We asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us the wildest movie facts they know, and a bunch of them were about The Wizard of Oz. Here are the truly shocking results.
Note: Submissions include topics of sexual assault.
Everything that could have gone wrong during the making of this movie DID go wrong.
Note: Submissions include topics of sexual assault.
Suggested by pipermurreyj
Sidney Luft also wrote in his memoir that the older male Munchkin actors apparently "thought they could get away with anything because they were so small." The studio hired an assistant director and a lieutenant to keep an eye on everyone, but "many of them would wind up in jail and have to be bailed out." However, they were immediately bailed out so production wouldn't be stalled: "You couldn't lock them up for long because they were needed on the set."
Suggested by victoriaannb2
This particular incident occurred when the Wicked Witch of the West was supposed to make her dramatic, fiery exit from Munchkinland. There was a trap door on set that didn't open fast enough, so Hamilton got caught in the flames. Seconds after the mishap, she looked down at her hand and saw the damage: "From the wrist to the fingernails, there was no skin on the hand. It was as though someone had taken the top of her hand and peeled it like an orange."
She spent six weeks recuperating in the hospital and at home. This was back in the 1930s, so the only reason Hamilton returned to the production and didn't sue MGM's entire studio after the incident was because she knew it would ruin her acting career: "I know how this business works, and I would never work again. I will return to work on one condition — no more fireworks!"
Suggested by s470
Jack Young, one of the film's makeup artists, revealed that the green makeup contained copper oxide, which made it toxic. The toxicity of her makeup actually prevented Hamilton from getting faster medical attention during the fiery stunt gone wrong: "It would have been another matter if she had not been wearing green makeup: makeup man Jack Young would have gently blotted off the greasepaint, and Dr. Jones, the MGM doctor, would have covered the burns with salve. But green makeup was toxic."
In that time, the two makeup colors that studios had to be careful of were gold (because it was a concealer and closed the pores) and green (because of the copper). Young was always extra careful when taking off Hamilton's makeup "because you don't take chances with green." They ended up using alcohol to remove it, and it was such a painful process for Hamilton that "I stood it as long as I could. And then I said, 'I'm going to have to scream.'"
Suggested by austinallie
The studio rightfully ruled that it would be unacceptable to use real paint on the horses during the Emerald City scene. They tried several different alternatives, including food coloring, but "the colors were not subtle enough." Ultimately, they sponged colorful Jell-O powders onto the horses to get the right color and effect. They had to work fast between each take, though, because "the horses invariably managed to lick off most of the Jell-O between shots."
Suggested by pipermurreyj
And if you're curious, one of the costumes for the Cowardly Lion sold for over $3 million at a New York auction a few years ago.
Suggested by georgie45
There's a skywriting sequence in the movie when smoke is supposed to come out of the Wicked Witch of the West's broomstick. To make this happen, a pipe was attached to the bicycle seat saddle on the broomstick. However, during one of the test runs, the pipe exploded.
According to Danko, it "felt as though my scalp was coming off. The explosion blew me off the broomstick." Among other injuries, there was a "two-inch-deep wound that nearly circled Danko's leg, which was full of bits of her costume." Danko made only $35 for completing the broomstick stunt and $790 for everything else she did in the movie.
Suggested by horsebeast
Ebsen was hospitalized and forced out of The Wizard of Oz's production because of the costuming and makeup. When Jack Haley replaced him, the studio started using a safer aluminum paste as makeup. Ebsen claimed to have breathing problems for the rest of his life because of "that damned movie."
Suggested by dellarock
Throughout the next few years, MGM started prescribing Garland even more pills to "control both her weight and her energy levels."
Garland told biographer Paul Donnelly that they'd give her and Mickey Rooney, with whom she made several movies, the pills to "keep us on our feet long after we were exhausted...then knock us out with sleeping pills…then after four hours they’d wake us up and give us the pep pills again so we could work 72 hours in a row. Half of the time we were hanging from the ceiling, but it was a way of life for us.”
Suggested by kaylayandoli
Billy Curtis, one of the Munchkin actors, remembered the event, saying, "They had to clean him off like he was a baby." In regards to having bathroom attendants, Margaret Pellegrini, one of the last surviving Munchkin actors, added that it was "the first time I'd ever had anybody help me go to the bathroom. But the costumes were so unhandy."
Suggested by miker4524
This was a realllllly common practice on movie sets back in the day. Movie studios used asbestos because it was fireproof, unlike cotton, which they previously used. Studios also tried using cornflakes that were painted white to look like snow, but this method was too noisy because of the crunching sound it made whenever actors walked during scenes.