HELLO OZ FANS
There are so many fascinating stories and facts behind the making of The Wizard of Oz and as I kick off my series of Blogs honoring the Classic Film I begin with a selection of some of the most interesting facts behind the scenes of the movie’s creation. The making of the Wizard of OZ was quite a challenging chaotic process but it was all worth it in the end as the end result was a timeless classic that would be loved and cherished for 80 years and of course the next 80 years to come. So prepare to soak in some fascinating Oz Trivia
- The Movie had quite a number of Directors throughout the filming process, the First director Richard Thorpe was reassigned after the first 2 weeks of shooting as Mervyn LeRoy felt the early footage lacked the magical qualities the story should have. Next in came George Cukor for a brief stint before starting production on Gone With The Wind. Cukor made beneficial changes to makeup and costume, especially to Judy Garland’s appearance. He removed her blond wig and heavy make-up transforming her into the sweet Kansas girl we all know and love. The next and main director was Hollywood legend, Victor Fleming, Fleming worked tirelessly on the project steering it on a course to success. A few weeks before the end of shooting, however, Fleming had to transfer over to the Gone with the Wind set as George Cukor has left. King Vidor was the final director and directed the last few weeks of shooting but asked not to be credited as to him it was Victor Flemings production
- The Original choice for Dorothy was Shirley Temple who was popular at the time but Producers felt the part was too demanding for her so they offered it to Judy Garland instead
- When George Cukor was working with Judy Garland, he gave her some very valuable advice and told her to just be herself and by looking at the film we can see a huge part of Judy Garland embedded within the character of Dorothy and one the main reasons we love the character
- The original actor for the Tin-Man Buddy Ebsen had to replaced with Jack Hayley as he suffered a terrible reaction to the aluminum dust makeup. After that, it was changed to Aluminum Paste for Jack Hayley
- Margeret Hamilton also suffered an injury on set. Upon making her Munchkinland exit through a trapdoor with the pyrotechnics activated at the same time her copper-based makeup caused her to suffer several burns to her face and hands.
- When the Film was entering its final stages of post-production a series of test screenings were arranged for MGM Executives. The original cut ran two 2 hours which was deemed too long so a number of cuts had to be made which included the following scenes
- The Jitterbug
- A reprise of Over The Rainbow in the Witch’s castle
- Ray Bolger’s comic dance during his If I only had a Brain number
- The heroes returning to the Emerald City with the witch’s broomstick
- Quite shockingly Studio executives wanted Over the Rainbow cut as well as they felt it slowed down the picture and it was undignified for Judy Garland to sing in a barnyard. Thankfully Arthur Freed recognized how important this song was in the movie and it was not removed.
- Judy Garland would go onto sing Over The Rainbow at many public appearances and concerts because she believed in the meaning and sentiment behind the song and it remained closest to her heart
- Both The Wizard of Oz and Gone With The Wind were released in 1939 which is also known as Hollywoods Great Year
- At the 1940 Oscars both Films walked away with Oscars, Gone with The Wind won 10 Oscars whilst Wizard of Oz won several most notably Best Song for Over The Rainbow and Judy Garland won an Honourary Oscar “outstanding performance as a screen juvenile during the past year”
- Despite various Re-releases, The Wizard of Oz truly owes it immortality to Television as it was screened once a year which was quite a big event for homes all over the world and new generations of fans fell in love with it
Well, I might have listed a few too many facts but the history surrounding this classic’s creation is worth its weight in rubies (pardon the pun). I hope you enjoyed this post and will keep an eye out for more of my Oz related Blogs
The Blog of Bill 