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It's a hazardous journey. Our thanks to Fred Detmers, Buddy Ebsen, Lois January, and the late George Cukor, Billy Curtis, Marcel Delgado, Harold Rosson, ASC and Harry Wolf, ASC. Check your inbox for your latest news from us. MGM wanted 10-year-old Shirley Temple instead. They had to work fast between each take, though, because "the horses invariably managed to lick off most of the Jell-O between shots.". Discover unique things to do, places to eat, and sights to see in the best destinations around the world with Bring Me! In regards to having bathroom attendants, Margaret Pellegrini, one of the last surviving Munchkin actors, added that it was "the first time I'd ever had anybody help me go to the bathroom. Frank Morgan got the role of the Wizard after W.C. Fields demanded too much money. Figuring out how to color the horses in Emerald City was an extremely difficult task, and the The supporters of this myth believe that in one of the scenes where Dorothy and the Tin Man are walking down the Yellow Brick Road, a dark shadow moving in the background is of an actor who hanged himself on the set. There's no magic bullet with digital technology you can only scan in the image quality on the source material. ", Garland told biographer Paul Donnelly that they'd give her and Mickey Rooney, with whom she made several movies, the pills to "keep us on our feet long after we were exhaustedthen knock us out with sleeping pillsthen after four hours theyd wake us up and give us the pep pills again so we could work 72 hours in a row. When Jack Haley replaced him, they started using a safer aluminum paste as makeup. Each model required two wires for the bodies and two for flapping the wings. Fields begged off because he was preparing You Can't Cheat an Honest Man at Universal. Also that year, the Boston native played the villainous Light-Fingered Lester in an Our Gang short film and appeared as Little Professor Atom in The Marx Brothers At the Circus. It has been claimed that the actors playing the three munchkins harassed Judy Garland after visiting Culver City. Maren, now 94, is the last surviving Munchkin actor. With a final cost of $2,777,000, it was one of the most expensive pictures ever made. Movie studios used asbestos because it was fireproof, unlike cotton, which they previously used. Glinda tells Dorothy to follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City, where a powerful Wizard can help her get back to Kansas. This one twisted and careened wildly. Marcel Delgado, the sculptor and technician who had made the models for The Lost World and King Kong, cast the bodies in rubber over aluminum armatures, with hinges for the wings. Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter. A few scenes, such as the establishing shot of the witch's castle, are complete paintings, 40 inches wide and without live action. "You have to be very careful that you don't lose fine details like highlights in people's eyes. Casting Garland was a risk, but no one ever doubted her voice. As of today, no principal cast of the film is still alive. By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. In this MGM classic, who we see playing the Tin Man is Jack Haley, but he was not the original Tin Man. Top subscription boxes right to your door, 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. The next casualty was Margaret Hamilton, who was supposed to disappear from Munchkinland in a burst of smoke and fire. Then, MGM Studios managed to cut a deal to borrow Shirley Temple for The Wizard of Oz, the silent film. '", The studio rightfully ruled that it would be unacceptable to use real paint on the horses during the Emerald City scene. Diminutive American actor Billy Curtis avoided the usual onus of freak-show employment as a youth, opting for a mainstream job as a shoe clerk. We recommend that these ideas are used as inspiration, that ideas are undertaken with appropriate adult supervision, and that each adult uses their own discretion and knowledge of their children to consider the safety and suitability. The green makeup contained copper, which, if ingested, could prove to be fatal. The trio (plus Toto, whose real name was Terry) approaches the Cowardly Lion's hunting grounds. The actual ball was about 8" in diameter and was not moved while being photographed. ", In that time, the two makeup colors that studios had to be careful of were gold (because it was a concealer and closed the pores) and green (because of the copper). Georgina Onuorah has been announced as the lead role of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz this summer, produced by Michael Harrison and the Really Useful Group.. Fields' Wizard would've been more of a con-man while Morgan. Dorothy flees with Toto but runs for home after talking to Professor Marvel, a fortune-teller and balloonist. Ray Bolger was initially approached to play the Tin Man, but he lobbied hard to play the rubber-legged Scarecrow. Please note that Kidadl is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon. Sat, Jun 10 1922 Billy Curtis was: 30. The MGM Optical Department photographed the film's titles. "Some people say 3K, or even 2K, and 8-bit log space per pixel is sufficient, but this film is an important part of our heritage and culture," he says. According to Feiner, this process requires 4K x 3K of digital data with 10 bits of log space per pixel. They tried several different alternatives, including food coloring, but "the colors were not subtle enough." The prop exploded, sending her to the hospital for 11 days and leaving her with permanent scars. Is Pink Floyd's album a coincidence or not? Offers may be subject to change without notice. "Most people wouldn't have noticed that, but I've worked on a lot of trailers for TV in CRI format. Admitting that he is just a balloonist from Kansas, the Wizard offers to take Dorothy home. WebThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz, childrens book written by L. Frank Baum and first published in 1900. WebThe Wizard of Oz (1939) Full Cast & Crew See agents for this cast & crew on IMDbPro Directed by Writing Credits Cast (in credits order) verified as complete Produced by The Wizard of Oz | Frank Morgan got the role of the Wizard after W.C. Fields demanded too much money. Reporting on what you care about. Curtis' big movie season was 1938-39: he was cast in The Wizard of Oz (1939) (albeit with voice dubbed by Pinto Colvig) and as the cowboy hero of the all-dwarf western The Terror of Tiny Town (1938). A modern fairy tale with a distinctly American setting, a delightfully levelheaded and assertive heroine, and engaging fantasy characters, the story was enormously popular and became a classic of childrens literature. We hold major institutions accountable and expose wrongdoing. ", After scanning, the image quality was cleaned up by the digital artists, who removed dust and dirt spots and painted out the wires used to help actor Ray Bolger to fly in the Scarecrow dance number. Safety nets and pads usually saved the day, although several "monkeys" landed in the hospital. Self care and ideas to help you live a healthier, happier life. That led to his employment by D. W. Griffith for America (1923) and, in 1925, the start of his long career at MGM. A preponderance of shiny surfaces, such as the Tin Man's metallic suit, the big prop emeralds, and even the sequined red slippers, caused problems by creating distracting reflections. Have you been quoting the line of the Witch of the West as" Fly, Fly, my pretties" when she sent her monkeys? All of the original three-strip Technicolor film from that period was recorded on a potentially flammable nitrate-based emulsion. To those of you who have been faithful to it in return and to the Young in Heart we dedicate this picture.". ", The digital files for both the Technicolor and black-and-white sequences were converted to intermediate film with a Kodak laser film recorder. The resulting composite was back-projected outside Dorothy and the window. Seconds after the mishap, she looked down at her hand and saw the damage: "From the wrist to the fingernails, there was no skin on the hand. She made, According to Judy Garland's biographer, her, And the "snowstorm" that took place in the poppy field scene was actually. He replaced Buddy Ebsen two weeks into filming after the original Tin Man fell ill from the character's aluminum dust makeup. The one where EW follows up with the cast. They were flown on piano wires and their wings were made to flap by means of small hidden motors. But by the end of 1938, with 25 Technicolor features in release, color had become a selling point instead of a liability. When it crashes down, she emerges in Munchkinland, which is inhabited by little people, in the Land of Oz. Official Sites Release Date: Tuesday, August 15 1939 83 years ago . --Billy Curtis, Lord High Mayor of Munchkinland Judy Garland starred in The Wizard of Oz when she was 16. All Rights Reserved. He told her to take the scenes seriously and get it done. Ken Darby. The artisans also compensated for yellow dye fading. The makeup used on the sets of the Wizard of Oz circles many claims. Your privacy is important to us. In 1973, Maren played as a child ape in the sequel Battle for the Planet of the Apes and starred in the comedy film Little Cigars opposite another former Munchkin, Billy Curtis. ", The images were stored on the high-speed disk array for display at 2K resolution. Ever wonder how he would have thought of the name 'Oz'? US residents can opt out of "sales" of personal data. Still, it took me about a day to discover what had happened. The Wizard of Oz 1939 movie based on the book by L. Frank Baum Billy Curtis; Heritage designation: Memory of the World (2007) Publication date: 25 August 1939; Part of the series: Family Classics; Duration: 98 min; Cost: 2,777,000 United States dollar (estimation) Different from: The Wizard of Oz; Curtis' big movie season was 1938-39: he was cast in The Wizard of Oz (1939) (albeit with voice dubbed by Pinto Colvig) and as the cowboy hero of the all-dwarf western The Terror of Tiny Town (1938). Don't Lie. Sat, Jun 10 1922 Billy Luft recalled one event in particular, claiming, "The next day, on the set, hungover, they would make Judy's life miserable by putting their hands under her dressThe men were 40 or more years old. Another was built, and this time it was reinforced throughout with piano wire. Wizard of Oz Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, arrives and slides the evil witch's magic ruby slippers on Dorothy's feet. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous Family (1) Spouse Curtis, Joann (1948 - 1988) (his death) (2 children) Trivia (7) Billy Curtis was the main reason for Judy Garland 's comment that the Munchkins were "little drunks." ", MGM Labs had set up a production line to copy the nitrate film onto CRIs, recording from the emulsion side rather than the base side. This film was previously released on home video in a very truncated version with all the naughty bits removed. On the way she meets a Scarecrow who says he has no brain, a Tin Woodsman who claims to have no heart, and a lion who is a coward. Shocking Facts About "The Wizard Of Oz" Movie And Jerry Maren, the last surviving adult Munchkin from 'The Wizard of Oz' who also appeared in Marx Brothers movies and on 'Seinfeld,' has died. It would have been next to impossible except that Technicolor had just introduced its new, "faster" film, which today would have an ASA rating of about 50. Entertainment Weekly may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. They tried using food coloring, "but the colors were not subtle enough." Additionally, The production company was Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Director Victor Fleming's 1939 classic has made an indelible imprint on American pop culture, giving us durable metaphors ("the yellow brick road") and memorable lines ("We're not in Kansas anymore"). "It took an aesthetic eye," he explains. I will return to work on one condition no more fireworks! Then the individual objects that swirl past men rowing a boat, Hamilton riding her bicycle, Auntie Em in her rocking chair, etc. The mass of wires more than 1,000 altogether necessitated numerous retakes due to breaks. Search, watch, and cook every single Tasty recipe and video ever - all in one place! Behind the Curtain: The Wizard of Oz - The American Society of Cinematographers (en-US) Historical April 25, 2023 Behind the Curtain: The Wizard of Oz A cadre of creative minds infused MGMs classic fantasy with a timeless supply of movie magic. In the famous poppy field scenes of the movie where a snowstorm was shown, the snow was not snow but asbestos. In fact, the costumes were so unbearable for all three men on set that Judy Garland remembered how "each one was making bets as to which makeup was the most difficult all the way through the picture.". "Our goal was simple," Feiner says. This proved to be a key advantage on the Oz undertaking, given the job's aggressive eight-month schedule. TMZ first reported the news of his death. creative tips and more. "For nearly 40 years this story has given faithful service to the Young in Heart; and Time has been powerless to put its kindly philosophy out of fashion. Completely untrue. Soon after, the press stated that Temple not being cast as Dorothy was the greatest disappointment of her brief and eminently griefless career. A few decades after that, Shirley Temple commented on the fact that Judy Garland had been picked for the movie and graciously said, Sometimes the gods know best., Throughout the next few years, MGM started prescribing her even more pills to "control both her weight and her energy levels. Gillespie had a 35' wind sock cast in thin rubber and ordered a steel gantry specially built and suspended from the ceiling. She previously played the role of Dorothy in the WebTHE WIZARD of Oz Review Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer A Victor Fleming Production with: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Buddy Ebsen, Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton, Charley Grapewin and the Munchkins Pacific Title was founded in Los Angeles in 1919, the very same year that the ASC came into being. Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Wizard of Oz Something for everyone interested in hair, makeup, style, and body positivity. He replaced Buddy Ebsen two weeks into filming after the original Tin Man fell ill. While that film was still in production, it was announced that The Wizard of Oz would also be filmed in Technicolor. Born June 27, 1909 in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA. In his palace, Toto pulls aside a curtain, revealing a man operating levers that create the illusion of the Wizard. The expensive gantry and its perambulating car saw further service in getting the witch's flying monkeys airborne. ", She spent six weeks recuperating in the hospital and at home. Jack Haley was the last one to join the cast. At age 19, Maren (at 3-foot-4) appeared as one of the three Lollipop Guild Munchkins (the green one in the middle) in the classic 1939 movie. It was as though someone had taken the top of her hand and peeled it like an orange. Louis B. Meyer hired people to constantly watch over Judy Garland to make sure she was following her diet. She had to go through a lot of physical and verbal abuse on set. Margaret Pellegrini, one of the last surviving Munchkin actors, said, "It was the first time I'd ever had anybody help me go to the bathroom. When Feiner inspected the Scarecrow scene, the image seemed slightly off. However, scanning from a black-and-white element at full film resolution yields about 13 megabytes per frame a rate that allows for more efficient data management at faster speeds. On some sets, as many as eight cameras about a third of Technicolor's inventory were used, with one getting the overall scene while others were hidden among the scenery for tighter shots. What made it look pink was the idiosyncrasies of technicolor, a process that consists of the dye-transfer technique. In the beginning, the author could not come up with the magical land that Dorothy is swept onto. We all know that the film Wizard of Oz is an adaptation of L. Frank Baum's book titled 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, published in 1900, its illustrator was W.W Denslow. Gillespie was also called in to photograph scenes in the poison poppy field, for which it was necessary to have the camera move along the ground surrounded by flowers. Bolger opened up about the difficulties of the costume, saying "I had a rubber mask. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf were the credited authors of the final screenplay, which was begun in late February 1938 and completed in August. The green makeup used for Margaret Hamilton's costume was so, MGM hired attendants to help the little people on and off studio toilets because one of the Munchkin actors got, Clara Blandick, who played Auntie Em, committed, Margaret Hamilton, aka the Wicked Witch of the West, suffered second-degree burns on her face and third-degree burns on her hand after a stunt, The male actors who played Munchkins would often, In fact, a lot of the Munchkin actors were so bad that an MGM employee was literally assigned to watch over them, and a lot of the actors ended up getting, Buddy Ebsen was the original Tin Man, but the aluminum dust from the makeup, Figuring out how to color the horses in Emerald City was an extremely difficult task, and the studio ultimately decided to paint them with, The actors who played Munchkins were only paid, And Terry, the dog who played Toto, was paid nearly three times as much as the Munchkins. McDonalds retired the character when Billy died in 1988. Her performance as the Wicked Witch would frighten generations of children, who routinely cowered when they met her in person. Discover Billy Curtis's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. THE SEXUAL SECRET OF MARIJUANA in the much longer sexually Did Dorothy wear a pink shirt or a white one? While the Munchkins were paid $50 a week, Toto, the dog, made $125 per week. (A few children were used as a well.). Ziegfeld Follies star Fanny Brice was first considered for the Good Witch, but the final choice was Billie Burke, Ziegfeld's widow. Bert Lahr, the Broadway comic who hadn't quite caught on in movies, was hired as the Cowardly Lion and almost stole the show from everybody. They were printed in the MGM laboratory's beautiful but long-extinct Sepia Platinum process, which not only gave the images a sepia tone, but lent an iridescent quality to the highlights. WebCurtis' big movie season was 1938-39: he was cast in The Wizard of Oz (1939) (albeit with voice dubbed by Pinto Colvig) and as the cowboy hero of the all-dwarf western The Terror of Tiny Town (1938). Tornado shots were used alone and as process plates to be projected behind Dorothy during her attempt to elude the funnel. Toto escapes and brings Dorothy's friends to rescue her, but they are also captured.

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