The Wizard of Oz (partially found deleted scenes of musical fantasy film; 1938-1939)

From The Lost Media Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
Wizard of Oz Melting Colorized.jpeg

Promo shot of The Wicked Witch's death.

Status: Lost

Regarded as the most viewed film in history, The Wizard of Oz needs no introduction. It is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), directed by Victor Fleming and (an uncredited) King Vidor. Produced by Mervyn LeRoy, the film stars Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Billie Burke, and Margaret Hamilton, and was written by Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, and Edgar Allan Woolf with songs by Harold Arlen and E. Y. "Yip" Harburg.

Although it remains the most famous and successful adaptation of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to this day, production was a bit of a nightmare. With a total of five directors, a plethora of footage was shot that was either scrapped or cut out of the film after preview showings.

Direction Under Norman Taurog - Summer 1938

Bobby Koshay (Garland's stand-in) and who appears to be Norman Taurog on the Munchkinland set between test-shots or during a visit to Fleming's set..

In July 1938, MGM announced that they had tapped director Norman Taurog, who had a reputation of guiding young performers, to helm their upcoming film adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Working on the film during the extensive wardrobe and makeup tests for the summer of 1938, Taurog was paid for three-days of directorial work for the project, most likely for test shots performed in July-August. During the first week of September, however, Taurog was replaced by Richard Thorpe and reassigned to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which would be released on February 10, 1939.

Though some pictures from the set have survived, the test footage shot by Taurog is presumed lost.

Direction Under Richard Thorpe - Fall 1938

After Taurog's reassignment, MGM brought in director Richard Thorpe to work on the film. According to the book The Wizard of Oz: The Official 50th Anniversary Pictorial History, Thorpe "had a reputation for bringing in pictures on budget and on schedule, which must have been a real attraction as the studio watched pre-production costs mount on The Wizard of Oz."

On October 13, filming began on the MGM Studios lot, and continued for a total of nine days. The scenes filmed included Dorothy and the Scarecrow's first encounter in the cornfield and various sequences in the Wicked Witch's castle. After an on-set mishap caused the production to shut down, producer Mervyn LeRoy reviewed Thorpe's footage and decided that it lacked the childlike wonder and innocence the production needed, and that Thorpe was rushing the production. Thorpe was subsequently fired.

As a new director was sought out and hired, director George Cukor took over while waiting for his next film, Gone With the Wind, to begin filming. Staying with the film for less for a week, he was brought on to help shape the film.

All footage from Thorpe's reign was scrapped, and like the Taurog footage, is presumed to be lost. Notable aspects of the Thorpe footage include...

"If I Only Had a Brain" - Original Version

Original recording, as uploaded by YouTube user Michele Bell in Dec. 2009.

Shot in November of 1938 under Thorpe, "If I Only Had a Brain" was originally very different than what would end up in the final film. Much more sedate than the final version, it was sung by Bolger in a much softer voice and slower, with simpler staging to contrast with his lively manner.

Though thought to be lost, this recording of the song was rediscovered on a privately-owned playback disc in 2009. The recording was restored and released (in far better quality than listed here) on April 19th, 2015, as a digital download for buyers of The Wizard of Oz Emerald LP release on Record Store Day.

Though the recording itself has been found, the footage remains lost.

File:Lolita Gale.jpg
Garland, pictured in an early promo shot, in her original dress, blonde wig, and "baby doll" makeup, used under Thorpe.

The Original Dorothy

Under Thorpe's reign as director, the makeup and costume designs for Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Wicked Witch differed from what they would be in the final film. Though subsequent changes to the Witch's and the Scarecrow would be fairly minor, Dorothy proved to be another story.

Under studio direction, Garland wore a long, blonde wig, heavy, "baby-doll" makeup, and a blue cotton pinafore with a blue polka-dot border, and directed to be played in an exaggerated fashion.

After Thorpe was taken off the production, Cukor had her makeup and wardrobe altered, and gave her a more naturalistic look. He also told Garland to play Dorothy more down-to-earth, to remember that she was "just a little girl from Kansas."

T​he Original Tin-Man

Originally cast as the Tin-Man was MGM contract player Ray Bolger. However, knowing that the movements of the Scarecrow would be closer to the type of dancing he had become known for and specialized in -- Having been inspired to become a dancer after seeing a production of The Red Mill staring Fred Stone, who originated the role of the Scarecrow in the 1902 The Wizard of Oz stage production. -- and feeling he was more suited for the role, he requested to switch roles with Buddy Ebsen, who had been cast as the Scarecrow. The studio approved, and the roles were switched.

Buddy Ebsen in a costume test.

After working on pre-recording and costume / makeup tests between September 22 and October 17, 1938, Ebsen began filming scenes five days into shooting on October 17th, involving the film's climax inside of The Witch's Castle. Three days later, on October 21, he suffered an allergic reaction to the aluminum dust used in his makeup and rushed to the hospital,. He was subsequently taken off the picture, the press being told it was due to pneumonia.

In an interview years later, Ebsen stated:

"They put aluminum dust all over my makeup, and this aluminum dust got into the air, and pretty soon my lungs were coated with it. One night I took a breath and nothing happened. They got an ambulance for me and rushed me down to the hospital."

He also later recalled the producer's feelings towards his illness:

"There was, in those days, a great deal of pressure - There still is. But they just didn't believe that actors got sick, or that, legitimately, [there] were casualties. I think they suspected that I was unhappy, because originally I had been promised the part of the Scarecrow and they switched me to the Tin-Man, and they thought I bore a grudge and now I was gonna get even with them. They thought I was malingering, and so, Mervyn called the hospital- And I can still remember the nurse in conversation with him, I was under an oxygen tent at the time, and she said 'Mister who? Mr. LeRoy? Why isn't Mr. Ebsen on the set? Listen you, Mr. Ebsen's a very sick man, and we're gonna keep him here until he's well!' And so, they did, and they got somebody else to play the part. But they never quite believed that I was really sick."

The production was shut down as a replacement was sought out and Thorpe was replaced (see above). On November 11, a letter of agreement was drawn up between MGM and 20th Century Fox, agreeing that Fox contract player Jack Haley (who is recorded as already working on the film as early as October 1) would play "Hickory Twicker" (Tin-Man). Haley, who was not told the reason for Ebsen's departure and whose makeup was quietly replaced with aluminum paste instead of powder, would re-record all of Ebsen's solo song moments in the film, though Ebsen's voice remains in the film during the group vocals on "We're Off to See the Wizard."

Though Haley wouldn't suffer any breathing problems due to his makeup, a small amount got into his eye, causing a severe infection. He was taken off the film for a week to stay in small, darkened room as to not damage his vision. Ebsen wouldn't return to MGM until December 13, when he begin work on the film Four Girls in White.

Direction Under Victor Fleming - Fall 1938-Early 1939

Between November 11, 1938 and February 17 1939, filming would take place under the helm of Victor Fleming, known as a man's-man, best friend of Clark Gable, action director, and a savior of troubled films. (When later asked why he agreed to direct Oz, he stated that it was so he could make a film his two young daughters could enjoy.) After completing the scenes set in Oz, Fleming was called in to direct the struggling Gone With the Wind production over at Selznick International Pictures. (Director George Cukor and star Clark Gable were barley on speaking terms, and Gable was threatening to quit the picture unless Fleming was brought in).

Though production ran relatively smoothly from this point on, (with the exception of two on set accidents involving Margaret Hamilton and her stand-in, Betty Danko), a few scenes had to be reshot due to mistakes and later cuts, and a plethora of lines and scenes were later deleted from the film. Due to the industry-wide tradition at the time of destroying cut and unused footage, it's presumed that the following footage / recordings are lost.

Original "Shiny" Tin-Man footage

Garland, Haley, and Bolger in a publicity still, taken approx. Nov. 11, 1939, showing Haley's original "polished" costume.

After Ebsen's aborted stint as the Tin-Man, Jack Haley began filing scenes with Judy Garland and Ray Bolger on November 10, 1939, filming the Tin-Man's introduction. Filming for three days, it became apparent that a major mistake had been made.

The Tin-Man, who was supposed to have been in the forest and rusted over, was polished. (This was due to the fact that Haley's Tin-Man costume was only shortened for him and not altered in any other way from Ebsen's, who filmed all his his scenes in the Witch's castle at the end of the film.)

After makeup and costume tests on the 15 and 16th, shooting of the sequence resumed on the 16th, now with a rusty Tin-Man.

As the footage was scrapped and reshot, the shiny takes are presumed destroyed.

Direction Under King Vidor - Early-Mid 1939

Director King Vidor was brought in to complete the picture, shooting the film's sepia Kansas scenes between February 19 and early March 199, and filming retakes at various points between early May and early June. Though offered credit for his work, Vidor refused it, stating that Fleming deserved undisputed credit for the film.