Like Keanu Reeves, The Wizard Of Oz is a movie that not many people dislike.
However, one thing you could hardly call it is “disturbing”… until today.
The Rumored death.
Okay, so this one was never confirmed outright but it was rumored that someone committed suicide on the set.
Look at that creepy shadow…
Munchkins Vs The Toilet.
The showrunners had to hire someone to help the little people who played the Muchkins on and off the toilet.
This is because one time during shooting, one little person got caught for 45 minutes.
Auntie Em committed suicide.
That’s right, at the age of 85 she took a bunch of sleeping pills and killed herself. In her suicide note, she wrote :
“I am now about to make the great adventure… I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen.”
The Witch Got Burned.
You might think this is a good thing, but what I mean by it was Margaret Hamilton suffered second-degree burns on her face and third-degree burns on her hand after a stunt went wrong.
She was supposed to fall through a trap door…
But obviously, it didn’t open in time.
She said about the whole incident: “I know how this business works, and I would never work again. I will return to work on one condition — no more fireworks!”
The Cowardly Lion Costume.
I bet you thought that the Cowardly Lion costume was made of some sort of fabric, or maybe plastic.
No, it was made from real hair. Seriously, did you not read the title?
Dorothy had a strict diet.
Not only was Judy Garland only 16 when she was cast, but they forced her to wear a corset to look younger .
Also, they had her on tobacco to suppress her appetite.
Some Munchkins were not fun.
Especially when it came to Judy Garland.
In the book “Judy and I: My Life with Judy Garland”, Judy’s ex-husband revealed that some of the men who played the Munchkins were “naughty”.
She may have even been sexually assaulted.
Not only were the Munchkins frequently at bars and drunk after work, the same book recalls a moment where:
“The next day, on the set, hungover, they would make Judy’s life miserable by putting their hands under her dress.”
In fact, a lot of them were arrested.
The Munchkins were an absolute terror, apparently. MGM eventually had to hire some people from the studio to keep an eye on them, but according to Judy’s ex-husband:
“[The Munchkins] thought they could get away with anything because they were so small”.
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The Colored Horses.
The studio was having trouble changing their color.
After a while, they just painted the horses with Jell-O powder.
Munchkin Pay.
Maybe the Munchkins were so drunk and disorderly because they were getting really bad pay.
They would only make about 50$ per week, which in today’s money is probably around 900$.
In contrast…
Terry, the dog who played Toto made about 125$ a week. That’s about $2,300 in today’s money.
A dog, a freaking dog made more money than actual humans! I’d make a scene too.
The “Snowfall”.
When the snow starts to fall in this scene, did you know that it was actually asbestos ? You know, that toxic dust that could give you cancer and a mess of other diseases?
They were sprinkling that on their actors.
Dorothy was abused by everyone.
Her mother fed her “pep pills”, the studio execs called her “a fat little pig with pigtails” and of course you already know about all the Munchkin stuff.
Jeez, poor girl.
Toxic Paint
So after getting a bunch of burns, you’d think that the Wicked Witch would’ve filled her suffering quota for the movie, right?
Well, no. Apparently, the pain she was wearing was toxic.
Oh yeah, and it’s been confirmed.
Jack Young, who was one of the makeup artists on the movie, said in the book “The Making of The Wizard of Oz” that :
“Every night when I was taking off the Witch’s makeup, I would make sure that her face was thoroughly clean. Spotlessly clean. Because you don’t take chances with green.”
“Too sophisticated”
Yep, that’s what the filmmakers said about this movie’s audience. They figured they wouldn’t be able to grasp a fantasy movie, so that’s why they made it all a dream.
Jeez, imagine if someone pitched them Lord Of The Rings
The Original Tin Man
Yes, the happy heart needing, singing tin man was actually a replacement.
Jack Haley replaced Buddy Ebsen because the Tin Man suit almost killed the poor guy. Oh yeah, believe it.
Buddy Ebsen
This man, who was famous for playing Jed Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies , got put in the hospital after breathing in dangerous aluminum dust from the Tin Man suit.
And now…
Ever since then, the man has had trouble breathing. He credits his issues to “that damned movie”.
I’d feel the same way if I were you, Buddy. Luckily, I don’t breathe in gross dust all day.
Betty Danko and The Explosion
So believe it or not, but people actually had stunt doubles during this… s-word show of a movie.
Betty Danko was Margaret Hamilton’s, and she spent some time in the hospital after her freaking broom exploded.
The Slipper’s Original Color
Those iconic slippers weren’t actually always ruby.
In the book, the shoes were silver (possibly as an allegory for demonetization of silver in 1873? Yes, I do have a college degree, as a matter of fact).
So why were they changed?
Well, the filmmakers wanted to take advantage of the Technicolor process.
Silver, while it may be a nice color to some, doesn’t look as pretty and bright as ruby.
