The Golden Age of Hollywood has been defined by films that export the audience into the world of the imagination. From the late 1920s into the early 1940s, American cinema brought a marvelous sense of escapism to escapism. From The Great Depression, the early onset of World War II and new technological feats including the introduction of synchronized sound, the motion picture experience boomed. Films like Citizen Kane, Casablanca, and Gone with the Wind have set cinematic gold standards. However, one film celebrates its 83rd anniversary this year, a movie that has continued to be celebrated for its technical achievements and maintains its level of heartwarming nostalgia.
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The Wizard of Oz, released by Metro Goldwyn Mayer in August 1939, is one of the greatest films of all time. Despite many accounts of a previous “screening,” the official premiere of the film is dated on August 12th in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. The film is based on L. Frank Baum’s children’s novel and has been beloved by audiences ever since. With a budget of nearly $3 million, the film saw a worldwide gross return of over $25 million (roughly $500 million adjusted for inflation), though much of that is due to the film’s re-release over a decade later. The film also earned two Academy Awards for its original score and perhaps the most famous song ever included in a movie, Somewhere Over the Rainbow.
While the Judy Garland film has been cherished and will continue to inspire motion pictures to this day, the tale of its inception is no colorful image. The story behind the story was hidden away for years, but through biographies and cast interviews, more and more has been uncovered about the so-called “cursed” production. With injuries, multiple directors, and production delays also came revolutionary production tricks and groundbreaking storytelling. It truly took a lot to tell the greatest story ever told.
Judy Garland’s Experience on The Wizard of Oz
MGM
It is no secret that film icon Judy Garland was exposed to some mistreatment during the making of The Wizard of Oz. Garland was given a salary of just $500 a week for her work on the film, significantly less than her male co-stars. Contrary to urban legend, she wasn’t paid less than the dog, Toto… but not by much. The famous canine companion (or rather, his owners) was given a weekly salary of $125, while Garland’s male co-stars were given a salary of $3,000 per week despite hardly anyone knowing their names today. Margaret Hamilton, a big name in Hollywood at the time, was given a salary of around $1000 per week.
Garland was also exposed to physical and emotional abuse while making the film. Victor Fleming (who was one of many directors on this film) is infamously noted to have slapped young Garland across the face for laughing during takes. Garland’s ex-husband details accounts of inappropriate contact Garland received from the ‘munchkin’ performers (who were men in their 40s), though those actors have been much-maligned over the years. In addition to the physical abuse, Garland was under intense scrutiny of her appearance before, during, and after production. According to Biography, Garland’s drug intake was quite prevalent at this time at the age of 17:
The Music in The Wizard of Oz
The Oscar-winning song Somewhere Over the Rainbow was nearly pulled by MGM for being too slow for the film. The song takes the now-standard Disney model of establishing character motivations and desires in a way that touches the audience, thanks to composer Harold Arlen and lyricist E.Y. Harburg. According to their biography by Walter Frisch, the beats of the song have sentimental meaning to the duo:
A year prior to The Wizard of Oz, studio managers were sending memos to each other detailing Garland’s food intake. By the time cameras began rolling on the film, Garland was already in an upper/downer drug cycle.
Another note of music that was famously cut was a jazzy song called The Jitterbug. When the four friendly travelers make their way through the cursed forest, they see what the Wicked Witch calls “a little insect” in the final cut. The little insect is the jitterbug, which sends the group into a dance where they can not get the jitters out. The jazz sequence was cut from the film but can still be viewed on YouTube or various biographical websites. Taken out of context, it’s actually a bit disturbing.
An Arlen trademark is to begin a song with an octave leap, as in the opening syllables’ ‘Some-WHERE.’ The section ‘Someday I’ll wish upon a star’ was meant to imitate a child’s piano exercise, Arlen claimed. Harburg recalled that it was the way Arlen whistled to call his dog. When Harburg and Arlen were stuck on an ending for the song, Ira Gershwin stepped in to help. When asked why he suggested ending the song with the question, ‘Why, oh, why can’t I,’ Gershwin later recalled, ‘Well, it was getting to be a long evening.’
Technicolor in The Wizard of Oz
Imagine being an audience member in 1939, seeing what would likely have been an intense scene at the time — Dorothy transitions from a sepia-toned world into a magical, colorful land of make-believe. It was an eye-opening and groundbreaking moment in film history that stands the test of time.
However, what it took to accomplish this sequence was a bit of motion picture sleight of hand… and a hand painted set. The production designers washed the entire interior of the Gale house in sepia paint, including Bobbie Koshay, a stand-in for Judy Garland, who moved out of frame after the door opened to the colorful ‘Munchkinland.’ Garland entered into frame and graciously maneuvered through the land for the first time with the audience in a wonderful tracking shot.
Asbestos in The Wizard of Oz
The first sight of the Emerald City is breathtaking and filled with wonderment and inspiration at what’s to come. Dorothy and her three friends find themselves in a field of poppies before making their way to the city gates. However, when the Wicked Witch sees them, she curses the poppies with a sleeping agent. Glinda the Good Witch saves them by making it snow, to which the Cowardly Lion states:
He is most certainly correct, because that snow isn’t that of an artificial winter wonderland. In fact, it is pure 100% asbestos falling over the heads and in the faces of the actors. Little did the production know, asbestos can do a ton of damage to one’s lungs. But in those days, it was all about what looked the best on film.
“Unusual weather we’re havin’, ain’t it?”
The Wizard of Oz Hanging is Just a Bird
Many viewers of The Wizard of Oz have noted the possibility that one of the actors who played a munchkin was hanging by the neck during the sequence where Dorothy, Scarecrow and the Tin Man prance down the Yellow Brick Road. Nevertheless, since the film’s 50th re-release on home video, different versions of this sequence exist, where shadows seem to be more prominent and vibrant than others.
A shadow of what is rumored to be a roaming animal or production hand can be seen on some VHS versions, while the more recent colorizations of this sequence on streaming services such as HBO Max clearly show the vibrant expansion of wings from an exotic bird on set. According to an article by Little White Lies, the munchkins’ time to arrive on set was not scheduled until after the Tin Man’s sequence had already been shot.
Fire, Metals and Make-Up in The Wizard of Oz
A film made over 80 years ago is going to have a lesser statute of safety regulations, and much of the make-up and costuming that the actors were exposed to left them with long-lasting effects. For example, Margaret Hamilton, the Wicked Witch herself, had famous green make-up which contained metallic substances that needed to be fully cleaned off after every shooting day. In addition, Hamilton also suffered serious burns to her hands and face after being lowered through the brick road during her first terrifying sequence in Munchkinland. According to FactsVerse, her recovery took three months before she could return to filming.
Before Jack Haley wore the silver make-up to play the Tin-Man, American actor Buddy Ebsen was originally cast to play the role. However, the original costume design called for aluminum based make-up which hospitalized Ebsen after nine days of filming. Take it from Ebsen’s own words in his autobiography:
The famous costume that Bert Lahr had to wear to portray the Cowardly Lion was incredibly heavy, weighing nearly 90 pounds. Parts of real lion pelts were included in the costume to give it a more authentic look, a practice that would not be allowed with today’s animal rights laws. In addition, the costume got so hot for Lahr, already baking under the nearly 100 degree, studio-lit set, that he’d sweat through it. His costume had to be rung out and washed after every day of shooting.
“It was several days later when my cramps began. My first symptoms had been a noticeable shortness of breath. I would breathe and exhale and then get the panicky feeling I hadn’t breathed at all. Then I would gasp for another quick breath with the same result. My fingers began to cramp, and then my toes. For a time I could control this unusual cramping by forcibly straightening out my fingers and toes.
One night in bed I woke up screaming. My arms were cramping from my fingers upward and curling simultaneously so that I could not use one arm to uncurl the other. My wife tried to pull my arm straight with some success, just as my toes began to curl; then my feet and legs bent backward at the knees. I panicked. What was happening to me? Next came the worst. The cramps in my arms advanced into my chest to the muscles that controlled my breathing. If this continued, I wouldn’t even be able to take a breath. I was sure I was dying.”
The Wizard of Oz is one of the most watched films of all time and continues to touch audiences all around the world. It tells a beautiful and heartwarming story about friendship and the importance of the loved ones around us. Its visual effects and cinematography still hold up to this day and the music still pulls at the heartstrings. With a new remake by Warner Bros. in the works, we can truly take the time to cherish the groundwork the original film had set for all motion pictures over 80 years later.
