Horrors Behind The Wizard of Oz - Documentary

[Music] in 1939 the musical fantasy of The Wizard of Oz overtook the film industry and became an instant classic standing at 99 percent on Rotten Tomatoes even after all these years it's often ranked on best movie list by critics and the public alike praised for its use of Technicolor fantasy storytelling musical score and unusual characters becoming an icon for American pop culture and home to over the rainbow which won an award for Best Original Song it was MGM's most expensive production to date but it didn't come without its problems from costume malfunctions to putting the actors in danger over and over again there was certainly a dark side to working on the film that the audience wasn't aware of until recent years many have heard the rumors that there was an original tin man that had to be replaced due to an allergic reaction to his silver makeup but the facts go far beyond just an inconvenience to the actor the first person cast to play the Tin Man was Ray Bolger but due to him wanting a role where he could move more freely as a dancer he convinced MGM to switch him to the Scarecrow which was originally played by buddy Ebsen costuming the Tin Man was still in the works at this point and the makeup department was experimenting with different tactics to acquire that perfect light silver metal look what they settled on was an aluminium dust applied over clown white makeup and the actor began recording songs for the soundtrack principal photography and four weeks of rehearsal nine days later however absent was rushed to the hospital in placed an oxygen tent when his lungs began to fail he described it all starting with shortness of breath followed by cramping in his hands and feet that would make his fingers and toes painfully curl up unable to move he awoke one night screaming due to the pain as the cramps took hold of his arms and legs and chest restricting his breathing to the point where he thought he was going to die the aluminum dust had either caused an allergic reaction or an infection in his lungs he spent two weeks in the hospital and another month recuperating in San Diego meanwhile Jack Haley was hired to replace the former tin man they swapped out the metallic dust makeup for a paste which caused Haley and I infection and lost four days of shooting but quick treatment prevented permanent damage on the original soundtrack you can still hear buddy ebsen's voice in the song we're off to see the Wizard an iconic scene in the film takes place when Dorothy is put under a sleeping spell by the Wicked Witch and falls asleep in a field of poppies while snow falls over her unknown to filmmakers homeowners and retail stores everywhere back then cheap fake snow was made from the now notably harmful substance asbestos it was also used on set to flameproof the scarecrow costume one of the most feared villains at the time was the green skinned Wicked Witch of the West played by Margaret Hamilton during the second take of the scene where the which dramatically departs from Munchkinland and a blast of fire in smoke the actors got 2nd degree burns on her face and 3rd degree burns on her hand she spent six weeks recuperating from the accident and returned to work under the one condition that she no longer has to deal with fireworks with the stipulation in place the studio had her stunt double take over in the scene where the witch writes a message in the sky on her broom the double Betty Denko was to sit on a smoking pipe configured to look like a broom unfortunately for even the witch's double the pipe exploded on the third take of the scene permanently scarring the actresses legs another double alien goldwyn was hired to finish her seen even the star of the film wasn't free from the struggles produced by MGM sixteen-year-old Judy Garland acquired the role of Dorothy Gale which would mark both the beginning and end of her career Judy had played in a string of MGM films before her role in The Wizard of Oz including babes in arms and Love Finds Andy Hardy the studio would demand that she take pep pills to suppress her appetite and keep her energy up then at the end of the day they would give Judy as well as other child stars sleeping pills by the time she was cast in The Wizard of Oz the cause in criticism about her weight and the grueling work schedule caused the young actress to abuse more pills she was put on a strict diet of chicken soup black coffee and cigarettes to suppress her appetite spies from the studio would follow Judy home to make sure she kept up with the dangerous regimen and if they found she was cheating they would send her to the studio doctor to obtain more diet pills which gave her insomnia in this dire time of need the teenager was also shunned by some of the adult cast of The Wizard of Oz they were concerned that she was getting too much attention and upstaging them leaving them turning their backs on the abused girl during shooting ironically the only saving brief she had from this torment was gaining a friend in Margaret Hamilton the Wicked Witch while the role of Dorothy was her crowning achievement it also left her dependent on the drugs and suffering from severe body image issues down the road judy was fired from MGM as well as other works because she couldn't keep to the schedules but the actress never stopped working the stress of performing would be her downfall destroying her voice body and mind with multiple nervous breakdowns while her time in the spotlight ultimately led to her death at 47 in 1969 she still lives on as an American icon because she never wanted to give up for the fans the practices of Hollywood were very different back then actors were seen as more or less props to use up and if they broke you could just replace them from a line of ready and willing participants this would lead to the use of unions solely meant to protect actors from such abuse The Wizard of Oz will live on as a family classic but it's important to know what they went through to make it happen

Channel: Lady White Rabbit

Views: 2,207,197

Keywords: Creepy, Creepypasta, reading, White Rabbit, creepypastareading, horror, scary, lady white rabbit, creepypasta reading, creepy pasta, ladywhiterabbit, Wizard of Oz, Documentary, Educationa, Judy Garland, Dorathy Gale

Id: F-et5Tsdqds

Length: 6min 31sec (391 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 20 2017