35 Amazing Wizard Of Oz Facts That Will Definitely Surprise You

The book 'Amazing Wizard of Oz' was published in July 1900, and the film was released in 1939.

The book was written by L. Frank Baum, and the movie was produced by Victor Fleming and Mervyn LeRoy while the Director was Victor Fleming. Additionally, The production company was Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).

Wizard of Oz is a fiction classic, all about magic, adventure, and make-believe. Being L. Frank Baum's best-seller, the book is today one of the popular choices in children's literature and has been translated to languages from around the world.

The story begins when a tornado sweeps away the protagonist's house in Kansas, Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland), and her dog, Toto, whizzing them to the mystical city of  Oz.

What follows is a long journey in search of a wizard who grants wishes, accompanied by a Scarecrow in need of a brain, the Tin Woodman who wishes for a heart and a Cowardly Lion, longing for courage. The story exerts warmth and thrills, making it a masterpiece and a must-see film for the young and the old.

Some strange and weird props were used for the movie, including chocolate syrup for tears, a brown paper bag as a prosthetic, a cumbersome cowardly lion costume, bizarre stuff in Tin Man's oil, and several others.

Did you know that Frank Morgan played the title role of Wizard of Oz in the movie? But you will be surprised to know Frank Morgan played five characters in the movie, including the wizard's guard.

After reading about some interesting Wizard of Oz facts, including the story around the Tin Man dance, also check out wind vane facts and world bank facts.

Wizard Of Oz Myths

Wizard of Oz was nominated for several Academy Awards and is a two-time Oscar-winning movie today. Its worldwide fame is applaudable, and the film has gone down the history pages as one of the amazing classic films by MGM studios of all time.

But, the things that happened behind the curtains to make all the wonderful effects come to life are surrounded by myths and speculations, some true and some false.

Did Dorothy wear a pink shirt or a white one?

Are you also in awe of the blue and white combination gingham Dorothy wore in the Wizard of oz? It might startle you to know that Dorothy wore a pink and not white shirt. But did we not see the color correctly?

No, you have no eye vision issues. What made it look pink was the idiosyncrasies of technicolor, a process that consists of the dye-transfer technique. The original look involved a blonde wig and makeup, but this was soon changed.

Is that famous line from the film accurate?

Have you been quoting the line of the Witch of the West as" Fly, Fly, my pretties" when she sent her monkeys? You might have misheard her because she yells out, "Fly, Fly, fly."

Was the tin man shown to us not the original one?

In this MGM classic, who we see playing the Tin Man is Jack Haley, but he was not the original Tin Man. Buddy Esben was to play the role, but while nearing the end of the shoot for the role, his lungs failed, and he was rushed to the hospital.

Did one of the Munchkins hang himself on the film's set?

Completely untrue. The supporters of this myth believe that in one of the scenes where Dorothy and the Tin Man are walking down the Yellow Brick Road,  a dark shadow moving in the background is of an actor who hanged himself on the set.

Did the Wicked Witch of the West have toxic makeup on?

The makeup used on the sets of the Wizard of Oz circles many claims. Like the silver makeup of the Tin Man, Margaret Hamilton's (The Witch of the West) green makeup was poisonous.

The green makeup contained copper, which, if ingested, could prove to be fatal. Due to this hazardous effect, the actor, Hamilton, could not consume anything while she had her green makeup on.

Is Pink Floyd's album a coincidence or not?

Many have claimed that Pink Floyd's album, 'Dark Side of the Moon,' was made with the film in mind and is synchronized with the scenes in the classic film.

Did the munchkins harass Judy Garland?

It has been claimed that the actors playing the three munchkins harassed  Judy Garland after visiting Culver City. While it is true that they used to visit Culver City in their free time, anything else, says Time, is gossip.

Shirley Temple had signed a contract with 20th Century Fox. Then, MGM Studios managed to cut a deal to borrow Shirley Temple for The Wizard of Oz, the silent film. This was done in exchange for allowing Clark Gable and Jean Harlow to star in Fox's Old Chicago film.

Did you know that it took more than a year for deep grooves to leave Ray Bolger's face from the prosthetics?

Creepy Facts About The Wizard Of Oz

The actors and people on set had to endure several hardships while shooting for the film. Here are some creepy facts about the Wizard of Oz.

Costumes were torment

The actors of the film had to dress up in costumes that were tormenting. For instance, the cowardly Lion costume worn by Bert Lahr was authentic, meaning it was made from a real lion and weighed approximately 90 lbs (40.8 kg).

Next, the Tin Man's suit, Buddy Esben wore a metal suit, making it hard for him even to sit. The silver makeup put on him also harmed him.

The Beverly Hillbillies was initially cast as the Scarecrow, but he swapped roles with Ray Bolger.

The film's director slapped Judy Garland.

The slap scene between Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion has a story behind it. While filming the scene, the actor Judy Garland kept giggling, and, frustrated, the director Victor Flemming took Judy aside and slapped her for real. He told her to take the scenes seriously and get it done.

The famous song 'Over the Rainbow' almost did not make it to the final cut.

This was because the producers thought the song to be too slow and not interesting enough for the children, and also, the studio head Louis B was of the view that the song was depressing.

Finally, one of the producers and an assistant producer said they would quit if the song were not added, and so it was made the film's part, a famous one.

The renowned Ruby Slippers were taken for free.

In that time, the 1970s, to be more precise, Kurt Warner was the set designer, and he also assisted in wardrobe management in Hollywood during the 1970s. While cleaning the warehouses of MGM, they asked Warner to give them a hand and offered him whatever costume piece he wanted for free.

Scarecrow's makeup left its mark behind.

When the movie was hit, 1939, the makeup industry was far behind where it is today, especially in the quality of makeup. Because today at least, it washes off. Ray Bolger, who played Scarecrow, had to tolerate the marks his makeup left on his face even after a year since the beloved film was wrapped.

Fat little pig with pigtails

This is how the executive at MGM referred to Judy Garland. She had to go through a lot of physical and verbal abuse on set. The co-founder of MGM, Louis B. Meyer, called Judy Garland 'My little hunchback.'

Strict diet

Judy Garland was put on a strict diet which was monitored by people specially hired to watch her by Louis B. Meyer. In case she did not follow her diet, Judy was made to have diet pills to speed up the process of reducing her appetite.

Hamilton suffered burns during the shoot.

While shooting for an iconic scene where the wicked of the west, Margaret Hamilton, had to make a grand entrance, which involved fire. During the process, one of the trap doors was stuck; consequently, Hamilton received second-degree burns on her face and third-degree burns on her hands.

Painting the horses of Emerald City

In contrast to their choices for their actors, the studio chose a safer option to paint the horses. The studio tries several alternatives to make the horses appear mystical and magical. The final method that worked was Jell-O powders.

Toto was paid much more than the three munchkins.

While the Munchkins were paid $50 a week, Toto, the dog, made $125 per week. Meaning, if seen from the perspective of the present year, 2021, Toto made $116,792 yearly. Interesting, isn't it?

One Munchin got stuck in a toilet.

This munchkin was played by the actor Billy Curtis. After this incident, MGM hired attendees for them.

Toxic Snowstorm

In the famous poppy field scenes of the movie where a snowstorm was shown, the snow was not snow but asbestos. This was quite common during those times because asbestos was fireproof, and the use of cotton ceased because it was not fireproof.

Wizard Of Oz Book

We all know that the film Wizard of Oz is an adaptation of L. Frank Baum's book titled 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900, its illustrator was W.W Denslow. We have covered the most interesting facts about the film. Let's disclose the ones surrounding the episodic book.

The most interesting fact is he framed the pencil that L. Frank Baum used to write the book. He started writing this book in 1898, but he was the author of two other books before this.

On the paper attached to the frame, he wrote, "With this pencil, I wrote the manuscript of The Emerald City." Because it was initially given the title of 'The Emerald City.'

Ever wonder how he would have thought of the name 'Oz'? There is a reason behind it.

In the beginning, the author could not come up with the magical land that Dorothy is swept onto. He stumbled upon the marking of his filing cabinet, and the last drawer was marked 'O to Z,' hence the name Oz came into being.

Additionally, the book has 13 sequels. The last of these books is Glinda of Oz, published in 1920.

Initially, he wanted to stop after the sixth book itself, but he had to continue writing due to financial issues. Did you know Baum had visited Kansas only once in his life but probably picked the place because of the storm that took away Dorothy?

A cyclone actually came and killed 31 people in 1893 and destroyed two towns. People found the book so captivating that it sold out in the first two weeks of its distribution and remained a best-seller for two consecutive years.

A silent version of the book was made in 1910 by Selig Polyscope Company, which, if you want to have a look at it, is available on the internet.

When did the Wizard of Oz come out?

1939 was the magical year when this classical film was released. But this was the 9th adaptation of the book 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.' But much to the disappointment of its makers, the film did not do very well at the box office. Ironically enough, today it is one of the most-watched films of all time.

A musical adaptation also originated in 1902, which, a year later, was transformed to Broadway. The highest paying actor from the cast seems to be Ray Bolger, the Scarecrow, and Jack Haley, the Tin Man, earning $3,000 per week.

One would think it to be Judy Garland, but she only made $500 per week. As of today, no principal cast of the film is still alive. The last one who died in 2018 was Jerry Maren, one of the adult Munchkins.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created many interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Wizard of Oz facts, then why not take a look at bigfoot facts or Calculator facts.