The Wizard Of Oz was released on August 24th, 1939 making it the 79th anniversary of the film!
The story of a girl, her dog Toto, and the friends she makes while following the yellow brick road is a class and we thought why not share some fun facts with you!
Here are some facts that you probably didn't know about The Wizard of Oz:
1. The Cowardly Lion costume weighed almost 100 pounds and was made with real lion pelts!
2. Judy Garland had to wear a corset in order to appear more childlike as Dorothy.
3. The early Technicolor process required more light than a normal film production so that means the temperature on set often had to exceed 100 degrees.
4. In the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Dorothy’s slippers were silver. However, they were changed to “ruby” in order to take advantage of the Technicolor wow factor.
5. The special effects crew used flavored Jell-O powder to color the horses for the Emerald City scenes.
6. Shirley Temple was a frontrunner for the part of Dorothy, but it’s said that producers didn’t think she had the right vocals cut out for Dorothy.
7. Buddy Ebsen (Jed Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies) was the first choice for the Tin Man, but he suffered from an extreme allergic reaction to the aluminum dust in his makeup.
8. Judy Garland was originally supposed to wear a blonde wig and heavy baby doll makeup. However, the director decided to go with a natural look instead.
9. The Wicked Witch’s makeup was toxic, so actress Margaret Hamilton lived on a liquid diet to avoid accidental ingestion.
10. Wicked Witch actress Margaret Hamilton was severely burned in the scene where she disappears into a cloud of smoke.
11. The paint used to color the Yellow Brick Road showed up green on a screen test. The crew replaced it with standard yellow industrial paint.
12. Ray Bolger (The Scarecrow), Bert Lahr (The Cowardly Lion), and Jack Haley (The Tin Man) ate in their dressing rooms during breaks because their costumes frightened diners in the MGM cafeteria.
13. The song “Over the Rainbow” was almost cut from the movie because execs thought it made the movie too long.
14. The Tin Man’s oil was really chocolate sauce.
15. The girl’s voice heard in the Tin Man’s “If I Only Had a Heart” belongs to Adriana Caselotti, who is the voice of Snow White.
16. Dorothy’s blue and white dress was actually blue and pink.
17. Dorothy’s hair changes length in the movie (most visible in the Scarecrow’s cornfield scene). This was due to reshoots, and changes in her costume and overall look.
18. The Wicked Witch’s death certificate is dated May, 6 1938, which marked the 20th anniversary of L. Frank Baum’s death.
19. Part of the Cowardly Lion’s facial prosthetic consisted of a brown paper bag.
20. When The Witch tries to yank off the Ruby Slippers, a fire erupts. The effect was created with apple juice, but then it was sped up on film to make it look like fire.
Did you know these facts?