The Wizard of Oz

Revealing mistake: In the scene where the tornado is about to hit and Aunt Em and Uncle Henry are going into the cellar, you can see that some of the trees are blowing around violently, and others aren't moving at all. (00:16:05)

Revealing mistake: When Dorothy runs to the back of the house during the storm a crewmember is moving the rocking chair in the room on the left. The wind never stops blowing, but the chair stops moving after it's left alone. (00:16:35)

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Revealing mistake: Dorothy's bedroom window flies open and the wires pulling it can be seen glistening on the middle right of the screen. (00:17:00)

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Revealing mistake: As the cyclone carries the farmhouse through the air, it is evident that the walls of Dorothy's bedroom are not solid walls, but fabric-covered flats. They flutter and vibrate in the wind. (00:17:50)

Revealing mistake: When the house lands in Oz, it lands with a bump and Dorothy is laying on her bed with Toto. The objects in the room had moved about a lot due to the twister, and wires attached to the end of the bed and the chair, etc. are really quite clear. (00:18:12)

Hamster

Revealing mistake: The glass in Dorothy's bedroom windows don't break, they are removed from their frames as the scene progresses, and if you look at the reflections in them the windows are made of plastic. (00:18:45)

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Revealing mistake: In the scene when the Wicked Witch of the West bends down to retrieve the ruby shoes from the feet of her sister sticking out underneath Dorothy's house, there is one quick shot in the middle of the scene that shows her in front of a screen with a picture (film) of the house on it. Maybe that shot was filmed after the original set was unavailable? That would seem to be the only possible and reasonable explanation why such a shot would be necessary. (00:29:55)

The Wizard of Oz mistake picture

Revealing mistake: When the Wicked Witch scares the Munchkins in Munchkinland, where Dorothy lands, she disappears into a cloud of smoke she creates. But you can see her sneak down into a trap door below. [As a sidenote to this entry, Margaret Hamilton was hospitalized for severe burns after a take of this shot (not the final one used) when the stage elevator got stuck and the explosion went off.] (00:30:45)

Revealing mistake: After the Wicked Witch exits Munchkinland in a puff of red smoke and flames, you can briefly see sulphur marks left on the trapdoor. (00:31:00)

Revealing mistake: Throughout the movie, you can tell that if the main characters walking into the distance, the "faraway" landscape is a giant matte painting. (00:33:35)

The Wizard of Oz mistake picture

Revealing mistake: As Dorothy is about to walk into the cyclarama (backdrop) as she leaves MunchkinLand, a Munchkin Soldier on the very far right is too far and becomes transparent with the matted-in flowers. (00:33:40)

The Wizard of Oz mistake picture

Revealing mistake: After the witch says "Hey scarecrow, wanna play ball" she throws a fireball at him. But you can see the ground catch on fire before the fireball hits the ground. (00:46:20)

Revealing mistake: After the Wicked Witch throws fire down at them the Scarecrow kicks the stump next to him and it moves several times. The one behind him also moves. (00:46:25)

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Revealing mistake: If you listen closely, during the singing of "We're Off To See The Wizard" by Dorothy, the Scarecrow and the Tin Man, you can recognise Buddy Ebsen's gravelly voice. He was the original Tin Man, but had a reaction to the makeup. They had already recorded the songs and it was too expensive to re-do it. (This film was WAY over budget and they couldn't waste time and money re-recording songs) (00:47:30)

Revealing mistake: As they exit the Tin Man's scene singing, "We're off to see the Wizard", a bird stretching its wings is casting a shadow on the painted sound stage wall slightly to the right of the house, which reveals it to be a fake backdrop instead of an open area. (00:47:45)

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The Wizard of Oz mistake picture

Revealing mistake: Soon after Dorothy slaps the Cowardly Lion, she looks as though she is about to laugh out loud. This happens about 10 seconds or so after the slap. She even tries to put Toto in front of her face to cover up her smirking. (00:48:45)

Revealing mistake: Right after Dorothy slaps the lion, there is a green smudge on her arm. Looks like the witch's makeup. (00:50:35)

Revealing mistake: During the Lion's song of, "If I only had the nerve." You can see the cameraman's shadow pass over Dorothy, the Lion, and then the log on the side of the road. Watch carefully, it comes back. (00:52:18)

Revealing mistake: When the Lion runs out of the Wizard's room, the group disappears because it is an obvious backdrop.

Sacha

More mistakes in The Wizard of Oz

Wicked Witch: Ohhh... You cursed brat! Look what you've DONE! I'm melting! Melting! Oh... What a world, what a world! Who would have thought a good little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness?!

More quotes from The Wizard of Oz

Trivia: The "tornado" was a thirty-five foot long muslin stocking, photographed with miniatures of a Kansas farm and fields.

rabid anarchist

More trivia for The Wizard of Oz

Question: It is implied strongly in this movie that water makes witches melt, and this is spoofed in other media. I've only ever seen this referenced to wicked witches. Does water make good witches, such as Glinda, melt too?

Answer: In all likelihood, probably not. Water is often depicted and represents purity, and cleansing. It flows smoothly, is beautiful, clear, and responsible for life on Earth. Everything the Wicked Witch is not. Where as the good Witch is pure and of a true heart. So it makes sense that something so evil and impure as the evil witch would be effected by the purest substance there is, yet not harm the good witch because she is good.

Quantom X

Answer: In the original book, water caused the wicked witches to melt away because they were so old and shriveled that all the fluid in their bodies had long since dried away. Meanwhile, the film Oz: The Great and Powerful instead implies that the Wicked Witch of the West is weak against water due to being a fire-elemental witch, which could also be the case for this incarnation, meaning it wouldn't apply to other witches like Glinda (whose element in both films appears to be ice) or even the Wicked Witch of the East (whose powers are never shown in this film, but were electricity-based in Oz the Great and Powerful).

More questions & answers from The Wizard of Oz

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