FILM · 1939 · USA
The Wizard of Oz
- Directed by
- Victor Fleming
- Runtime
- 102 min
- Studio
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
27 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
Young Dorothy finds herself in a magical world where she makes friends with a lion, a scarecrow and a tin man as they make their way along the yellow brick road to talk with the Wizard and ask for the things they miss most in their lives. The Wicked Witch of the West is the only thing that could stop them.
Summary: TMDB
All facts (27)
- #001
Judy Garland found it hard to be afraid of Margaret Hamilton because she was such a pleasant woman off camera.
- #002
Many scenes were shortened or cut from the film because they were too intense for families and children. One deleted scene in particular showed the tornado completely enveloping the farmhouse. In addition, because Margaret Hamilton's performance was considered too frightening for audiences in later parts of the film, many of the Wicked Witch of the West's scenes were either trimmed or removed entirely.
- #003
Margaret Hamilton, a lifelong fan of the "Oz" books, was delighted when she learned the producers were considering her for a role in the film. When she called her agent to find out which part she was up for, he simply replied: "The witch, who else?"
- #004
To handle the extreme makeup demands of this film, MGM brought in extra help from the studio mail room and courier service. Because most of the Oz extras required prosthetic appliances (false ears, noses, etc.) and applying prosthetics required extensive training, each of the hired makeup artists was trained in one area of prosthetic application and then an assembly line was set up. Each extra would then move from one station to the next each morning to complete their makeup application.
- #005
Margaret Hamilton, a single mother, argued with the studio over guaranteed working time, but agreed to take the role of the Wicked Witch three days before shooting began. Ironically, although she ultimately signed for five weeks of work, she worked on the film for three months.
- #006
The only location shot in the entire film is the clouds over the opening titles.
- #007
The iconic ruby slippers are now held at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, and they are so popular that the carpet in front of them has had to be replaced many times due to wear and tear.
- #008
The famous "Surrender Dorothy" skywriting scene was created using a water tank and a small model witch attached to the tip of a long hypodermic needle. The syringe was filled with milk, the tip of the needle was inserted into the tank, and the words were written in reverse while being filmed from below. One more phrase was added to "Surrender Dorothy": "… or Die!". It was cut before the film's premiere.
- #009
Thirty-five years after the film's premiere, Margaret Hamilton explained her approach to the Wicked Witch character in an interview with Fred Rogers for Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1968). Hamilton saw the Witch as a woman who enjoyed everything she did but was ultimately a sad, lonely figure, living in constant frustration because she never got what she wanted (this is in fact the basis of the novel and musical "Wicked," in which the Wicked Witch of the West is portrayed as an unfortunate heroine). In the same interview, Hamilton also wore the original Witch costume to explain that witches are only imaginary and that children should not be afraid of them.
- #010
Because Judy Garland was 16 during filming and was playing a pre-adolescent child, she had to wear a painful corset-style device around her torso to make her look younger and flatter-chested.
- #011
Judy Garland would later refer to the miniature Juvenile Oscar she won at the 1939 Academy Awards as the Munchkin Award.
- #012
A recent study claimed this is the most-watched film in cinema history, largely because of the number of its annual television showings as well as the various video/DVD/Blu-ray/4K releases that have ensured children of every generation see the film.
- #013
The Munchkins were played by The Singer Midgets, named after their manager Leo Singer rather than for their musical talent. The troupe came from Europe, most of them were Jewish, and some took advantage of a trip to stay in the United States to escape the Nazis. Because most of the little people could not speak English and/or could not sing well, professional singers dubbed most of their voices. Only two are heard speaking in their real-life voices: the ones who give flowers to Dorothy after she gets into the carriage.
- #014
According to lead Munchkin actor Jerry Maren, the "little people" on the film set were paid 50 dollars a week for a six-day work week, while Toto received 125 dollars a week.
- #015
When filming first began, Judy Garland wore a blonde wig and heavy "baby-doll" makeup. When George Cukor took on the role of interim director (after MGM fired original director Richard Thorpe and before a replacement was found), he got rid of the wig and most of the makeup and told her to just be herself.
- #016
Although Judy Garland was a rival to Margaret Hamilton's Dorothy, Hamilton and Garland got along well on set. Garland showed Hamilton a dress she was going to wear on stage at her graduation ceremony. However, Louis B. Mayer sent Garland on a tour with Mickey Rooney, and Garland never got the chance to wear her dress on stage with her classmates. Hamilton was so angry that she called Mayer and yelled at him.
- #017
A reference to something in the book that is not in the screenplay can also be seen in the film. Because no one dared harm anyone bearing the Good Witch's kiss, what protects Dorothy from the Wicked Witch is the kiss Glinda gives her on the forehead.
- #018
L. Frank Baum's novel is far more horrifying than MGM's interpretation. For example, the "Kalidahs" (tiger-bear hybrids) are torn to pieces in a chasm, the Tin Man uses his axe to behead a wildcat and forty wolves, the bumblebees sting themselves to death against the Scarecrow, and the Wizard orders the four not only to fetch the broomstick but to actually kill the Wicked Witch of the West.
- #019
The tornado was a 35-meter muslin sock spun among miniatures of a Kansas farm and fields in a dusty atmosphere. In 1939 there was no motion-picture footage of real tornadoes (the first came in 1951), so the special effects had to be improvised in a way that meteorologists found quite realistic.
- #020
Margaret Hamilton was reluctant to perform the scenes in which Miss Gulch tries to take Toto away to have him destroyed and in which, as the Wicked Witch of the West, she orders Nikko to drown Toto after Dorothy refuses to give her the ruby slippers. Hamilton loved animals, and like Judy Garland she had a bond with Terry, the dog who played Toto.
- #021
The Scarecrow face makeup worn by Ray Bolger consisted partly of a rubber prosthesis with a woven pattern evoking burlap. By the time the film was finished, the prosthesis had left lines on his face that lasted more than a year.
- #022
The first television broadcast, on November 3, 1956, was watched by 44 million people.
- #023
Terry, who had made her film debut in Shirley Temple's Bright Eyes (1934), was the primary dog who played Toto. One of the witch's castle guards stepped on her, and for two weeks her stunt double took over; the second dog was acquired because it resembled Toto more closely. After spending so much time together during filming, Judy Garland wanted to adopt Terry, but her owner, Carl Spitz, would not give her up, and the dog went on to a long career in film. She died in 1945 and was buried in Spitz's yard.
- #024
The Yellow Brick Road first came out green in the initial Technicolor tests. In the three-strip Technicolor process, still experimental in 1938-39, it was adjusted so that the yellow color would read properly.
- #025
Bert Lahr's costume weighed 90 pounds. It was made of real lion skin and was very hot; the arc lights used to illuminate the set often pushed the temperature above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Lahr sweated so much that the costume was soaked by the end of the day, and two people had the sole job of drying it overnight for the next day. It was dry-cleaned occasionally, but as one crew member put it, "it reeked."
- #026
MGM paid $75,000 for the film rights to L. Frank Baum's book, which comes to $1,713,434.93 adjusted for inflation in 2025. According to Munchkin lead actor Jerry Maren, the "little people" on set were paid $50 a week ($1,142.29 adjusted) for a six-day work week, while Toto earned $125 a week ($2,855.72). Filming began on October 13, 1938, and was completed on March 16, 1939, at a then-unheard-of cost of $2,777,000 ($63,442,783.95), and in its first release it earned only $3,000,000 ($68,537,397.10).
- #027
A small sign to the left of the door of Professor Marvel's wagon lists "Balloon Exhibitionist" among his talents.
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