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Quotes
Dorothy: How can you talk if you haven't got a brain?
Scarecrow: I don't know. But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't they?
Trivia
Early in pre-production, Shirley Temple was considered for the role of Dorothy, who would have been on loan out from 20th Century Fox, but the truth as to why she did not get the part remains uncertain. One reason offered is that MGM's head of production, Mervyn LeRoy, was under pressure to cast Shirley (who was a popular child star at the time), but during an unofficial audition he decided that her singing was not what he envisioned for Dorothy and wanted an actress with a different style. Another reason is that they thought it to be too big a role for such a young actress (she was 11 at the time). Yet another possible reason is that 20th Century Fox studio head Darryl F. Zanuck was offered double Shirley's salary to star her in the film, but Zanuck declined, and the offer was raised to MGM's budget limit that the film could afford, but once again Zanuck declined. In addition, a rumored story exists that there was a deal that MGM's Jean Harlow and Clark Gable were going to be on loan to 20th Century Fox in return for Shirley's loan out to MGM, but after Harlow's death (from uremic poisoning brought on by acute nephritis) in 1937 the deal ended. However, Harlow died in 1937, which was before MGM had even purchased the rights to the story. See more...
The Wizard of Oz (1939) - 33 major mistakes
Directed by Victor Fleming, starring Bert Lahr, Billie Burke, Frank Morgan, Jack Haley, Judy Garland, Margaret Hamilton, Ray Bolger (add more)
Genres: Adventure, Family, Fantasy, Musical
There is NO hanging in the background of the Wizard of Oz. Much like the "ghost" in Three Men and a Baby, it's just plain rubbish. Click here for details.
Visible crew/equipment: When the Wicked Witch scares the Munchkins in Munchkinland, where Dorothy lands, she disappears into a cloud of smoke she creates. But you can clearly see her sneak down into a trap door below. [As an aside to this entry, Margaret Hamilton was hospitalized for severe burns after a take of this shot (not the final one used) when there was a glitch in the timing of the explosion.]
Continuity: When the Wicked Witch scares the Scarecrow, Dorothy, and the Tin Man with fire, after the fire is thrown, not only is the Tin Man's funnel cap on backwards, everything is reversed. In order to keep the characters oriented from left to right correctly, they had to show the film from the wrong side, thus the buttons of the Scarecrow's jacket and everything else are on the wrong side.
Continuity: Immediately following the Tin Man's dance, Dorothy and the Scarecrow try to keep the Tin Man standing on his feet and clumsily shuffle over to a tree trunk where the Tin Man then sits. During this, the oil can in Dorothy's basket clearly falls out and on to the Yellow Brick Road. Dorothy doesn't pick it up but, in the very next shot, the oil can is back in the basket.
Continuity: Immediately after Dorothy throws the water onto the witch, there is a long shot of the group as they observe the Wicked Witch beginning to melt. In this shot you can see that the Scarecrow's arm is still on fire, yet nothing is done about it as they all focus on the Witch. In the next full shot of the Scarecrow the fire is completely out.
Continuity: In the scene at the Witch's castle, when the Scarecrow looks up at the candles hanging from the ceiling, the candles are lit, but when he chops the rope with the Tin Man's axe, and the shot is from above, showing the candles fall onto the men, they are not lit, but the next shot shows the candles on top of them and they are lit.






