anniversary of the film, follow the yellow brick slideshow to peek backside that pall and learn more well-nigh the secrets and fun facts that make the love film a timeless classic.
Margaret Hamilton Was a Fan Before the Motion picture
As a self-proclaimed lifelong fan of 50. Frank Baum'due south Oz series, Margaret Hamilton was thrilled to be considered for a role in the 1939 flick adaptation. Hamilton called her amanuensis to ask which character the producers wanted her to play, and her agent famously said, "The witch — who else?"
Hamilton, a single mother, fought MGM for an agreed upon amount of guaranteed work time. Three days before filming began, the studio agreed to a 5-calendar week deal. In the terminate, Hamilton was on set for iii months, but many of her scenes were cut for being besides scary for audiences.
Sure, Dorothy Gale doesn't need prosthetics or aluminum makeup, simply that doesn't mean Judy Garland wasn't put through the costume department wringer. Although she was young at the time, the sixteen-twelvemonth-onetime Garland had to wear a corset-like device and then she looked more than like a preadolescent child.
Director Richard Thorpe suggested Garland wear a blonde wig and loads of "baby-doll" makeup (equally any preadolescent girl would…). Luckily, that vision of the graphic symbol inverse. After MGM fired Thorpe, the intermediate director George Cukor nixed the heavy makeup and wig. Instead, he told Garland to exist herself. Smart motility.
The "Skywriting" Scene Employed Some Great Flick Magic
The Wizard of Oz employs a lot of great film tricks, and some of the most unique were used in the skywriting scene. In it, the Wicked Witch (Margaret Hamilton) flies above the Emerald City, leaving the phrase "Surrender Dorothy" in her wake in blackness smoke.
Using a hypodermic needle, the special effects team spread blackness ink across the bottom of a glass tank that was filled with a thick, tinted liquid (some speculate milk). They wrote the phrase in reverse and filmed the scene from below. Initially, the skywriting concluded with the ominous "Or Die — W W W."
The "Snowfall" in the Poppy Field Was Really Dangerous
One of the Wicked Witch's last-ditch efforts to impede Dorothy's quest to meet the Wonderful Wizard of Oz involves a poppy field and some magical sleep-inducing snow. While many like to joke that the poppies and their drowsiness are the result of opium (a component of poppies), the scene has a much more than breathy toxic connexion than that.
All that magical snowfall? It's actually 100% industrial-course chrysotile asbestos. Even though the health risks associated with the fabric were known at the time, it was all the same Hollywood's preferred pick for faux snow. Our advice to Dorothy? Don't catch any snowflakes on your tongue.
Scarecrow's Makeup Stuck Around for Awhile
In the end, Ray Bolger (Scarecrow) was probably grateful in more ways than one for Buddy Ebsen (the original Tin Man'due south) willingness to trade parts with him. The Tin Human being'due south aluminum makeup caused a huge amount of problems for Ebsen, who was replaced by Jack Haley.
Although Bolger's makeup experience was better than Ebsen's, he withal had some issues. The Scarecrow's makeup consisted of a condom prosthetic, complete with a woven pattern that mimicked the look of burlap. Afterwards the film wrapped, the prosthetic left patterns on Bolger's face that took more than a yr to fade.
Margaret Hamilton Was Burned On Fix
In a burst of flames and red smoke, the Wicked Witch (Margaret Hamilton) vanishes from Munchkinland. Although the scene is terrifying for viewers, information technology may have instilled more than fear for Hamilton. On the first accept, the smoke rose from a hidden trapdoor too early.
For the second take, Hamilton stood on the trapdoor equally planned, but her cape snagged on the platform when the burn down flared up. Her copper-containing makeup heated upwards instantly, causing 2d- and third-degree burns on her easily and face. To make matters worse, the crew tried to remedy her burns with (an fifty-fifty more than painful) acetone solvent.
The Flight Monkeys Became Falling Monkeys
The Wicked Witch's legion of flight monkeys — or Winged Monkeys equally they're called in the source textile — have certainly been a source of terror for generations. Almost as scary as the Witch herself, these henchmen soar onto the scene to kidnap Dorothy and Toto — thanks to the magic of piano wires.
All the same, the aerial stunt went amiss when several of the pianoforte wires snapped, sending actors plummeting a few feet to the soundstage floor. To create such a vast troupe of monkeys (and cutting down on human marionettes), filmmakers made miniature rubber monkeys to assist populate the sky.
"Over the Rainbow" Was Almost on the Cutting Room Floor
To no one's surprise, the American Moving picture Institute ranked "Over the Rainbow" #1 on a list of 100 Greatest Songs in American Films. But what may surprise you? The (arguably) almost iconic vocal of Judy Garland'due south career was well-nigh cut from the film.
Studio execs at MGM idea the song fabricated the Kansas scenes too long. Moreover, filmmakers were concerned that children wouldn't understand the vocal's pregnant. Luckily, this unfounded concern melted like lemon drops. Unfortunately, Garland's tearful reprise of the vocal was left on the cut room floor.
The Can Man Costume Didn't Permit Jack Haley to Rest Piece of cake
Although Bert Lahr had to schlep around in a ninety-pound lion costume, Jack Haley didn't have it easy either. From the lingering concerns near the aluminum paste-based makeup on his face up and hands to the minimal flexibility of the "tin can" trunk and arms, Haley faced some challenges.
Reportedly, his costume was so strong that he had to lean against a lath to rest properly. Many years after, actor Anthony Daniels, known for playing the protocol droid C-3PO in the Star Wars films, had the same effect with his rigid costume. It seems even fantasy and sci-fi tin can't assist folks escape all their issues.
The Original Tin Human Was Rushed to the Infirmary
Initially, Buddy Ebsen was bandage as the Scarecrow, simply traded parts with Ray Bolger. However, Ebsen's new grapheme, the Tin Man, caused him a world of bug. Namely, the character's silver makeup contained a harmful aluminum dust that coated Ebsen's lungs.
To brand matters worse, Ebsen had an allergic reaction, and, unable to breathe, he was rushed to the hospital. MGM recast the role with Jack Haley (and changed up the makeup), but didn't explicate why Ebsen "dropped out." Although Ebsen didn't appear in the last picture, his vocals can be heard in "We're Off to Run into the Sorcerer."
A Stocking & Some Miniatures Gave Us the Tornado
The tornado that strikes the Gale homestead is full of applied special furnishings that really concur upwardly. The funnel itself was actually a 35-foot long stocking made of muslin. The special effects team spun information technology around miniatures that resembled the farms and fields of Kansas. Against the painted properties, the tornado looks menacing.
The Gale house, which falls from the sky and into Oz, is just a miniature house that was dropped onto a heaven painting. Filmmakers and so reversed the footage to make information technology look like the house was falling out of the clouds.
Hollywood Didn't Pay Up Then Either
Pay inequality has always been an upshot in Hollywood. For example, Adriana Caselotti, vox of the titular character in Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), made $970 for her performance. The flick went on to make roughly $8 meg.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Judy Garland's pay was better than Caselotti'south — playing Dorothy earned her $500 a week — only it still didn't reflect the pic's success. Fifty-fifty more discouraging, the folks who portrayed the citizens of Munchkinland were paid a mere $fifty per week. (Meanwhile, Terry the dog earned $125 per week as Toto. A real yikes.)
Bert Lahr's Lion Costume Was Taxing
Originally, MGM idea it might cast its mascot — the bodily lion used in the studio's championship card — as the cowardly graphic symbol. Fortunately, for the safety of the actors and the animal, the filmmakers decided to cast actor Bert Lahr as the anthropomorphic graphic symbol instead.
To brand a convincing creature, the costume department fashioned Lahr a 90-pound outfit made from existent king of beasts peel. Nonetheless, the arc lights used on fix made things a steamy 100 degrees during filming, which meant Lahr did a lot of sweating unrelated to his character'southward fretfulness. Each dark, ii stagehands stale the costume for the next solar day.
The Initial Box Office Returns Were Uneven
The moving-picture show started shooting in October of 1938 only didn't wrap until March of 1939, racking up an unheard of $2,777,000 in costs. That's nearly $50 million adjusted for inflation. Upon its initial release, the pic only earned $3 meg at the box part — most $51.eight million past today'south standards.
Although that seems impressive for a Depression-era motion picture, remember that Disney made $8 meg with Snowfall White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). The Sorcerer of Oz's small-scale success in the U.Southward. barely covered production and film rights' costs — MGM paid $75,000 to the publisher for those — but success overseas fortunately bolstered the picture show's returns.
The Nighttime Side of Oz in a Time Before "Me Too"
Judy Garland was simply xvi years old when she was bandage as Dorothy. Insecure and lonesome, she became addicted to amphetamines and barbiturates, which were often given to young actors to help them slumber after studios shot them up with adrenaline and so they could work long hours.
The spotlight — and her damaging contract with MGM — didn't help, leading to her lifelong struggles with an eating disorder and alcoholism. According to a writer for Express, "[Garland] was molested by older men, including studio chiefs [and head Louis B. Mayer], who considered her lilliputian more than their 'property.'" Moreover, MGM forced Garland to stick to a wildly unhealthy diet of cigarettes, coffee and craven soup.
The Vocalism of Snow White Had a Cameo
A few years before The Wizard of Oz debuted, Walt Disney's feature-length animated flick Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs (1937) became a blast-hitting. Not only did the motion picture revolutionize the animation manufacture, information technology besides reinvigorated the fantasy genre.
Disney wanted to follow up Snowfall White — so the about successful film of all time — with an adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, but MGM owned the rights. By happenstance, Adriana Caselotti, who voiced Snow White, had an uncredited role in Oz. During the Tin Man'due south "If I Merely Had a Heart," Caselotti speaks her sole line, "Wherefore art thousand Romeo?"
The Ruby Slippers Are Props & Treasured Artifacts
Keeping in line with the book, Dorothy's iconic footwear was originally silver, merely screenwriter Noel Langley felt the red color would really pop in glorious Technicolor. Designed by MGM'south chief costume designer Gilbert Adrian, the shoes are each covered in nigh 2,300 sequins.
I of the remaining pairs is on view in the Smithsonian Establishment'south National Museum of American History. Since the display is so heavily trafficked, the museum has replaced the carpet there several times. Another pair were stolen from Minnesota's Judy Garland Museum in 2005, but the FBI recovered the slippers for the institution in 2018.
Only One Sequence Was Filmed "On Location"
The Wizard of Oz is your classic adventure story, and Dorothy's quest leads her from a Kansas farm to some other world — complete with corn fields, poppy-filled meadows and forests. However, despite all these scenic locations, most all the scenes were shot on a soundstage.
As was customary at the time, immense, detailed backdrops were painted past studio artists, making information technology possible for filmmakers to ship audiences to far away places without filming on location. In fact, the just location footage in the film is the opening title sequence — those clouds are 100% the real bargain.
A Second Toto Was Brought In
Toto, played primarily by Terry, is i of the nearly dearest dogs in film history. Terry was famously not a huge fan of special furnishings and tin can often be seen running out of a shot when something loud or alarming happens — like when the Tin Man spouts out all of that steam.
After ane of the Witch's guards accidentally stepped on her, Terry was on bedrest for two weeks. Filmmakers went through two doubles to detect i that resembled the original canine actor more closely.
Fun fact: Judy Garland was so fond of Terry that she wanted to adopt the dog.
Margaret Hamilton "Mourns the Wicked" Witch
In add-on to being a huge fan of the Oz books, Margaret Hamilton also believed her character was more than just your run-of-the-mill evil villain. More than 35 years after the film debuted, Hamilton, donning her Witch'south costume to show kids it was make-believe, appeared on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, where Fred Rogers interviewed her nigh the character.
According to Hamilton, the so-called Wicked Witch relished everything she did, but she was too a sorry, alone figure. In short, things never went well for the frustrated Witch. Oddly plenty, the Broadway musical Wicked likewise takes this approach to the Witch's character.
The "Horse of a Different Colour" Was Fabricated Possible Thanks to a Food Production
In 1939, audiences were only as amazed as Dorothy, Scarecrow, Can Man and the Cowardly Lion when the horse in Emerald City took on a rainbow of colors. This "horse of a different color" was fabricated possible thank you to a surprising nutrient item…
Jell-O crystals were used to colour the horses, which meant filmmakers had to move quickly — the animals were eager to lick upwards the sweet treat. But the colorful steed isn't the only interesting component in this fan-favorite scene. The horse-drawn carriage was once endemic by President Abraham Lincoln and now resides at the Judy Garland Museum.
The Makeup Department Hired on Extra Easily
From the citizens of Munchkinland and Emerald Urban center to the Witch's flying monkeys, and then many actors had to undergo a makeup transformation in gild to requite life to this fantasy film. To go along up with the daily demands, MGM chosen upon workers from the studio mailroom and courier service to manage makeup stations.
Since most of the Ozian ensemble required prosthetics, makeup artists — and "makeshift" artists — formed a kind of costuming assembly line. Virtually actors had to go far earlier 5:00 in the morning — six days a week! — to begin the intensive process.
Memorable (& Often Misquoted) Lines Fill the Film
The picture is chock-full of iconic, memorable songs, and it has the great fortune of being responsible for some of the virtually quoted lines in film history equally well. In 2007, Premiere compiled a listing of "The 100 Greatest Movie Lines" and placed a whopping three of the motion-picture show's lines on the list.
"Pay no attention to that human being behind the curtain" was voted #24, while "There's no identify like abode" nabbed the 11th spot. Finally, the frequently misquoted "Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore" landed in the 62nd spot.
The Witch's Fire Employed Some Technical Wizardry (& Juice)
Clearly, the technical wizardry — or witchcraft — in the movie is incredible. Similar the "horse of a dissimilar colour" sequence, another iconic, special effects-heavy scene harnessed the power of everyday household items to pull off fun tricks.
Shortly after Dorothy arrives in Munchkinland, the Wicked Witch tries to snatch the ruby-red slippers from the immature girl's feet. Withal, fire strikes the Witch'southward hands, repelling her. This "burn down" is actually apple juice spouting from the slippers in a sped-up prune to make information technology look more flame-similar.
Technicolor Required Some Ingenuity in the Props Department
Experimenting with Technicolor was part fun and part problem-solving for filmmakers. In order to properly capture scenes with the Technicolor camera, the soundstage needed to be lit with arc lights, which often heated the set upwardly to a toasty 100 degrees.
Afterward the lights were set, the experts experimented with what would await best on moving-picture show, especially in colorized form. For case, the white function of Dorothy'southward apparel is actually pink — simply because information technology filmed amend. And the oil the Tin Human being is and so excited about? It's actually chocolate syrup.
The Wicked Witch of the East Makes More than I Advent
Part of the Wicked Witch of the W's beefiness with Dorothy is that the young girl dropped a business firm on her sister, the Wicked Witch of the Due east, who was the short-lived owner of the ruby slippers. Although Margaret Hamilton already plays both the Wicked Witch of the West and her Kansas counterpart Almira Gulch, she also plays the Wicked Witch of the East — if only briefly.
During the tornado sequence, an befuddled Dorothy looks out her bedroom window and watches Gulch transform into a witch, her shoes shimmering. For fans, this glint indicates the witch outside the window is wearing the cherry-red slippers. The restored version of the picture show makes that shimmer even more than noticeable.
The Movie'southward Running Time Was Cut Downwardly Several Times
The first cut of the film clocked in at a running time of 120 minutes. Although that seems like nothing by today's Curiosity movie standards, producer Mervyn LeRoy felt it was long and unwieldy and wanted to chop off 20 minutes.
After cutting the famed "Jitterbug" number (pinnacle right) and an extended Scarecrow dance sequence, the movie was 112 minutes long. LeRoy held a second preview screening, and, later on, nixed Dorothy's "Over the Rainbow" reprise, an Emerald Urban center reprise of "Ding! Dong! The Witch Is Dead," a scene where the Tin Man becomes a human beehive (Yikes!) and a few Kansas sequences.
So Much for a "Wicked" Witch
Filmmakers deemed Margaret Hamilton'southward Wicked Witch of the West performance too frightening for audiences and cutting or trimmed many of her scenes. Simply non anybody thought her operation was terrifying — namely Judy Garland, who played the Wicked Witch's nemesis, Dorothy Gale.
Off-screen, the motion picture'south starring foes were actually friends. One story that emerged from the set described Garland excitedly showing off a dress to Hamilton, declaring she was going to wear it for her graduation. Unfortunately, MGM'south Louis B. Mayer sent Garland on a press tour the twenty-four hours of her graduation. Upset, Hamilton phoned Mayer and chewed him out.
Giving Credit to Technicolor
In the opening credits, the text reads "Photographed in Technicolor," as opposed to the more apt "Colour Sequences by Technicolor." The phrasing of the credits makes it seem as though the entire film was shot in color. Was this done deliberately, or was it a small syntactical faux pas?
It'south widely believed this was a bit of a stunt washed to heighten the surprise of the picture turning into full three-strip Technicolor when Dorothy arrives in Oz. Posters made at the time of the film's debut made no mention of sepia tint (or "black-and-white"), adding acceptance to this theory.
One of History's Virtually-Watched Films
Although The Sorcerer of Oz proved pop in theaters, another picture show released the same yr, likewise directed by Victor Fleming, actually topped the box office. (You may have heard of that piffling movie — it's called Gone with the Wind.) Withal, MGM'south musical fantasy may have more than staying power than other films of the era, thanks in function to re-releases.
The film was showtime broadcast on television on November 3, 1956, and garnered an impressive 44 meg viewers. It'due south believed that The Sorcerer of Oz is one of the 10 about-watched feature-length movies in film history, largely due to the number of almanac goggle box screenings, theater viewings and diverse format re-releases.
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