Corrected entry: It has been said in some published works that the "Wizard of Oz" would never been remade as it is, because there are not that many little people qualified to assume the role of the Munchkins today as it was in the late 1930s. This is in part due to the availability of growth hormone treatment and an improved diet in today's people.
megamii
16th Sep 2003
Correction: I don't know the exact numbers but I suspect there were no more than a hundred little people used in The Wizard of Oz. In a country of almost three hundred million people, I'm sure that several thousand dwarves could be found despite improved diets or growth hormone.
They were little people, not dwarves. And several thousand dwarves who could sing and dance and act would be interested in being in a movie?