The Wizard of Oz Trivia (1939)

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The Wizard of Oz Trivia

• The ruby red slippers seen in the movie once sold at an auction for $660,000.
• Judy Garland received $35/week for the movie while Toto took home more than $100
• The Wizard of Oz actually did not receive a profit until ten years after its initial release. It would also be subsequent showings on television that contributed to its eventual profit making. Having been re-released ten years later in theatres, and then again appearing on television, it finally came out of the red. When "The Wizard of Oz" was shown on television, it was rated as one of the most watched movies on TV ever. It has since been shown virtually every year on one station or another and is indeed deemed a classic.
• Frank Morgan plays five different roles in the film: Professor Marvel, the Gatekeeper at the Emerald City, the Cabdriver, the Wizard's Guard and the Wizard himself.
• In the ‘horse of a different color’ sequence, white horses were covered with Jell-o powder to make them the colors of the rainbow. The horses had to be managed carefully and the scenes shot quickly before the horses started to lick the powder off.
• The iconic song “Over the Rainbow” was nearly cut from the film. The producers were worried that the opening black and white sequence was too long and too slow and that having Judy Garland singing in a barnyard was insulting.
• Toto was played by a female Cairn terrier named Terry. The dog reportedly was paid more per week than the actors playing the Munchkins. Terry was stepped on by one of the actors playing the castle guards and had to be replaced by a stunt dog for several weeks while she recovered.
• The green-skinned guards at the Witch’s castle are called Winkies.
• L. Frank Baum came up with the name ‘Oz’ after looking around his office and seeing the letters on the drawers of his filing cabinet. The top read ‘A-G’, the middle ‘H-N’ and the bottom ‘O-Z’.
• The date on the death certificate for the Wicked Witch of the East is May 6th, 1938. L. Frank Baum died on May 6th, 1919.
• Dorthy's last name was Gale.
• Buddy Ebsen was originally cast as the Scarecrow but was forced out of the production due to an allergic reaction to the costumes makeup.
• Margaret Hamilton, who plays the Wicked Witch of the West, was a kindergarten teacher before becoming an actress.
• The "oil" that was used to lubricate the Tin Man was not really oil. It was discovered that oil would not photograph well, so they used chocolate syrup instead.