The love for 1939 film The Wizard of Oz has been handed down for generations as it has captivated audiences in the 80 years since its release in cinemas.
The movie follows the young girl Dorothy Gale, played by the iconic Judy Garland , who is swept up in a tornado from her native Kansas and crash lands in the colourful land of Oz, where she meets a whole host of wonderful and frightening characters.
However, for those involved in bringing the world of L. Frank Baum's fantasy world to life for the big screen, the experience would prove a nightmare behind the scenes.
There have been many horror stories from the set, but what exactly happened to those involved in the film?
The original Tin Man
Jack Haley may be the face of the Tin Man in the final product but he wasn't originally cast as the character who was in need of a beating heart.
MGM originally cast The Beverly Hillbillies star Buddy Ebsen in the part, but ten days into filming that all changed.
Ebsen had a reaction to the aluminium powder in the Tin Man make-up and ended up in critical condition and was hospitalised, experiencing body aches, muscle cramps, and shortness of breath.
It was only in hospital that studio heads saw the seriousness of Ebsen's condition and production was halted until a replacement Tin Man was found.
Recast with Jack Haley, the make-up was amended to be safer, but the reason for the change was never publicised and even Haley was unaware of why Ebsen was taken off the film.
Ebsen was left in a contract dispute with MGM before and complained of breathing problems for the remainder of his life, which he blamed on "that damned movie."
The Wicked Witch of burns and toxic paint
Actress Margaret Hamilton only became involved in the film a few days before filming but was a reliable contract actress for the studio.
However, it proved to be a very difficult and dangerous experience for Margaret throughout filming.
The green make up that was used to transform Margaret into the Wicked Witch of the West was toxic and had to be thoroughly cleaned after shooting.
Make-up maestro Jack Young explained in The Making of The Wizard of Oz by Aljean Harmetz: "... green is toxic because it’s made with copper. Every night when I was taking off the Witch’s makeup, I would make sure that her face was thoroughly clean. Spotlessly clean. Because you don’t take chances with green."
That wasn't all that Margaret endured, however, as she found herself suffering severe burns.
Fans will remember the Wicked Witch's fiery departure from Munchkinland but while dramatic it was also harmful.
Hamilton was supposed to descend while a fire rose up but it illuminated before she descended and she suffered burns on her face and hands.
She spent six months recuperating at home and in hospital.
Her stunt double was next to do a similarly memorable moment but also ended up with burns when a pipe exploded.
Stunt player Betty Danko spent 11 days in the hospital and her legs were permanently scarred.
Munchkin mayhem
Another major source of contention on set was the cast of supporting players portraying the Munchkin community that Dorothy encounters when she arrives in Oz.
Judy Garland herself made some claims about the 124 actors hired by MGM as Munchkins for the 1939 movie.
She said: "There were hundreds of them, they put them all in one hotel. They got smashed every night and the police would pick them up in butterfly nets. The poor things."
They caused issues on set to with approaches to women and violence.
"They’d raid the studio lot," said screenwriter Noel Langley. "The showgirls had to be escorted in bunches with armed guards."
Wizard of Oz make-up artist Jack Dawn said: "You had to watch them all the time."
The Mirror also revealed that Judy Garland's ex-husband Sidney Luft wrote in an unfinished memoir: "They'd make Judy’s life miserable by putting their hands under her dress."
However, the last surviving Munchkin, Jerry Maren, insists that the little people had a great relationship with Judy on set.
She presented the 124 actors on set with a signed photo and a box of chocolates on set.
Jerry said: “She was a movie star and I’d figured she’d be a pain in the neck. But she was glad to meet us and we were glad to meet her. She was an angel."
The Munchkins were only paid $50 a week, while Toto the dog was paid $125.
Asbestos snow, painted horses, and lion hair
Another utterly bizarre episode in the production was the snow scenes mid-way through the film.
The Making of The Wizard of Oz revealed that the snow used in the sequence was made of crystallised asbestos!
That's right, Judy and co were being doused in carcinogens.
Additionally, the horses that kept changing colour when Dorothy and friends reached the Emerald City were actually played by real horses who were painted in different types of gelatin paint.
Meanwhile, the Cowardly Lion actor Bert Lahr had to wear a heavy costume made of real lion hair that was heavy and so warm under the hot lights required in the studio for technicolour.
The costume grew so sweaty from the heat that it was industrially cleaned every single day of shooting.
The tragedy of Judy Garland
Of course, one of the most notable horrors behind The Wizard of Oz was the treatment of its lead actress, Judy Garland.
Studio executives at MGM referred to Judy as "a fat little pig with pigtails."
Sid Luft wrote in his memoir that Judy's body shape was never going to fit the types that the studio wanted.
He wrote that she "unlike other actresses, could not successfully camouflage extra weight, especially because she was dancing and singing in revealing costumes. Just 4 feet 11.5 inches, she could be underweight and still appear heavy or out of proportion on screen."
Studio chief Louis B. Mayer at MGM put Judy on a strict diet of "chicken soup, black coffee, and cigarettes, along with pills to reduce her appetite", according to Biography.com.
The actress, who had been introduced to pep pills at the age of 10 by her own mother, was already on a cycle of uppers and downers to get through the exhausting machine of the studio system.
Judy was only 16 at the time of The Wizard of Oz.
It would be addiction that would kill her in adulthood at the age of 47 in accidental overdose.
Which of these stories about The Wizard of Oz were you aware of? Let us know in the comments below.
