The Backstory: What They Don't Tell You About The Wizard of Oz

We all love The Wizard of Oz, right? So why was it a box office flop when it came out? And why was production so horrible for the cast and crew? It’s a story of what people put up with (and still put up with) to make it in Hollywood.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Today we're revisiting a favorite episode from the past. I mean, really,
who doesn't love The Wizard of Oz? The music, the
vivid colors, Toto, for God's sakes, It's an American classic.
So why was it a box office flop? Why did
the studio try to get the director to cut the
song Somewhere over the Rainbow out of the movie? And

(00:22):
why was that beautiful film hell on Earth for the
cast and crew. I'm Patty Steele behind the scenes with
The Wizard of Oz. Next on the backstory, We're back
with the backstory. Okay, when you think of the all
time classic hits that came out of Hollywood, wouldn't you

(00:43):
say The Wizard of Oz is right up there on
that list? Except when it came out who is kind
of a flop? In fact, the New Yorker magazine called
it a stinkeroo. Not my words are their words. On
the upside, the New York Times really liked the movie,
but really hated the special effects, especially the bubble the
good Witch came down in in munchkin Land. They didn't

(01:06):
think that worked. But worst of hull for Hollywood because
it costs so much to make. At the end of
the day, The Wizard of Oz was a money loser
for the studio. It wasn't until ten years later when
it was re released that it finally made a profit.
And listen to this. When it came to the Academy Awards,
Oz was nominated for a modest five Oscars, but it

(01:30):
only won two of them. And by the way, the
iconic song over the Rainbow was almost cut because MGM
execs thought the song slowed down the movie. They asked
why a farm girl would sing a ballad outside of
a barn? Not very creative thinking, right. It was only
when the flick's producer, along with Judy Garland, went to

(01:51):
battle to keep it in that it made the final cut,
and it's a good thing it did, because that song
was one of the only two oscars the Wizard of
Oz one. Okay, now, in fairness, it was a tough
year to put a film out since it was up
against a ton of iconic clicks like the mega hit
Gone with the Win, as well as Wuthering Heights, Mister

(02:12):
Smith Goes to Washington, Stagecoach and many more. But the
making of the Wizard of Oz wasn't exactly a fun
time for Judy Garland the star, or, for that matter,
for most of the people involved in the production. Well,
first of all, imagine your sixteen year old Judy Garland.
You're already totally insecure because you've got a really vicious

(02:34):
mother who constantly threatens you. She violently punishes you and
mentally abuses you to get you to do what she wants.
And all she wants is for you to make money
and be a bigger star. Later in life, Judy called
her mom the real wicked witch of the West. So anyway,

(02:54):
you'll arrive on the Wizard of Oz movie set only
to have studio executives complain too old, too fat, and
not pretty enough for the role. You're reminded they really
wanted Shirley Temple to play Dorothy, but you only got
the job because you could sing way better, no kidding.
These icy individuals want you to look younger, so they

(03:16):
bind your breasts really tight so you don't look sixteen.
They want you to lose weight, so you're only given
chicken soup and black coffee every day, and they also
give you every day four packs of cigarettes to keep
your weight down. But that's not enough. With mom's blessing,
they make you take barbituates and amphetaments to keep you

(03:38):
slim and awake snow under Judy was an attic for
the rest of her life, and the physical abuse continues.
You get slapped by the director whenever you giggle on
the set. And remember the scene where Dorothy falls asleep
in the field of poppies, but Glinda, the Goodwitch makes
it snow so she'll wake up. They actually use asbestos

(04:01):
fibers because it was the cheapest fake snow they could find,
and Judy wasn't the only one abused. The Cowardly Lion's
costume was made from fifty pounds of real lion pelts,
impossibly heavy and hot, especially because the temperature on set
was always well over one hundred degrees. That was due

(04:22):
to the arc lighting needed for that early Technicolor film.
And there's more. A bunch of the flying monkeys really
people in costume got hurt when the piano wire holding
them up broke. Both the Wicked Witch and her stand
in were badly burned by flames from the flying broom
and scarred, and the original tin man was hospitalized and

(04:44):
then finally replaced after his lungs gave out due to
the aluminum dust in his silver body makeup, and oh man,
do not get me started on the Munchkins. The Little
People actors were so much trouble on the set. The
cops were called infrequently because of their drinking and also
for harassing young Judy Garland. Now, on the other hand,

(05:08):
they were also treated horribly. In fact, the guy that
hired them for the studio took half their paychecks if
they weren't short enough. In fact, the dog that played
Toto was paid more than they were. Speaking of Toto,
they say Terry, the pup who played Toto, suffered several
nervous breakdowns while filming. As tough as Hollywood still seems

(05:31):
to be. None of this stuff exactly would happen today
because there are people advocating for all these folks and animals.
But it's still horribly abusive. It's just way more subtle.
Problem is everybody then and now wants to be a star.
It just depends on how much you're willing to put

(05:51):
up with to make it. I'm Patty Steele. Story is
a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, the Elvis Durant Group,
and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is Mike Paeseglia. Our
writer is Jake Kushner. New episodes are out every Tuesday

(06:12):
and Friday, and feel free to reach out to me
with comments and story suggestions on Instagram at Reel Patty
Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening
to the Backstory with Patty Steele, the pieces of history
you didn't know you needed to know.