Here are some more fun facts about the making of The Wizard of Oz! Enjoy!
- The flying monkeys were originally going to be animated, but it didn’t work with the rest of the film. In the scenes where they are flying in to capture Dorothy, the monkeys are actually made out of rubber and were suspended by piano wire.
- MGM spent $250,000 promoting the film ($4,199,712.23 in today’s money).
- There were 9,200 actors involved in making the film.
- Maud Baum, the wife of the Oz author Frank Baum, did not like The Wicked Witch at all and didn’t think her husband would either as he never wrote things to scare children.
- For the film to be shown overseas in Denmark and Sweden, several scenes had to be deleted before they would allow it into theaters. The scenes included ones with The Wicked Witch, Miss Gulch, and The Wizard in the throne room.
- The date of the coroner’s scroll of The Wicked Witch’s death is exactly 19 years after Frank Baum’s death. You may also read our article about the Type of Film and Camera Technology Used to Shoot the Wizard of Oz to learn more about the production of the film.