1. The Original Tin Man’s Near-Fatal Makeup Poisoning
Buddy Ebsen was originally cast as the Tin Man and was coated with aluminum powder to create the character’s metallic appearance. The powder was inhaled during filming and entered his lungs, causing a severe respiratory reaction that eventually required hospitalization and an oxygen tent.
Ebsen was absent from production for weeks while recovering, and MGM ultimately replaced him with Jack Haley. The studio changed the makeup to a liquid or paste-based aluminum preparation, although Haley still experienced significant eye irritation during production.
The incident exposed how little attention was being paid to occupational safety when unusual makeup materials were introduced. The visual effect was treated as a production necessity before its potential respiratory hazards had been properly evaluated.
Ebsen’s replacement also illustrates how the studio system could absorb a serious workplace injury without fundamentally changing its production practices. Rather than stopping production to investigate broader safety procedures, MGM largely solved the immediate problem by changing the performer and the makeup formula.
2. Margaret Hamilton’s On-Set Burns
Margaret Hamilton suffered serious burns while filming the Wicked Witch’s disappearance from Munchkinland. A pyrotechnic effect associated with her trapdoor exit detonated prematurely, catching her face and hand in the blast.
Her green makeup made the injury particularly difficult to treat because the copper-based makeup had to be carefully removed from her damaged skin. Hamilton was hospitalized and remained away from the production for approximately six weeks.
Hamilton later returned to the production with understandable concerns about performing additional fire effects. Her experience demonstrated that even relatively brief shots could involve considerable physical danger when pyrotechnics and practical effects were performed in close proximity to actors.
The accident also forced MGM to modify how Hamilton’s remaining dangerous scenes were filmed. Stand-ins and carefully controlled setups were increasingly used for sequences involving flames, smoke, explosions, and other effects.
3. Betty Danko’s Broomstick Explosion
Betty Danko, Margaret Hamilton’s stunt double, was seriously injured while performing one of the Witch’s broomstick effects. A pyrotechnic mechanism beneath the broom malfunctioned and exploded, throwing Danko from the apparatus.
The accident caused severe burns to her leg and resulted in hospitalization. Danko was left with permanent scarring, making her injury one of the production’s clearest examples of the risks assumed by stunt performers.
The incident was especially significant because it involved a different performer being injured by essentially the same philosophy of practical-effects filmmaking. The production’s desire to create convincing physical effects repeatedly placed performers directly into hazardous mechanical and pyrotechnic setups.
Danko’s injuries also highlight the unequal risks faced by stunt doubles. They performed many of the physically dangerous actions that audiences associated with the stars, often without receiving comparable recognition for the risks involved.
4. Hazardous Materials Everywhere: Aluminum, Copper Makeup, Asbestos
The production used materials that would be regarded very differently under modern occupational-safety standards. Aluminum powder, metallic makeup compounds, adhesives, dyes, solvents, and other chemicals were handled repeatedly under hot studio conditions.
Asbestos has also become closely associated with the production, particularly the Scarecrow’s fireproofing and the alleged snow used in the poppy-field sequence. The exact composition of the artificial snow has been debated, with some historical accounts identifying asbestos while other accounts have suggested alternative materials such as gypsum.
The danger was not limited to a single notorious accident. Performers could spend hours covered in makeup, costumes, powders, and other materials while working beneath extremely powerful studio lighting.
The production reflects a broader problem of the era in which materials were often evaluated primarily for whether they worked on camera. Their long-term health effects were frequently secondary or simply unknown to the people using them.
5. Extreme Heat and Physically Punishing Costumes
MGM’s Technicolor process required extraordinarily intense lighting, producing temperatures on the soundstages that could become oppressive. Performers and crew members reportedly struggled with heat, while heavy costumes and makeup made cooling down particularly difficult.
Bert Lahr’s Cowardly Lion costume was constructed from real animal material and was exceptionally heavy and cumbersome. The costume made ordinary activities such as sitting down, eating, and resting difficult, and drying it after filming could require substantial equipment and time.
Ray Bolger’s Scarecrow makeup and mask created its own physical problems. The rigid construction could leave impressions and marks on his face, while the repeated application and removal of makeup added another layer of discomfort to long shooting days.
The Winkie guards and other background performers faced similar problems with heat and restrictive costumes. Their experience illustrates how the production’s physical demands extended well beyond the principal cast.
6. Winged-Monkey Wire Failures
The flying sequences involving the Winged Monkeys relied on practical rigging and wires rather than modern digital effects. Performers were suspended above the stage and moved through the air using mechanical systems that had significant potential for failure.
Reports of wires or piano-wire rigging breaking created serious risks for the actors involved. A malfunction could turn a carefully choreographed flying shot into an uncontrolled fall, potentially causing significant injuries.
These sequences demonstrate another recurring feature of the production: performers themselves were often part of the special effect. Instead of separating actors from dangerous equipment through digital compositing, the production frequently placed them directly inside the mechanism creating the illusion.
The technology was impressive for its time but lacked many of the redundancy and safety systems expected in modern stunt work. A broken cable or mechanical failure could therefore have consequences far beyond ruining a take.
7. Fully Filmed “The Jitterbug” Cut + “Over the Rainbow” Nearly Cut
“The Jitterbug” was a major musical sequence that was completely filmed and reportedly represented a substantial investment in choreography, costumes, sets, and production time. MGM ultimately removed it from the finished picture because the studio felt it disrupted the film’s pacing.
“Over the Rainbow” faced a different kind of threat. Studio executives reportedly worried that the melancholy song was too sophisticated or slow for the early part of a children’s fantasy film, and the sequence came close to being removed before being restored.
The removal of “The Jitterbug” demonstrates how much finished material could disappear during the final editing process. A sequence could be fully staged and photographed yet still be considered expendable if executives believed it weakened the overall structure.
The survival of “Over the Rainbow” proved enormously consequential for the film’s legacy. Had it been removed, one of the most recognizable songs in American popular culture would never have become inseparable from Judy Garland and The Wizard of Oz.
8. Judy Garland’s Studio-Prescribed Stimulants and Sedatives
Judy Garland was only 16 during much of the production, yet MGM placed her within a demanding studio system that tightly controlled her schedule, appearance, diet, and working habits. Long hours and pressure to maintain a youthful appearance placed enormous demands on her.
Garland was given stimulants to help maintain energy during demanding production schedules and sedatives to help her sleep afterward. This pattern was not unique to Garland and reflected a wider culture within Hollywood at the time.
The practice blurred the boundary between an actor’s personal health and the studio’s production requirements. Medication could effectively be used to keep performers working according to schedules that their bodies could not naturally sustain.
Garland’s later struggles with substance dependence and her health have made these practices particularly disturbing in retrospect. What was normalized as part of the Hollywood studio system had consequences that extended far beyond the production of a single movie.
9. Massive Budget Overrun
The Wizard of Oz became an extraordinarily expensive undertaking for MGM. The final production cost reached approximately $2.77 million, substantially above its original budget and making it one of the studio’s most expensive films at the time.
The escalating costs came from extensive reshoots, elaborate sets, special effects, Technicolor photography, costume changes, cast replacements, and the sheer complexity of creating the film’s fantasy world.
The movie required multiple directors and extensive production adjustments, further complicating MGM’s ability to control costs. Scenes were repeatedly revised, reshot, or replaced as the studio searched for the right tone and visual style.
Marketing and distribution added further expense after production was completed. The enormous investment meant that the film needed significant commercial success simply to justify the resources MGM had committed to it.
10. Initial Box-Office Disappointment
Despite its enormous production cost, The Wizard of Oz did not immediately become the financial triumph its later reputation might suggest. Its first theatrical release reportedly generated a loss of roughly $1.1 million to $1.145 million for MGM.
Several factors contributed to the disappointing initial return, including the film’s unusually high production cost, expensive Technicolor prints, advertising expenses, and the fact that many of its intended young viewers paid cheaper children’s admission prices.
The film’s reputation grew substantially through subsequent theatrical re-releases. Rather than disappearing after its original run, it repeatedly returned to cinemas and found new generations of viewers.
Television ultimately transformed the movie’s cultural and financial position. Beginning with its regular presence on network television in the 1950s, The Wizard of Oz became a recurring family event, allowing audiences who had never seen its original theatrical release to discover it.