The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz mistake picture

Continuity mistake: When the Witch melts, the broom is laying several inches from her dress. In the next shot, the broom is practically touching her dress. (01:26:20)

brantlee

Continuity mistake: 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. (01:26:20)

Continuity mistake: Dorothy throws water at the Wicked Witch not knowing it will melt her. If you look closely the witch is drenched when it hits her but in the next close up shot she doesn't have a drop of water on her. (01:26:20)

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The Wizard of Oz mistake picture

Visible crew/equipment: While Dorothy and the other characters are cornered in the Wicked Witch's castle, when Dorothy grabs the bucket of water and tosses it at Scarecrow's arm, the water hits the Witch. In the closeup of the Witch's face, you can see a crew member's hand (a long sleeve can be seen at the wrist) in the upper left side of the shot. (01:26:20)

Continuity mistake: If you look at Dorothy's dress, it's wet before she throws the water on the Wicked Witch. In the next shot the water spot (on Dorothy's dress) disappears only to return later when she gets the broomstick. (01:26:20)

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Continuity mistake: As Dorothy throws the water on the Wicked Witch the Tin Man goes from holding his ax in front of him to holding it close to his chest with the ax head sideways between shots. (01:26:20)

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Continuity mistake: After the Wicked Witch of the West lights her broomstick and the scarecrow on fire, and Dorothy throws the water on her, in the next shot after the water hits her, you see the broomstick laying next to her burnt out but not smoking. (01:26:20)

Continuity mistake: As the Wicked Witch is melting the peak of her hat stays intact. In the very next shot it has been flattened. (01:26:45)

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Continuity mistake: After she watches the Wicked Witch "melt", Dorothy holds the pail in her hands. She never walks away but if you look closely the pail just disappears from the scene, never to return or be seen again. (01:26:45)

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Continuity mistake: If you look at the cracks in the floor, the Wicked Witch's cape moves between shots after she is "melted". (01:26:45)

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Continuity mistake: As she watches the Wicked Witch "melt", Dorothy and the others stand about five feet to the left of the Wicked Witch. They never move but when she asks for the broomstick she's standing right above her "melted" remains. (01:26:50)

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Continuity mistake: As she watches the Wicked Witch "melt", Dorothy holds the pail around the front with her arms. In the next shot she's holding it with her hands. (01:26:50)

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Audio problem: After the Wicked Witch of the West is liquidated, the soldiers hail Dorothy. After Dorothy asks for the broom, they are heard hailing her again, but none of their mouths move. As the scene fades into the next one, the soldiers' mouths can be seen beginning to move to say the line. (01:27:20)

Continuity mistake: When they return to the Wizard with the Witch's broomstick they're standing in front of him in the dark. In the next shot they're in the light. (01:27:30)

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Visible crew/equipment: When the Wizard says, "Do you presume to criticize the great Oz?" look closely at the curtain as a crew member behind the curtain attaches it onto Toto so he can pull it open. (01:28:20)

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Continuity mistake: When the Wizard says, "Think yourselves lucky because I'm giving you an audience tomorrow instead of 20 years from now" his hand is on the silver lever on the floor. In the next shot they are above his head. (01:28:25)

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Continuity mistake: When the Wizard says, "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain" he pulls the curtain closed and Toto's not there. In the next shot Toto's tied to the curtain again. (01:28:35)

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Other mistake: As the Wizard is pulling his curtain closed, he says the famous, "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain," in a loud, booming voice. But he's turned 180 degrees away from his microphone, which we see a second later needs to be right in front of his mouth to make the booming voice effect. (01:28:40)

Krista

Dorothy: There's no place like home.

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Question: At the very end of the movie after Dorothy says "Oh, Auntie Em, there's no place like home," normally, it fades out to the credits, but once - and only once - when I was very young, I thought I remembered seeing the camera pan away from her face and down to the foot of the bed where you see the ruby slippers tucked underneath the bed, then a fade to the credits. It is obviously a black-and-white shot, but there were the glittering shoes. Has anyone else seen this version of the ending?

Macalou

Answer: Another fine example of the Mandela Effect. None of the "making of" books reference this alternate ending. The original book ends with Dorothy losing the slippers on her journey back to Kansas.

wizard_of_gore

I also remember this scene; however, I remember it in a television movie, and it was at the beginning, not the end, of an entirely different movie.

Chosen answer: Yes. I'm sure I've seen that version. It shows that Dorothy didn't just dream about Oz and makes for a more satisfying conclusion. This version was original but edited out because it didn't follow the book's storyline for "Return to Oz" and the other long series of Oz books. The sequel pertains that she loses the slippers in transit back to her home and falls to the gnome king who destroys Oz which in turn causes Dorothy to return. So seeing the slippers at the end of the bed, while more satisfying, wouldn't really stay true to the Oz series.

I absolutely remember that version with the shoes at her bedside, but nobody I know remembers it.

Thank you! I remember that too but everyone I know thinks I'm nuts.

I remember that version and after that I expected to see the same ending but no I never saw that ending again. I got the response that no-one I know saw that ending of the movie where the ruby slippers being on her feet in her bed. Thank you for that answer. This was a long time mystery.

I absolutely remember that scene.

I remember that too - and I've asked so many people and they said no, I must have dreamed it. Thank you.

I saw that version once when I was a little kid too! I remember it vividly. Now I know I'm not crazy.

Answer: This seems to be one of those mass examples of people remembering something that never happened. There are also other variations, like people claiming to remember the film switching to color as the shot pans down to her slipper-clad feet, or the slippers being in color against the sepia-toned B&W footage. But sadly, it seems no officially released version of the film has had such an ending. It's similar to how everyone thinks Darth Vader says "Luke, I am your father," or how everyone thinks Humphrey Bogart says "Play it again, Sam!", even though neither of those lines are real, and people are merely incorrectly remembering them. The film is so ingrained in pop-culture, that people think they know it forwards-and-back, and false memories are created.

TedStixon

I agree that people think they remember things that never happened, but usually for things like this, remembering a scene wrong misquoting a movie lines, it comes from parody versions and people are (correctly) remembering the parody. I've never seen "Silence of the Lambs", but I know the line "Hello, Clarice" from films like "Cable Guy" and not from a false memory of the film.

Bishop73

Answer: https://criticsrant.com/mythbusters-dorothys-ruby-slippers/ This website gives some confirmation it's one of those myths that spread around and get mixed up in people's memories to being convinced they have seen it despite no evidence of it existing. In a film as big as the Wizard of Oz where die hard fans have collected original scripts, notes, and "lost" imagery over the years; we certainly would have something to back this up other than eye witness memory. Especially if it supposedly made it to the final print for viewing audiences as the original Wizard of Oz footage has been carefully preserved, as it's considered one of the most important films of all time. This footage wouldn't be completely lost if it made it to final showing print. Surely somebody would have posted it by now on YouTube. It is possible somebody made a skit or parody of this though contributing to the idea that it was actually in a print of the real movie.

Answer: I remember this being part of a special that was hosted by Angela Lansbury in 1990 and they showed that this ending was considered for the movie. For many years I couldn't remember why I remembered that ending and Angela Lansbury until I looked it up. I wish that it had been left like that. Kids always want their dreams to come true.

Answer: I and a friend of mine remember seeing the ruby slippers under Dorthy's bed at the end of the movie. Glad to know we didn't imagine it.

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