The Wizard Of… Hell? There are various rumors and conspiracies of the situations that the cast of the 1939 movie, The Wizard Of Oz, went through during the filming. Such as makeup and costumes incidents, hospital trips, abuse, all very sickening situations that each actor went through. We’re not talking about how the movie turned out, we’re talking about the behind the scenes, which can be completely different, one is fantasy, one is real life.
This movie came out on August 25, 1939. However the movie was made from October 1938 to March 1939, most of the cast worked 6 days a week and had to arrive super early to get into their costumes and get their makeup done. The Cowardly lion’s makeup took the most time to finish, the actor, Bert Lahr, could not eat solid foods after his makeup was done. This actor’s costume was made from an actual lion hide and it weighed around 90lbs, which made the actor struggle even move. The wicked witch, Margaret Hamilton, received second and third-degree burns all over her body due to her green copper makeup that became dangerously hot during the filming of a fire scene. The snow in one of the scenes was pure asbestos, which could give you a lung condition.
The Tin Man’s costume was made of actual metal, so the actor, Jack Haley, couldn't even sit down during the filming of the movie, he also had a violent reaction to silver makeup and had to be sent to the hospital. Judy Garland, the main character, Dorothy, was only 16 years old during her time on set and was given amphetamines, forced to diet, they made her to smoke many cigarettes a day, she struggled with mental health, etc. There is also a legend that says that an actor hanged himself on set during filming, there is even a video trying to prove this. This legend was never evidenced, though it created a lot of controversy.
For this legend there are various points of view, some people think the “death on set” was actually just a silhouette of a bird in the studio, not someone hanging themselves. On the other hand, some people believe an actor actually committed suicide on set. This movie won 2 awards and received 98% rotten tomatoes… but was it worth it? The production team was obviously not professional, the director, Victor Fleming, would even slap the actors on set for giggling or forgetting their lines. It is absolutely terrifying thinking about what the cast went through.
I also linked a video of the possible evidence of the death on set.
QUESTIONS:
Have you ever heard about this? Did you find it interesting?
Do you believe the death on set actually happened or is it only a legend?
Would you be willing to be treated like this if you were paid more than $500 per week? (which was the amount they paid most of the actors)
Replies
I have never heard about this, I think that what happened to these people is very sad. They went through many things just for a single movie that not everyone has watched. I am not sure if the death on set actually happened, it might have, or someone could have just made it up to make people realize how hard the working conditions were.
I agree, these treatments were very bad compared to the movie's success, that's why I think it was not worth it. It could also true that the death on set could've just been a rumor made up.
I have heard a little bit about this before, but I didn't know it was this bad. I don't doubt the death on set being real, given the conditions that the other actors went through. Even if I was paid for this job, I wouldn't do it. I don't think I would tolerate the harsh conditions.
I did hear about it and i was interesting. The death did happen on set. I would not.
I have heard a little about this before. When I first heard it was strange, but intriguing. I think that the movie would be near impossible to complete with all of these problems with the actors/actresses. I would find it hard to film or keep a schedule, if actors were constantly in pain.
Yes, this topic is very intriguing. I remember finding this on tiktok and I found it interesting so I researched more about it, it is truly very tragic. I'm also pretty sure the production and cast took a break during the filmimg, nothing was going well.
I have heard about all of this before, and I found it very interesting when I first heard of it. I think the death did happen on set, because that would be a crazy thing for someone to make up. I don't think I would be willing to be treated like this, there were too many dangers involved in this set.
Yes, I had heard about this but I was not aware of the context they gave it, it is really strong, but I don't think it was real because the people around would have realized it instantly and chaos like that would not suit them. I wouldn't dare participate, although I don't believe in death on set, we know all the mistreatment and challenges that the actors and actresses had.
Yes the context is very, very strong. I'd say it could be real, and the production team obviously had awarness of this, they most likely wanted to hide it, otherwise it would make a bigger problem.
I have never heard of this. To me it's crazy that this might've happened and so many people didn't know about it. I don't really know much about the death on set part but it could be true with everything else that happened. I don't think I would be willing to do this job because even if I do make good money, I wouldn't want that to have an affect on my entire life.
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