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Fascinating Facts

Oz is more than what meets the eye. Like almost every film, lots of things happened behind the scenes. Injuries occurred, coincidental things happened and much more. The costumes you see on the cast didn’t always look that way, either. Many lines and musical number were cut from the film as well. While I can’t possibly list all of the facts of Oz, I’ve chosen a few topics to display here so you can learn a little more about the fascinating film process of Oz.

Injuries & More On the Oz Set and Beyond!

Broken bones, eye infections, allergic reactions and burns were all part of the history of Oz. Quite a few accidents happened.

Originally, Buddy Ebsen was cast as the Scarecrow and Ray Bolger as the Tin Man. Bolger desperately wanted to be the Scarecrow, and Louie B. Mayer agreed to switch the parts. Surprisingly, Ebsen didn’t mind. Ebsen worked as the Tin Man for weeks, rehearsing, prerecording and filming. Then one day, the aluminum dust used in his make-up caused a near fatal allergic reaction, and Ebsen had to be hospitalized. Jack Haley was brought in to replace him.

Even though Haley’s make-up was switched from dust to doctor-approved paste, he suffered for a short time as well. His make-up gave him an eye infection that lasted a week.

A fiery accident occurred during her departure from Munchkinland. Hamilton got very severe burns on her face and hand.

Billie Burke got a compound fracture in her foot during her work on the Bridal Suite set. This caused for a few of her scenes in Oz to have to be re-shot in early May, after the rest of the filming was completed.

Margaret Hamilton's stand-in was "flying in" for her once and the broom exploded on her!

Terry, who played Toto, even got hurt during Oz. A Winkie Guard accidentally stepped on her foot and broke it.

Ozzy Occurrences

Two very ironical and coincidental things happened in the process of creating Oz. You’ll be stunned when you read about them!

A Coincidental Coat!

A very “Ghostly Benediction” occurred for the Oz unit with Frank Morgan’s “Professor Marvel” costume. His shabby, Prince-Albert style coat had been selected from a rack of old clothes bought by MGM. One day, he turned out the pocket, and whose name was found sewn into the lining but L. Frank Baum's! The tailor who crafted the coat and Baum’s widow later verified that this coat had belonged to L. Frank Baum many years before! Now is that rather odd or what! A coat belonging to the author of The Wizard of Oz ending up being a costume in MGM’s 1939 “Technicolor Triumph”! It was a “genuine ‘believe it or not’”! When filming was completed, Mervyn Leroy presented the coat to Mrs. Baum.

As Coroner, I Must Aver…

...that the date given on the Wicked Witch of the East's Death Certificate marks the 19th anniversary of L. Frank Baum's death! It's true! Although it's impossible to see, the date given on the witch's death certificate is May 6th, 1938, exactly to the date 19 years after the "Royal Historian" died! Now is that a coincedence or what?!

Before the Editing

The Oz script went through a numerous amount of changes throughout production. I can’t make a list of everything that was in the script before it was watered down, but here’s a list of everything that was filmed and previewed, but then cut from the film.

Lines

· In the Emerald City, the witch skywrites “Surrender Dorothy”. Originally, the message read “Surrender Dorothy or die WWW”. It was then trimmed to just the first two words.
· Several of Bert Lahr’s comic bits were edited out.
· More lines existed for the fighting apple trees.
· There were a couple more chants “Lion and tigers and bears, oh my”.
· Many of the witch’s lines from different scenes were cut from the film. This was because at a sneak preview, many children had to be taken out due to the witch’s rather frightening characterization.

Scenes

· The witch really did turn the Tin Man into a beehive in the sequence following the witch’s appearance on the cottage. This was cut.
· A brief discussion about “poppies on wallpaper” in Dorothy’s bedroom between the girl and Professor Marvel was eliminated.
· Also deleted was a portion of the chase in the castle of the Witch.
· The soldier guarding the Wizard’s Palace had a scene in which he “changed the guard” by going into a revolving house, turning his mustache upside, and then continuing the conversation he was having with Dorothy and her friends.
· Ever wonder what Aunt Em is talking about when she scolds Hickory for “tinkering with that contraption”? Originally, two brief scenes on the Kansas farm consisted of Hickory working with a wind machine to ward off cyclones.

Songs and Musical Numbers

· Did you know Over the Rainbow was cut?! Thank goodness, Mervyn Leroy and Arthur Freed convinced Louie B. Mayer to put it back in. “The song stays or I go.” was the ultimatum Freed gave Mayer, and Mayer agreed to put the song back in the picture.
· Portions of “Cyclone” were deleted in the Oz Final Edit
· Following “If I Only Had a Brain” was an eccentric dance performed by Ray Bolger. It included him being raised very high in the air, and deemed as “too much fantasy” for the film.
· More dance music existed for Jack Haley in his song, “If I Only Had a Heart”. Also pay attention to the following “We’re Off to See the Wizard”. If you think you hear Jed Clampett, don’t worry, that is Buddy Ebsen singing, not Jack Haley! While Haley rerecorded “If I Only Had a Heart” and solos in other songs, the voice of Ebsen still remained in previously recorded group numbers.
· “Triumphal Return” was cut, which was an elaborate number for the group’s return to the Emerald City with the Witch’s broomstick.
· The middle stanza of “If I Were King of the Forest” in which Ebsen was heard singing was deleted.
· The very costly and elaborate “Jitterbug” was cut from the film from reasons ranging from “the film is running too long” to “it provided too much a showcase for Bert Lahr”, which is incorrect. It was also deemed inappropriate; it had people dancing in the aisles, yet this was supposed to be a tense time in the film.
· A brief reprise of “Over the Rainbow” in the Witch’s castle was deleted.
· Also, Dorothy’s return to Kansas originally featured a long montage of visions of her adventures in Oz.

Behind the Costumes & Makeup

The costumes you see on the main characters when you watch Oz didn’t always look that way. Most of them went through many changes from the first time the cast got fitted for them.
Dorothy: Judy tried on a number of wigs and dresses before they decided on a blonde wig and a variation of one of the dresses she had previously tried on Once Richard Thorpe left, Judy again tried on numerous wigs and dresses before the final decision was made. Her rouge baby-doll visage make-up changed her appearance tremendously. At first, a piece of rubber was put over Judy’s nose because it “went in too much”. Judy was not happy with this. The look was abandoned before shooting began.
Scarecrow: Ray Bolger had to try on a lot of different make-ups for his Scarecrow character. Finally, the decision was made and he wore a light rubber mask. He also had to try on many different outfits before Leroy was satisfied. Once Thorpe left, his make-up was again experimented with as well as his costume.
Tin Man: Ebsen went through many changes with his costume and make-up, first he tried on a suit made out of sheet aluminum, then buckram. He went through the same make-up experimentation as Bolger did. The aluminum dust cost Ebsen his part, and when Jack Haley came in, the ingredient was changed from dust to paste.
Lion: Bert Lahr’s costume was 50 pounds of genuine lion skins. His make-up was created and fit around his head and most of his face. He also wore paw mittens. His tail was controlled by a man up in the catwalks by a wire and a fish-pole line attachment.
Glinda: The dress, crown, and wand you see worn by Billie Burke was like that from the beginning; no known changes were made to her costume.
Witch: Gale Sondergaard was dressed from head to toe in sequins in the idea that the witch should look like the successful Wicked Queen in Snow White. This was deemed unacceptable, she was then given the “ugly treatment”. She left the picture; at that time, she did not want to make herself ugly. Margaret Hamilton was then brought in, dressed as a typical ugly witch. Once Thorpe left, her hair and make-up were restyled to better expose her evil-looking face.
Wizard: Frank Morgan’s five characters went through numerous costume and make-up tests before he looked the way he did in the final film.

Scarecrow's Formula

What the Scarecrow says when he gets his diploma may sound genius and impressive, but...
It's WRONG!
Click here for more information.