Sad fact: Literally the only reason they bothered with the Green skin for Almira is because…they wanted to show off the Technicolour effects because this was one of the first big Technicolour films in Hollywood history.
Poor Margaret Hamilton. From all accounts, she was the only one who was kind towards Judy Garland, which is ironic considering their roles. Look up her appearance on Sesame Street as well. Poor woman.
Yeah. Apparently she was a pretty nice person. Sucks to know she and people like her keep getting subjected to horrible treatment like this even today.
Was it worth it? Sure, they ended up making one of the most iconic films in history, but the physical and emotional pain they endured wasn't deserved. Even though I don't think that this movie shouldn't exist, I just wish that the people behind it were better at their jobs.
@@haleyhersh3850 I am, particularly as regards this movie. There were accidents and injuries, but nobody was killed or permanently damaged. Other movies have had it way worse, with actors and crew alike being maimed, paralyzed, irradiated, and killed.
*smh* You mean you believe this kak without question? It may help you to know that the cast and crew were all very proud of their achievement and would tell you to just lighten up and enjoy it. You are rather insulting them when you say things like that.
Iirc, the other issue with the witch of the west's actresses treatment is she basically got given a broom closet for a dressing room :I her coworker, the good witch and wife of (either one of the executives or directors) got a typical hollywood diva dressing room. So not only was she put in considerable danger, unable to eat without some kind of assistance, poisoned and heavily injured, they didn't even treat her with basic respect of at least giving her a mirror, desk and actual seat to sit in between sets. Especially bad bc after the burns she refused to do anything that could very well lead to her dying, bc she was a single mum too, and warned her stunt double that one of the pipes for the scenes she was taking over could and very well would explode..... God those poor women.
And the actress who played the Wicked Witch of the West, Margret Hamilton, was a really sweet lady and was one of the only people on set who was kind to Judy Garland, Dorothy's actress.
@@samiamtheman7379 Margaret was very sweet. But she was not the only person who was nice to Judy. Judy was very much adored by all of the cast actually.
Miss Hamilton didn't get a broom closet, she was not in danger from it, anybody wearing heavy make-up for a movie needs to eat carefully (just ask the casts of the original _Planet of the Apes_ movies), she was never poisoned, and she got over her injuries (would that other people could!). Billie Burke was the widow of Florenz Ziegfeld, and as such was Hollywood royalty, so yes, she got luxury accommodations. Miss Hamilton never begrudged her that. Betty Danko had received worse injuries in her stunt career, including nearly having her foot bitten off by a mountain lion. It's what stunt people deal with.
@@samiamtheman7379 They very may well have and either not cared or assumed it would be in doses low enough that the risk was expendable (wasn't THEM after all). Just like with the women dial painters, where it was known that radiation was dangerous since late 1800s-1908 yet it was marketed as healthy with regular people none the wiser as they slowly died from the inside out decades later.
Even Todo the dog got stepped on and had to recover for a week (takes six weeks but ok) and just replaced the dog with a double. Margaret (the witch) also developed Alzheimer’s years later, which is linked to copper poisoning.
It's Toto, played by Terry, and her getting stepped on was an ACCIDENT. She was back on the job in two weeks. Miss Hamilton's Alzheimer's, which began to set in during the 1980's, was not caused by copper poisoning, because she never had copper poisoning.
L Frank Baum named the Wicked Witch of the West Momba (not to be confused with Mombie) although she has gotten many other names throughout the years like Theodora from Oz the Great and Powerful and the most iconic interpretation of the wicked witch is called Elphaba although it's kind of a play on the original author of The Wizard of Oz's name L frank Baum hence the name El-pha-ba
Baum never gave the Wicked Witch a name; the Selig Company, who made the first movie version of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" in 1910 called her Momba. The old woman who worked magic in the second Oz book was Mombi. Other names the WWW has had include Bastinda, Sadista, Evillene, and Wicked West.
@@viviennemorgan7217 You shouldn't! 🙂 Fleming felt awful for having to do it, Judy kissed him on the nose, and peace reigned ever after. This may help you as well; it's something Judy said about Fleming in an interview she gave when the movie had been released: "He’s perfectly marvelous. He has the nicest low voice and the kindest eyes. Besides, he realizes that a girl who is sixteen is practically grown-up. He shows me all the courtesies he would to Hedy Lamarr. That’s very important to me."
@@viviennemorgan7217 So you don't care that she dealt with it and got over it and made peace? You just hang on to a bad feeling that you don't even need to have? Then you don't really care about Judy.
Poor Judy Garland. It is really awful she went through a horrible environment. I can’t believe what horrible things people got away with back in the day
Judy's time on the movie was nowhere near as bad as some bizarre people want others to believe. She always looked back on it fondly, and kept up the friendships she had made while working on it.
Okay in the words of Gero from DBZ Abridged: "Okay first, WHAT?! Second, THE FUCK?!" This was an escalation I wasn't expecting. Really informative though didn't know about the production until now.
Her name was Margaret Brainard Hamilton I kinda hold a soft spot for the wicked witch of the west & the best part is she visits my dreams saying that she’s been watching me for years she smiles when I watch one of the scenes on the Wizard of Oz. She’s kind of like a mother to me. She felt bad when, my other mom had passed away 8 years ago from cancer & the best part she will continue to be a part of my family like I said she’s like a mother to me. She keeps me on my toes. You might say she really wants to teach me some potions & spells, but I told her that she was just a storybook/movie character. Just a fictional character from a storybook & movie picture
Yeah I've heard about how horrible things were on set especially for Judy Garland, but this was a good refresher about how much worse it really was. The end product of the film is fantastic but how the cast was treated was absolutely horrendous
Judy had it the easiest of all the cast. She didn't have a cumbersome costume or stifling make-up, and she only worked for four hours a day. The cast were not "treated" badly, it was just hard work, like any movie.
about the "fly my pretties, fly", I don't know how did that happen but in disney's "the Hunchback of Notre Dame" you can find that quote said by Laverne in the final battle, she says "fly my pretties, fly, fly" but how did it transferred into the wizard of oz? Also the "Luke I'm your father" is in the lego skywalker saga "No, I'm your father" So all those lines take place but in different movies or series
I don't remember reading about Buddy as the Scarecrow at any point, but I do know it was Ray Bolger who played Scarecrow in the finished product. All I remember that came close to that conclusion was that, originally, Jack Haley was the Scarecrow (w/, of course, Buddy as the Tin Man) & Ray was the Tin Man (after Buddy's rapid decline), but given the latter's loose scarecrow-like dancing skills, they eventually switched those rolls
This is not the real story. The real story can be found in the books "The Making of The Wizard of Oz" (1977) by Aljean Harmetz with an introduction by Margaret Hamilton, "The Wizard of Oz: The Official 50th Anniversary Pictorial History" (1989) by John Fricke, Jay Scarfone, and William Stillman with an introduction by Jack Haley, Jr., and "The Road to Oz: The Evolution, Creation, and Legacy of a Motion Picture Masterpiece" (2019) by Scarfone and Stillman. Other books which contain useful bits of information include "The Oz Scrapbook" (1977) by David L. Greene and Dick Martin, and "The World of Oz" (1985) by Allen Eyles. In the first place, it was not "absolute madness." For the most part, things ran smoothly over the five-month principal photography period. The mishaps and accidents would, all told, fill up less than a day. "Magic and wonder" very seldom mark the production of a movie; pretty invariably, they are hard work, even today. All you need to know about is Tinatin Dalakishvili breaking her leg while filming _Extraction 2_ to know that it's a tough job. Anybody who has watched the movie and paid attention to the credits knows the names of the cast, including Margaret Hamilton. Good job, by the way, on debunking the misquote! You're wrong about "horrible practices," however. There was a lot that was experimental in the make-up and special effects, but nobody was out to harm anyone. Her make-up, which was also worn by the thirty or so actors who played the Winkie Soldiers, was *not poison.* It was copper-- the metal that pennies are coated with and which we wear as jewelry and use for cooking and so forth-- that made the make-up green. Miss Hamilton suffered no ill effects from the make-up itself, and the Winkies certainly didn't. The entire world knows about the time Miss H. got burned; it's been told for eight decades, including by the lady herself, who joked about it. It's high time for people to get over it. She did! 🙂 By the way, it wasn't a trap door, it was an elevator. The elevator worked perfectly fine; it was the flames that went up too soon. She was off the film for six weeks, but providentially, she'd have been off for that time anyway; she'd completed her work on the Munchkinland sequence, which was shot in December of 1938, and was not scheduled to be on the job again until February of 1939, by which time her face had healed, and a special green glove had been created for her right hand. She did shoot a pickup shot some months later; the bit where the Wicked Witch turns from the farm house and says, "They're gone!" The removal of make-up via alcohol is not unusual, and caused no pain for anyone except when Miss H had it removed right after her accident. She told Jack Dawn, the make-up man, that she was going to scream, and he told her to do what she needed to do. However, she never did scream. Tough lady! And no scenes of hers were cut from the movie, just a line or two of dialogue. Buddy Ebsen only played the Tin Woodman, and only for about ten days. His make-up was not poison-- in fact, dude, NONE of the make-up was poison-- and his reaction to the aluminum powder was not an allergic one; he had a congenital bronchial condition. The role of the Tin Woodman was then taken by Jack Haley. The Scarecrow was always Ray Bolger. FUN FACT: Some years after the movie, Ebsen did appear in a stage play of "Wizard" as the Scarecrow. Bert Lahr's costume was more like 70 pounds, but that was quite enough. During the frequent breaks that were taken, the Lion costume had slats in it to allow for ventilation, and also Lahr was able to get his hands out of his paws. BIZARRE FACT: Lahr actually gained weight while doing the movie! Again, it was *Ray Bolger* who played the Scarecrow, and he did not get scars from his make-up, just deep imprints that cleared up after a few weeks. And as such things go, the Scarecrow's laugh lines were at least pleasant to see. Judy Garland had the *easiest* time of everybody in the main cast. 95% of the tales told about her experience making the movie are false, and you've told some of them here. She was neither harassed nor assaulted. Louis Mayer was not the executive producer of the movie, he was the head of the studio. The movie's producer was Mervyn LeRoy. And at that point in time, Judy and Mayer got along well. He never called her a "fat pig." And he had no authority over her costuming; that would have been the duty of the costume department. He also had no authority over her diet; she had a dietician for that. Her diet consisted of vegetables, soup, cottage cheese, and other *healthy* things. She got her daily allowance, but being someone who loved to eat cheeseburgers and chocolate cake, Judy did find salad a bit of a drag. As for beverages, Judy drank coffee, tea, milk, and juice. She could also have had soda, but she didn't like it. *JUDY GARLAND DID NOT SMOKE IN HER TEENS,* and even if she had done, the amount that ridiculous story mentions would have killed her within a month. Even when she got into the habit as an adult, she never smoked that much in one day. The only meds she took-- which, again, Mayer had no say in (for Pete's sake, the guy had a studio to run; he couldn't devote his time to any one employee)-- were an appetite suppressant which is still sold today. Judy's fatal-- and accidental-- overdose was not on amphetamines, but on barbiturates, to which, ironically, she was not addicted. Judy didn't laugh because she "thought it was a silly scene.," she laughed because Bert Lahr was hilarious. She frequently got giggle fits, and then everyone would wait until she'd got her breath back, then carry on. But on this one and only occasion, they had to get finished in a hurry because it was almost time for the studio to close for the evening. Seeing no recourse, Fleming gave her a slap as a disciplinary measure, and to calm her down, not because he was "picking on" her. What's more, and I'm not surprised you ignored the conclusion of that story, Fleming felt horrible for what he'd had to do, and told John Lee Mahin to break his nose. Judy kissed his nose instead and forgave him. The coloring on the two horses who played the Horse of a Different Color was not Jell-O. It was a mixture of make-up and vegetable dye. Most people got out of the movie unscathed. Only a few were injured. And as for Betty Danko's injury, it was not the worst she'd had in her career. That would have been when her left foot was almost bitten off by a mountain lion when she was doubling for an actress in a comedy. (Even as you said, "red smoke," we see the film clip of the broom shooting out black smoke.) As an example of Margaret Hamilton's sense of humor, she sent a message to Miss Danko while the latter was in hospital. It said, "Between fire and explosions, it's been fun! Thank you, Betty dear, for 'taking one' for me. Much love, Mag the Hag." 🙂 The book I mentioned above, "The Road to Oz: The Evolution, Creation, and Legacy of a Motion Picture Masterpiece," put to rest the whole asbestos thing. The snow was crushed gypsum, which had been used in movies for snow since the Silent Era. The Tin Woodman's body count includes forty evil wolves, a swarm of bees, a wildcat, and, accidentally, a beetle. But it's all told very matter-of-factly, with no mention of blood or decay.
Its kind of hard to discuss Wizard of Oz and say some thing no one has heard. So the Munchkin Drama would have been ok to discuss. Which BTW that story was proven False. It was just a large bird on set. Also Marget Hamelton She appeared on Mr Rodger's Naborhood to clear up her roomers she was also on Sesame street, footage now found , and on the Addams Family. Ray Bolger was the Scarecrow NOT Buddy Ebsen Also, Toto got stepped on and Sherlly Temple was the original choice to cast Dorthey there is a deleted Jitterbug scene and in the book the slippers were silver
You got most of that right. Mervyn LeRoy, the producer of the movie, only ever wanted Judy Garland to be Dorothy; Shirley Temple was never seriously in the running.
Not watching now because it's late at night, but I'll be along soon to tell you where you went wrong. I do have a sinking feeling that you're just repeating the same old kak, but what they hey.
Most of the "trivia" in this video is false. I do encourage you to see the film; Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, and especially Margaret Hamilton were among its biggest fans.
The poster was talking about the actress, whose name was Margaret Hamilton. "Elphaba" was not this Wicked Witch's name. Nor was it Evillene, Bastinda, or Theodora.
Yes, when the gang went to try and kill the Wicked Witch, just as the Tin Woodman had a pipe wrench and the Cowardly Lion had a giant net and a spray can full of Witch Remover.
Is crazy there still hasn't been a bio pic on the behind the scenes of this film like sure there was the Chevy chase film under the rainbow that's based on the munchkin hotel thing that to be honest I think is a hoax but that was just a comedy and it was parodying the whole thing also there was 2 judy garland bio pics but they barely mentioned or showed in those 2
Where have you been? That's been known for 80-odd years. Lots worse has happened to other people on other movies. Daniel Radcliffe's stunt double on the last _Harry Potter_ movie is paralyzed from the neck down because of a stunt that went wrong.
@@lefterismplanas4977 I apologize. It's just that the movie's been around so long and over a billion people have seen it. But yes, Margaret Hamilton was caught in a spout of fire that went off too soon. She was taken care of right away and was able to recuperate at home. Much worse things have happened on other movie projects. I don't know if you've seen the last _Harry Potter_ movie, but Daniel Radcliffe's stunt double is now paralyzed from the neck down, like Christopher Reeve was, because of an accident while shooting a Quiddich match.
You insult the cast and crew with that comment. They were all very proud of their achievement. Besides, there's a lot of kak in this video. Even where the guy gets things right, he dresses them up to sound as horrible as possible.
@@maydayredd6137 I don't know what you base your "pretty sure" on. I've read the most authoritative books on the subject, and they all indicate that everyone loved Judy, and that anyone who didn't treat her with respect would have been fired, either by producer Mervyn LeRoy (who had battled the heads of MGM to star her in the picture) or by director Victor Fleming.
@@everettatwater2939 yep and it includes more scenes from the book like the field mice, the green glasses, the Wizard’s different forms and the Wicked Witch’s magic eye.
💀 did you miss the part where they forced judy garland to starve herself and eat diet pills and smoke cigarettes daily as a result of being called a fat pig?
