"The Wizard of Oz" is definitely one of my all-time favorite movies. I always wanted my hair done in braids like Dorothy and you better believe I had a pair of "ruby red slippers." I had the luxury of watching it whenever I wanted but my mom said when she was younger her family would get together that one Sunday night a year when it was on TV and they'd all watch it. Although I appreciate being able to watch it when I want I imagine seeing it just once a year made it pretty special. I came across an article that talked about 28 fascinating things we never knew about "The Wizard of Oz" from redbook.com and I just had to check it out. A few of the things I found most interesting are below and the rest can be found at msn.com.
- The slippers weren't originally red! In the book they were silver but of course on TV the red really pops.
- The spark when the Wicked Witch gets too close to the slippers was actually a splash of apple juice!
- Judy Garland wasn't the first choice. I'm so glad they went with her as I can't imagine anyone else as Dorothy!
- The Cowardly Lion's costume weighed nearly 100 pounds! Wow that's heavy!
- The make-up done for the scarecrow, lion and tin man scared many on set so they ate their lunch in their dressing rooms. That's so sad!
- The Wicked Witch's death certificate is dated May 6, 1938 which is the 20th anniversary of "The Wizard of Oz" creator L. Frank Baum's death.
- The Tin Man's oil can didn't contain oil, it was actually chocolate which it seems photographed better than oil.
- "Over the Rainbow" almost never existed. Execs said it made the movie too long and it was too sad. Luckily it was kept in thanks to rightful protests.
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