"The Wizard of Oz" is one of the most timeless, family-friendly movies of all time – but there's a lot of darkness underneath that Technicolor dreamscape. This is the twisted history you never knew about the classic film.
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00:00The Wizard of Oz is one of the most timeless, family-friendly movies of all time, but there's
00:04a lot of darkness underneath that technicolor dreamscape.
00:07This is the twisted history you never knew about the classic film.
00:11One of the tough things about The Wizard of Oz is separating fact from fiction, especially
00:15when it comes to longstanding rumors about the film's massive mob of munchkins.
00:19According to the munchkins themselves, there was no drunken carousing, no orgies, and no
00:23need for them to be picked up with butterfly nets for shooting the next morning.
00:26The core group of munchkins was made up of a troupe of European vaudeville actors called
00:31the Singer Midgets, but munchkin Mickey Carroll was born in St. Louis.
00:35That meant that he had something big going for him.
00:37He could speak English.
00:38When it came time for filming, they needed people who could deliver what would become
00:41some pretty iconic lines.
00:42Carroll performed these lines along with munchkin coroner Meinhardt Robbie.
00:46It was Carroll who provided voices for the Lollipop Guild, and even said the iconic,
00:49Follow the yellow brick road.
00:51By the end of filming, he'd spent three weeks doing voiceover work, including Auntie Em's
00:55panicked shouts when the tornado hits, when she couldn't yell loud enough.
00:59YAHOO!
01:01Carroll was one of the last surviving munchkins, dying in 2009 at 89 years old.
01:05We hope he found his own happiness at the end of the rainbow.
01:09Actor Frank Morgan played five different roles in Oz.
01:11Professor Marvel, the crying gatekeeper, the driver behind the horse of a different color,
01:16the wizard's guard, and the Wizard of Oz himself.
01:18But it wasn't just acting chops that got him through such an arduous schedule.
01:22The first day Morgan showed up on set, he had a briefcase.
01:25But carrying things like papers and scripts was for amateurs.
01:28His briefcase had a minibar in it.
01:29Ray Bolger, who played the Scarecrow, said,
01:31"...no matter how many times he retreated to the black briefcase, he was never less
01:34than a gentleman."
01:35Although, when he tried to stop drinking, he was often short-tempered and irritable.
01:39According to his wardrobe man, Morgan's drink of choice was champagne, and there was at
01:43least one incident where director Victor Fleming confronted Morgan and told him to drink more
01:47so he was tolerable on set.
01:49If you always thought that the Cowardly Lions costume looked incredibly realistic, that's
01:53because, well, it was made from real lions.
01:56The idea had been to make a couple of costumes so actor Burt Lahr would be able to swap them
02:00out during filming.
02:01But the unique patterns of the real lion hides made that impossible, since every costume
02:05would look different.
02:06Lahr ended up with one single costume that weighed about 60 pounds, which quickly filled
02:10with sweat under the hot studio lights.
02:12It became such a problem that the filmmakers needed to make a special purchase, an industrial
02:16drying bin to help get the costume a little less wet for the next day.
02:19At least Stunt Doubles and Stand-Ins got to share a different sticky costume, which was
02:23close enough to the original to stand in during faraway shots.
02:26After filming, the costume was largely forgotten until it was rediscovered for a 1970 auction,
02:31where it sold for $2,400.
02:33It was later restored, and went on to sell for $3.1 million.
02:38Jack Haley made the Tin Man everything we all know and love, but a weird series of events
02:42put him there.
02:43The original cast list featured Buddy Ebsen as the Scarecrow and Ray Bolger as the Tin
02:46Man, but that's obviously not how things turned out.
02:49The story goes that Bolger wanted to be the Scarecrow since he was a dancer, and didn't
02:53want to be trapped inside a tin suit.
02:55He went to MGM honcho Mervyn LeRoy and said he'd been cast in the wrong role.
02:59They allowed Ebsen and Bolger to swap roles, and some of the movie was even filmed before
03:02Ebsen was sent to the hospital with a major allergic reaction to the aluminum dust that
03:06he was painted with.
03:07According to Ebsen, no one believed he was sick, and he was ordered back to the set.
03:11That is, until, thankfully, medical personnel got involved.
03:14Ebsen would go on to complain of breathing problems for the rest of his life, and he
03:17didn't even get to be in the movie.
03:19Jack Haley was hired, and the studio switched to using aluminum paste rather than dust,
03:23and that quickly gave Haley a severe eye infection, so filming was delayed again.
03:28Margaret Hamilton, who played the Wicked Witch, was the type to suffer for her craft.
03:32And while there were a whole bunch of accidents during filming that would have today's stars
03:35calling their lawyers, her on-set mishap ranks right at the top.
03:40The first take of the witch leaving Munchkin Land went perfectly, but director Victor Fleming
03:44wanted another take, just in case.
03:47During take two, Hamilton's hat and coat caught on fire, burning layers of skin off her face
03:51and hands.
03:52That's pretty bad, right?
03:53Well, it gets worse.
03:54The only way to get the green paint off of her burned skin was with alcohol.
03:58She left the set for six weeks and returned before she had completely healed.
04:02Since they couldn't reapply the green paint, she wore gloves for the rest of the filming.
04:05Not surprisingly, she had lost a bit of faith in the special effects department and refused
04:09to do any more fire-related scenes.
04:11They still had that famous skywriting sequence to film, and that required an actress who
04:14was willing to sit on a prop broomstick that spewed smoke.
04:17Long story short, it was a pipe, it was filled with fire, and it exploded.
04:22Hamilton's stunt double Betty Danko was hospitalized for 11 days.
04:25Presumably, she never worked with fire again, either.
04:28It's obvious that back in the good old days, we didn't always know what we were doing when
04:31it came to science and human bodies, which is why pure, uncut asbestos was used in just
04:35about everything, including the scene in The Wizard of Oz where Dorothy's gang falls
04:39asleep in the field and snow begins to fall.
04:41Obviously, that's not snow that's falling on them.
04:44But the choice of asbestos was perhaps short-sighted.
04:47The film's stars were all covered with asbestos fibers, and at the time, it wasn't that odd.
04:51Asbestos was often used to simulate fake snow, even in department stores.
04:54Do you know what else contained asbestos?
04:56Everything that needed to be fireproofed, including the Wicked Witch's broom and part
05:00of the Scarecrow's costume.
05:01That's right.
05:02The soldier was dancing around in asbestos, underfalling asbestos, not even knowing he
05:06was giving cancer the big ol' middle finger.
05:09Until his death from cancer in 1987.
05:11They say you should suffer for your art, but Judy Garland suffered more on the set of The
05:16Wizard of Oz than any actor should ever be expected to.
05:19Lead actress Judy Garland was only 16 years old at the time of production, and she mesmerized
05:23audiences with her incredible acting and singing talent.
05:26Toto?
05:27I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.
05:31Despite facing plenty of challenges along the way, Dorothy concludes her adventure relatively
05:35unscathed.
05:36Sadly, though, Garland's experience prior to and during production of the film was far
05:40from magical, and the misery she endured would leave a negative impression on the young woman
05:44for the rest of her life.
05:46MGM studio executives were impressed with Garland's singing, but they noted several
05:50so-called flaws in her appearance that they sought to change or obscure during filming.
05:54One of the biggest issues was the fact that Dorothy was supposed to be eight years old.
05:58In an effort to make Garland look younger, her breasts were taped down, and she was made
06:02to wear a tight corset.
06:03The film's costume designers also made a wig with pigtails to further obscure her chest.
06:08Producer Mervyn LeRoy hired a personal fitness trainer to make sure Garland maintained a
06:12regular exercise regimen and ordered her to go on a restrictive diet to keep her weight
06:16low.
06:17Garland was reluctant to follow the strict diet and would often binge on her favorite
06:20foods when she had the opportunity, and her bosses didn't respond well.
06:24Studio executives reportedly began referring to the teen as a fat little pig with pigtails.
06:29In an attempt to further suppress her appetite, Garland was prescribed controversial diet
06:33pills.
06:35Dexedrine was a newer medication at the time, used to treat issues including depression,
06:39narcolepsy, and obesity.
06:40However, as a stimulant, dexedrine was known to be addictive, and it had a number of adverse
06:44side effects, including insomnia.
06:46After finding herself unable to sleep, Garland was prescribed sleeping pills soon afterwards.
06:51Pills weren't the only thing that Garland was forced to consume.
06:55The teenage actress was encouraged to smoke as many as 80 cigarettes per day, a further
06:58attempt to curb her appetite and help her lose even more weight, and her diet was restricted
07:03even more, to black coffee and chicken soup.
07:06Garland was closely watched, and she would be punished for disobeying.
07:09MGM was also concerned about the appearance of Garland's teeth and nose.
07:13Therefore, she was allegedly forced to wear caps on her teeth to hide the fact that they
07:17were misaligned.
07:18She also had to wear rubber discs in her nose to change its shape while filming.
07:22Although the attention Garland received was not entirely positive, it was attention nonetheless,
07:26and it led to animosity between her and her co-stars.
07:29Ray Bolger, Burt Lahr, Jack Haley, and Frank Morgan, who played the Scarecrow, Lion, Tin
07:34Man, and Wizard, respectively, all shunned her while the movie was being filmed.
07:38That wasn't all.
07:39The director also seemed to resent her.
07:41During the filming of a scene with Lahr, Garland started giggling and could not stop, so Victor
07:45Fleming apparently became so frustrated with Garland that he actually struck her in the
07:49face.
07:50Garland was also allegedly assaulted by the actors who played the Munchkins in The Wizard
07:53of Oz.
07:54In his memoir, Garland's former husband, Sidney Luft, said of the men who were much older
07:58than the teenager,
07:59"...they thought they could get away with anything because they were so small.
08:02They would make Judy's life miserable on set by putting their hands under her dress."
08:06Despite the cruel treatment she received, Garland's performance in The Wizard of Oz
08:09gained widespread critical acclaim and helped secure the film's legendary status.
08:14It's also been cited as the best performance of Garland's career, as well as the beginning
08:17of her eventual downfall.
08:20In addition to fueling her addiction to drugs and alcohol, Garland's time filming The Wizard
08:23of Oz negatively impacted her already low self-esteem, and was a detriment to her mental
08:28health.
08:29Garland was heavily addicted to drugs and alcohol before she reached the age of 30,
08:32and it negatively impacted her acting ability.
08:35In 1949, she was cast as the lead in Annie Get Your Gun, but she was fired after one
08:39month of filming for repeated tardiness and for showing up to work visibly intoxicated.
08:44Garland sought treatment at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, and following her release,
08:48she was cast in films like Summerstock and Royal Wedding, but she continued to struggle.
08:53Citing excessive absenteeism and tardiness, Garland was ultimately fired by MGM.
08:58Although Garland continued performing for the remainder of her life, she had a number
09:02of health concerns related to her drug and alcohol use.
09:05She died of a barbiturate overdose on June 22, 1969, at the age of 47.
09:11Just beyond the Ellerbrook Road, there is a much darker tale.
09:14Not wicked dark, like systematic discrimination-behind-the-scenes dark.
09:18Judy Garland, future icon of the lavish golden era of Hollywood, took the role of evolving
09:23farm girl Dorothy Gale when she was just 17 years old.
09:27The role would just about define her career for the rest of her life, so was it worth
09:30it?
09:31According to the Los Angeles Times, Garland was paid $500 a week for playing the part
09:35over the course of 22 weeks.
09:37That's the equivalent to about $10,000 a week by today's standards, which isn't terrible.
09:42There's no Jennifer Aniston salary, but considering Technicolor Film had just been invented, not
09:47terrible.
09:48But the scene starts to take shape when we compare Garland's earnings to those of her
09:51co-stars.
09:52Dorothy's dog, Toto, who was present alongside her for the entirety of the film, made an
09:56especially decent wage — well, for a Cairn Terrier, at least.
10:00Terry the Terrier and her owner brought in $125 a week for the role.
10:04All that, and they never even asked her to speak.
10:07The Wizard of Oz employed more than 600 actors over six months of production, a total spectacle
10:12of scale.
10:13The ensemble of Munchkins, aka the citizens of vibrant Munchkinland in Oz's eastern region,
10:19made up about a sixth of the cast list.
10:21The actors who played these roles were all people with dwarfism, and, unfortunately,
10:25this is where compensation on the Oz production takes a turn for the worse.
10:30Despite carrying singing and speaking roles in the film, the little people who played
10:33the Munchkins received less than half of Toto's salary, taking home only $50 a week.
10:39The saddest part is, that was as good as it got for actors with dwarfism in Hollywood
10:43at the time.
10:44Maybe it can be chalked up to a sign of the times — really, really unfortunate times.
10:49Remember how Garland was doing all right with $500 a week?
10:52Well, while Garland was the main star of the film and is present for every scene, she still
10:57made significantly less than the men who played Dorothy's companions — Scarecrow, Tin Man,
11:02and Cowardly Lion.
11:03Of course, we know Hollywood has progressed quite a bit since the so-called Golden Age,
11:08but it doesn't change the fact that, today, there is still work to do when it comes to
11:12equal pay and representation.
11:14Little people continue to be marginalized in the entertainment industry and still have
11:17to advocate for themselves constantly.
11:19In the 1930s, just as today, little people were extremely limited in the screen roles
11:24offered to them.
11:25They were cast most often in mystical and magical roles, typically in the fantasy or
11:29horror genre.
11:30The typecast is extremely offensive, barring representation of people with dwarfism in
11:34the real world.
11:36While Oz did employ over a hundred little people in the cast, the production only spurred
11:40offensive stereotypes.
11:42Some of the most well-circulated rumors about the filming of The Wizard of Oz involved the
11:45behavior of the little people on set.
11:47There was one even perpetuated by Garland herself, that the Munchkin actors were all,
11:52quote, little drunks.
11:53And they got smashed every night, and they'd pick them up in butterfly nets.
11:59Meanwhile, Jerry Maron, one of the singers of the Lollipop Guild, tells a much different
12:04story.
12:05In an interview with The Independent, he said of the Munchkin Land ensemble,
12:08"...there were a couple of kids from Germany who liked to drink beer.
12:11They got in a little trouble, and wanted to meet the girls, but they were the only ones."
12:16In 1996, author and journalist Stephen Cox released a book titled The Munchkins of Oz.
12:21The book was meant to highlight the lives of the actors who played the famous characters.
12:25Along with terrible pay, most Munchkins weren't even individually credited in the film.
12:29Cox also explored the lives of some of the actors who continued to work in Hollywood,
12:33and the ones that left after just one gig.
12:36The film production highlighted the issues of generally limited work opportunities for
12:39little people, with so many willing to completely switch career paths for a few weeks, just
12:44to make a fraction of what other Oz ensemble actors made.
12:47Perhaps we can take small comfort in the fact that, while Toto got more pay, it was the
12:51Munchkins that earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, per the Los Angeles Times.
12:56The single star recognizes all 124 little people that made history in MGM's 1939 film.
13:03When The Wizard of Oz came out, not everyone was a fan.
13:06In fact, one prominent film critic decried the movie for what he termed vulgarity.
13:12Much of the buzz around The Wizard of Oz was due to an extensive marketing campaign.
13:17Just the circus-style movie posters were enough to generate excitement for the film, making
13:21claims such as,
13:22"... it took two years just to plan it and startling balloon ascent."
13:26Even details about the costumes and special effects were blasted onto some of the posters
13:31just to emphasize how unbelievable they were.
13:34Entire articles were written in magazines and newspapers as advertisements.
13:38MGM spent a massive amount buying ad space in every publication it possibly could, printing
13:43full-color Kodachrome cover art.
13:46Merch also appeared in some unusual places.
13:48In her History of T-Shirts, branding expert Alyssa Mertez notes that the first promotional
13:54T-shirt ever was made for The Wizard of Oz.
13:57You can actually see it in the movie, made by Hanes and emblazoned with Oz in bold white.
14:03Even in an era long before music streaming, Over the Rainbow and We're Off to See the
14:08Wizard were instant hits.
14:10Over the Rainbow soon became one of the most demanded songs on the radio.
14:13What is now considered one of the greatest soundtracks of all time appealed to listeners
14:18from the beginning thanks to its whimsy.
14:20The wistful sadness of Over the Rainbow also resonated with audiences who could use something
14:25to take them far, far away from the hard times of the Depression.
14:28While We're Off to See the Wizard was catchy enough for critics and casual viewers alike
14:32to be skipping along to it.
14:34The songs from the film were so memorable that they played an undeniable role in the
14:38film becoming a cultural icon.
14:40Some, especially Over the Rainbow, were both a return to innocence and a form of expression
14:46in a time of need.
14:47According to Raymond Knapp in the American musical in the performance of Personal Identity,
14:52Ding Dong the Witch is Dead vented the anger and frustration that had built up after the
14:56massive stock market crash, which all but broke the human spirit during the bleak 1930s.
15:02The Wizard of Oz was an escape for those weary from the Depression.
15:06The desolation of the era was part of the reason why everything that transpired at the
15:10Gale Family Farm was filmed in dreary black and white.
15:13There was more symbolism, too.
15:15Miss Gulch, the richest woman in the county, and her wicked witch alter ego symbolized
15:20the greed, evil, and oppression of the era.
15:22And the Wizard?
15:23Just a con man, a character who The Hollywood Reporter said was, quote,
15:27"...rich and humorous innuendo."
15:29But history goes further, comparing the Wizard to President Herbert Hoover, whose big promises
15:34to relieve the Depression were mostly empty.
15:37From Dorothy's homesickness to the laments of the scarecrow, tin man, and lion seeking
15:41a brain, a heart, and courage, there were countless elements of The Wizard of Oz that
15:45proved there was humanity in a world that was otherwise imaginary.
15:50William Stillman, co-author of The Wizardry of Oz, told the Los Angeles Times that The
15:54Wizard of Oz sold out in theaters, with around half of the audience being eager, wide-eyed
15:59children.
16:00The majority of critics were enchanted.
16:02The film also received five Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture, which it ultimately
16:08lost to a little movie called Gone with the Wind.
16:11But it did score wins for Best Original Song and Best Original Score.
16:15Despite all that, The Wizard of Oz wasn't actually a big hit.
16:19It cost around $2.8 million to make, and only brought back $3 million, meaning that once
16:25you add in the cost of that massive marketing campaign, the studio actually lost money.
16:30It wasn't until the film was re-released in 1949 and 1955 that it finally turned a profit.
16:36Funnily enough, though, the true source of the movie's lasting popularity is actually
16:40due to television.
16:42The Wizard of Oz first aired on TV in 1956 to a huge audience, and brought in an even
16:47bigger rating when it aired again in 1959.
16:51Sensing a hit, the networks began airing The Wizard of Oz every year, becoming a beloved
16:55tradition for tens of millions of Americans to this day.
17:00Judy Garland was instantly dubbed America's sweetheart in the afterglow of her star performance
17:05as Dorothy.
17:06Legions of little girls wanted to be just like Dorothy.
17:09As Roger Ebert said in his analysis of The Wizard of Oz, there was just something about
17:13the way Garland played the character, who was courageous but still compassionate and
17:18vulnerable, which appealed to viewers both then and now.
17:21Garland became such an icon that every girl's dream was to have something, maybe even memorabilia,
17:26from the movie, autographed by her.
17:29Oz Museum has recounted the story, which has now become a legend, about a young girl in
17:34a Santa Ana hospital who was obsessed with The Wizard of Oz.
17:37In her sleep, she would call out to Dorothy.
17:40Her heartbroken mother wrote Garland a letter asking if she could send her daughter an autograph
17:44photo, but the actress went above and beyond the rainbow.
17:47According to the story, she visited the hospital, some say in her Dorothy costume, to sign an
17:53autograph in person.
17:56Most reviews for The Wizard of Oz were absolutely glowing.
17:59One film critic writing for the Dallas Morning News said it was the best movie MGM had produced
18:04in years, adding that he personally thought it was up there with Disney's Snow White.
18:09Critics were also mystified over how the studio managed to pull off things like Dorothy picking
18:14an apple from an angry tree that snatches the apple right back.
18:18Sure, the tree was just an actor in a rubber suit that zipped up in the back, as the Dallas
18:22Morning News critic revealed, but the magic was in the suspension of disbelief.
18:26Each one had a man inside to make the limbs move, and here's one of the special effects
18:31guys now coming up for air.
18:33Though Variety critic John C. Flynn noted that some liberties had been taken with L.
18:37Frank Baum's novel, he also found himself enchanted.
18:41Even though the plot was quite straightforward, Flynn and other critics thought that the performances
18:46and effects elevated the movie and exceeded their already high expectations.
18:51Not every critic was a fan, though.
18:53When Russell Maloney composed his review for The New Yorker, he revealed that he was having
18:58a hard time even reviewing the film because it was so garish.
19:01He elaborated,
19:02"...the vulgarity of which I was conscious is difficult to analyze."
19:06Reason for Maloney's reaction included special effects that he found more aggravating than
19:11amusing.
19:12The technicolor, in his opinion, was overdone to the point that you could hardly watch what
19:16was happening on screen.
19:17Then there was his gripe about the Wicked Witch.
19:19It has more to do with the wizard's reaction to her demise, but that was just one of the
19:23many gags he absolutely did not find amusing.
19:27Maloney was even convinced that Burt Lahr's Cowardly Lion had no place in Oz.
19:32He thought there was no imagination in a film that was meant to capture the imagination.
19:36In a recent survey of contemporary reviews, the Los Angeles Times noted that many critics
19:41of the time were put off by the more modern elements used in the film, such as the Wicked
19:45Witch of the West using her broom to skywrite Surrender Dorothy Above the Emerald City.
19:51Critic Otis Ferguson, who reviewed the movie for The New Republic, believed that the film
19:55was trying too hard to emulate the success of Snow White.
19:58He didn't appreciate the humor, though he did believe that the film would be appealing
20:01to kids because of the flashy effects and joyful tunes.