Cleo M. Coppa
It is at this point of the unit I would like to provide and discuss with my students some information concerning the making of the 1939 classic film
The Wizard of Oz
. This film was made by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio. Samuel Goldwyn had bought the film rights to Baum’s book on January 26, 1934 for $40,000 dollars according to Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, and Edgar Allan Woolf authors of
The Wizard of Oz
: The Screenplay. The film had a two million dollar budget. The production of this film began in October, 1938 according to the introduction written by Margaret Hamilton (the Wicked Witch of the West) in Aljean Harmetz’s
The Making of the Wizard of Oz
. Ms. Hamilton goes on to state that there were two directors hired prior to Victor Fleming, who was the director of the 1939 film. The two prior directors were Richard Thorpe and George Cukor. Even though Victor Fleming is given the sole screen credit for the direction of this film, he did not complete it. With three weeks left to wrap the film up, Fleming was called back to MGM to complete Gone With the Wind. King Vidor completed the filming of the film. Many of my students, especially after viewing the film, might assume that the principal actors worked together most of the time during this production. However, according to Hamilton she saw very little of Ray Bolger (the Scarecrow), Bert Lahr (the Lion), and Jack Haley(the Tin Woodman) except for when they met in the makeup in the early morning. Hamilton went on to state that most of her scenes were with Judy Garland (Dorothy) , the Winged Monkeys, or herself.
The person in charge of making
The Wizard of Oz
for MGM was Mervyn LeRoy who had replaced Irving G. Thalberg, who died in 1936. In my opinion Thalberg would have probably have made this film if he had not died because of his MGM reputation for making some of the best movies in America. Arthur Freed, who wanted to be the producer of this film, became LeRoy’s assistant in the production. It was the custom of MGM to assign several screenwriters to develop a screenplay. This production was no exceptions One MGM screenwriter that would emerge as a leading contender with a viable screenplay was Noel Langley. MGM was not totally satisfied with Langley’s screenplay. It was at this time that the Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf were assigned to assist Langley. What resulted was the 1939 classic film,
The Wizard of Oz
. One more person’s contribution’s must be noted in this screenplay. That person is John Lee Mahin who had collaborated on several previous projects with the director Victor Fleming. Mahin had made several key revisions to the final script. Among them were the following: 1) he made Dorothy the central character from the first shot 2) he added the third farm hand named Zeke who became the Lion 3) introduced Toto’s chasing Miss Gulch’s cat in the balloon scene at the end.
As the screenplay was in the process of being developed, LeRoy’s attention began to focus on the problem of developing a musical score for the film. Arthur Freed suggested to Mervyn LeRoy that he hire Harold Arlen and Edgar Yipsel(Yip) Harburg to write the music and lyrics to the songs needed for the film. LeRoy accepted the suggestion, thus the problem of whom would develop the musical score had been solved. As one views the film you notice that each song went along with the plot.
Judy Garland was sixteen when the filming of The Wizard of began. Judy’s real name was Frances Gumm. According to the other actors in Harmetz’s book,
The Making of
The Wizard of Oz
, she was a very cheery and bright person. She was a joy to be around. Judy always wanted to hear something funny so she could laugh. Ray Bolger said that Garland’s acting instinct was impeccable. Yip Harburg said Judy could learn a song faster than anyone he had seen. It would seem that Judy Garland was too good to be true. Having been a child star would take its toll at a later point in her life when she became an alcoholic and developed serious mental disorders, but as far as her performance and behavior in the filming of
The Wizard of Oz
she was considered completely professional. I think my students will find it interesting to know that Judy Garland was not MGM’s first choice to play the role of Dorothy. Some people in MGM wanted Shirley Temple to play Dorothy, Shirley Temple was ten years old at the time and they felt that she was closer to the age of someone who would believe in fairy tales. But, due to a contractual commitment to Fox, Shirley Temple was not available. During the filming Judy Garland had to endure two hardships: she was kept on a strict diet and she was forced to wear a binding cloth to keep her breasts down.
Judy Garland was not the only actor on the cast that had to endure hardships during the making of this film. The other key actors, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, and Margaret Hamilton had some hardships under which they had to labor. Their major hardships seem to revolve around the makeup they had wear during the filming. It took up to an hour in some cases to put the makeup on and another hour to remove it. The makeup and costumes these actors had to wear made them feel uncomfortable and restricted their movement.
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This they had to endure in the six months it took to film the movie.
The other key actors in this film were the Munchkins. The Munchkins were played by midgets. Off screen these midgets were nothing like the darling little people they played as Munchkins. Mervyn LeRoy, the producer, said that, “We had a hell of a time with those little guys’. Reportedly these midget actors were involved in sex orgies. Police had to be stationed on every floor of the hotel to stop this lewd behavior. Noel Langley, one of the screenwriters, described these actors as being so raunchy that the studio was forced to provide armed guards for the showgirls.
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In her later years (Judy Garland) stated that these Munchkin actors were drunks who drank every night and later had to be picked up by the police in butterfly nets.
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Hugh Fordin, in his book on Arthur Freed, describes the Munchkins as “The most deformed, unpleasant bunch of adults imaginable”. Fordin went on to say, ‘This unholy assemblage of pimps, hookers, and gamblers infested the Metro lot and all of the community”.
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It must be stated that there were a few Munchkin actors who did not participate in this debauchery. However, this goes to show that appearances, especially in films, can be very deceiving. On screen, these actors brought to their roles a touch of fantasy and vulnerability which led audiences to believe that the Munchkins were adorable innocent characters.
I wish to conclude my unit by having my students create their own version of
The Wizard of Oz
which will be video taped. Students will use Baum’s novel and its film version in helping them create their production. The first part of their production will involve them in creating a screenplay. After that I will arrange for my class to visit the public television station so they can be exposed to the technology involved in creating a video. At this time my class will work on making the costumes and sets they will need in completing their production. My unit will conclude with the videotaping of my student’s production.
