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106-404: The witch's most popular depiction was in the classic 1939 film based on Baum's novel, where she was portrayed by Margaret Hamilton . Hamilton's characterization introduced green skin and this has been continued in later literary and dramatic representations, including Gregory Maguire 's revisionist Oz novel Wicked (1995) and its musical stage adaptation Wicked (2003), the 2013 film Oz

212-489: A 17-page draft of the Kansas scenes. A few weeks later, Mankiewicz delivered a further 56 pages. LeRoy also hired Noel Langley and poet Ogden Nash to write separate versions of the story. None of these three knew about the others, and this was not an uncommon procedure. Nash delivered a four-page outline; Langley turned in a 43-page treatment and a full film script. Langley then turned in three more scripts, this time incorporating

318-618: A Sesame Street resident, David, have the broom and refuse to give it back because of her nasty and disrespectful attitude ( Oscar the Grouch is the only Sesame Street resident who finds her pleasant; he even develops a crush on her). Enraged, the Wicked Witch threatens to turn them into a feather duster and a basketball, respectively, unless they comply with her wishes; she also makes it rain inside of Mr. Hooper’s store as an intimidation tactic. Realizing that threats and intimidation have failed to yield

424-830: A bubble and explains that Dorothy has landed in Munchkinland in the Land of Oz , and that the Munchkins are celebrating because the house landed on the Wicked Witch of the East . Her sister, the Wicked Witch of the West , suddenly appears. Before she can seize her deceased sister's ruby slippers , Glinda magically transports them onto Dorothy's feet and tells her to keep them on. Because the Wicked Witch has no power in Munchkinland, she leaves, but swears vengeance upon Dorothy and Toto. Glinda tells Dorothy to follow

530-475: A bucket of water over her. Mombi's likeness and costume in the 1914 silent film, His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz is based on Denslow's illustrations of the Wicked Witch of the West. In the 1939 version of The Wizard of Oz , Margaret Hamilton plays the Wicked Witch of the West as a green-skinned witch dressed in a long black dress with a black pointed hat. This representation of the Wicked Witch has become

636-571: A character similar to the Wicked Witch of the West, identified in intertitles as "Momba the Witch" (Compare the character Mombi from The Marvelous Land of Oz ). In the film, Momba has an unspecified hold over the Wizard , who promises his crown to anyone who can release him from Momba's power. Momba captures Dorothy and her companions, evoking the events in Baum's original novel, and is destroyed when Dorothy throws

742-404: A charlatan fortune-teller, persuades Dorothy to go home because Aunt Em is heartbroken. She returns just as a tornado approaches the farm. Unable to get into the locked storm cellar, Dorothy takes cover in the farmhouse and is knocked unconscious as the tornado lifts the house and drops it intact onto an unknown land. Dorothy awakens and is greeted by a good witch named Glinda , who floats down in

848-569: A climactic scene in the 1943 musical film Cabin in the Sky , directed by Judy Garland's eventual second husband Vincente Minnelli . The Cowardly Lion and Scarecrow masks were made of foam latex makeup created by makeup artist Jack Dawn . Dawn was one of the first to use this technique. It took an hour each day to slowly peel Bolger's glued-on mask from his face, a process that eventually left permanent lines around his mouth and chin. The Tin Man's costume

954-539: A concealed elevator was installed to lower her below stage level, as fire and smoke erupted to dramatize and conceal her exit. The first take ran well, but on the second take, the burst of fire came too soon. The flames set fire to her green, copper-based face paint, causing third-degree burns to her hands and face. She spent three months recuperating before returning to work. Her green makeup had usually been removed with acetone due to its toxic copper content. Because of Hamilton's burns, makeup artist Jack Young removed

1060-551: A dangerous reaction to his aluminum powder makeup, his singing voice remained on the soundtrack (as mentioned in the notes for the CD Deluxe Edition). He can be heard in the group vocals of "We're Off to See the Wizard". Bolger's original recording of " If I Only Had a Brain " was far more sedate than the version in the film. During filming, Cukor and LeRoy decided a more energetic rendition better suited Dorothy's initial meeting with

1166-492: A fire the witch bestowed on the Scarecrow. In the novel, Dorothy simply throws it on her in a fit of anger. There is no prior mention of the Wicked Witch's vulnerability to water in the movie, save for a split-second before the water actually douses her when she screams "Don't throw that water!" (this line does not appear in the film's shooting script). After the Wicked Witch of the West is dead, her soldiers are glad to be free of her power, and quote "Hail to Dorothy! The Wicked Witch

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1272-405: A hundred little people to play Munchkins; this meant that most of the film's Oz sequences would have to be shot before work on the Munchkinland sequence could begin. According to Munchkin actor Jerry Maren , the little people were each paid over $ 125 a week (equivalent to $ 2,700 today). Meinhardt Raabe , who played the coroner, revealed in the 1990 documentary The Making of the Wizard of Oz that

1378-426: A little insect on ahead to take the fight out of them." Another musical number cut before release came right after the Wicked Witch of the West was melted and before Dorothy and her friends returned to the Wizard. This was a reprise of "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" (blended with " We're Off to See the Wizard " and "The Merry Old Land of Oz") with the lyrics altered to "Hail! Hail! The witch is dead!" This started with

1484-612: A magic apple that will help Theodora forget her disappointment. Theodora immediately takes a bite from it, but she realizes too late that Evanora had deceived her. Before Theodora can do anything, she starts feeling great pain and delirium as the apple, tainted with dark magic, causes her heart to wither and her skin to turn green. Though Evanora offers to cover up Theodora's new appearance with an enchantment, Theodora embraces her new appearance and helps her sister attempt to kill Glinda, get revenge on Oscar, and take control of Oz. However, she and Evanora are defeated by Oscar's illusions. Theodora

1590-470: A paunched old hag with three pigtails and an eyepatch. Baum himself specified that she only had one eye, but that it "was as powerful as a telescope", enabling the witch to see what was happening in her kingdom from her castle windows. Other illustrators, such as Paul Granger, placed her eye in the center of her forehead, as a cyclops . Usually, she is shown wearing an eyepatch; however, some illustrations show her with two eyes. Most of her power resides in

1696-450: A promise from Dorothy to write to him. The scene implies that romance will eventually develop between the two, which also may have been intended as an explanation for Dorothy's partiality for the Scarecrow over her other two companions. This plot idea was never totally dropped, and is especially noticeable in the final script when Dorothy, just before she is to leave Oz, tells the Scarecrow, "I think I'll miss you most of all." Much attention

1802-506: A relative newcomer, with a recognized operatic voice; and Judy Garland , the most experienced of the three. Officially, the decision to cast Garland was attributed to contractual issues. Ray Bolger was originally cast as the Tin Man and Buddy Ebsen was to play the Scarecrow. Bolger, however, longed to play the Scarecrow, as his childhood idol Fred Stone had done on stage in 1902 ; with that very performance, Stone had inspired him to become

1908-586: A role remarkably similar to the Wicked Witch in the Judy Garland film Babes in Arms (1939). According to Aljean Harmetz, the "gone-to-seed" coat worn by Morgan as the Wizard was selected from a rack of coats purchased from a second-hand shop. According to legend, Morgan later discovered a label in the coat indicating it had once belonged to Baum, Baum's widow confirmed this, and the coat was eventually presented to her. However, Baum biographer Michael Patrick Hearn says

2014-528: A rubber band (that is, a band of rubber musicians), and an animated neon man named Leon — Leon the Neon. The trio of Dorothy, Percy, and Leon confront a giant beehive, and Dorothy and Percy take flight on hummingbird wings. Singra enchants Dorothy into a statue, but her friends, Ozma , the Wizard , Jellia Jamb , and the rest, manage to unravel Singra's scheme. Singra drinks from the Forbidden Fountain , and

2120-511: A singing contest, in which Dorothy's swing style enchanted listeners and won the grand prize. This part was initially written for Betty Jaynes , but was later dropped. Another scene, which was removed before final script approval and never filmed, was an epilogue scene in Kansas after Dorothy's return. Hunk (the Kansan counterpart to the Scarecrow) is leaving for an agricultural college, and extracts

2226-563: A standard for what witches resemble and an archetype of human wickedness. While the relationship is not mentioned in Baum's books, in the movie, the Witch is the sister of the Wicked Witch of the East . The movie makes her even more of a primary antagonist , and consequently, she appears in the film much earlier (and more often), than in Baum's original novel. She demands the Munchkins reveal who killed her sister, not long after Dorothy's arrival in Oz. She

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2332-413: A vaudevillian in the first place. Now unhappy with his role as the Tin Man (reportedly claiming, "I'm not a tin performer; I'm fluid"), Bolger convinced producer Mervyn LeRoy to recast him in the part he so desired. Ebsen did not object; after going over the basics of the Scarecrow's distinctive gait with Bolger (as a professional dancer, Ebsen had been cast because the studio was confident he would be up to

2438-516: Is Singra, the Wicked Witch of the South. She awakens after sleeping for a century; her Magical Musical Snuffbox informs her of all the events she has missed in the last hundred years. Armed with this knowledge, Singra sets out to brew a spell of revenge against Dorothy Gale , the main agent of unwelcome change. Grudgingly rescuing a water nymph along the way, she is granted her wish to become impervious to water so that she will not melt like her late cousin,

2544-549: Is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). An adaptation of L. Frank Baum 's 1900 children's fantasy novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming , who left production to take over the troubled Gone with the Wind . It stars Judy Garland , Frank Morgan , Ray Bolger , Bert Lahr , Jack Haley , Billie Burke , and Margaret Hamilton . Noel Langley , Florence Ryerson , and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for

2650-672: Is cured, Zelena is sent back to Oz, while Regina and the others assume custody of the child. On Zelena's return to Oz, she confronts Dorothy, stealing her silver slippers to travel back to her daughter in Storybrooke. By this point, the heroes had been transported to the Underworld to deal with Hades , one of Zelena's former lovers. Zelena, trying to change for her daughter, begins to repair her relationship with Regina, though she still shares True Love's Kiss with Hades. However, Hades kills Robin Hood with

2756-503: Is dead!" The character ranks No. 4 in the American Film Institute 's list of the 50 Best Movie Villains of All Time alongside Darth Vader , Norman Bates , and Hannibal Lecter , making her the highest ranking female villain, as well as placing 90th on Empire magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time . Hamilton's other role in this film is the Witch's Kansas sepia tone counterpart, Miss Almira Gulch, created for

2862-546: Is described as having been so great that even Glinda the Good Witch of the South feared her. She was described as being so cruel that the blood in her body dried up and that when she was struck, she did not bleed. In the novel, she also owns slaves to do her bidding, a characterization which is kept in "The Wiz", in which she is much more dramatic than in the original film and forces her slaves to refer to her as beautiful. The 1910 silent film The Wonderful Wizard of Oz features

2968-466: Is described by Glinda , the Good Witch of the North (not the South as in the book), as "worse than the other one". She actively seeks revenge against Dorothy for killing her sister, even though it was "accidental". However, as soon as the Witch is reminded of the ruby slippers , all interest in her sister's death vanishes and all she cares about is obtaining her slippers, which will enable her to conquer Oz. She

3074-424: Is forced to flee the city on her broom, but she threatens to return. Oscar tells her he knows her wickedness is not her doing and, if she ever finds the goodness within her, she is welcome to return. However, she refuses and flies off to the West, vowing revenge. The Wicked Witch appears as the main antagonist of the second half of the season 3 of Once Upon a Time , played by Rebecca Mader . This version goes by

3180-458: Is frightened of Dorothy at first when she sees the girl wearing the Silver Shoes. She is also afraid of the dark in Baum's original story for reasons unknown. For that reason, the Witch never tried to steal the Silver Shoes while Dorothy was sleeping. Despite her fear of water and the dark, the Wicked Witch of the West was one of the most powerful witches in all of Oz. In ensuing Oz books, her power

3286-498: Is included on the two-CD Rhino Record "deluxe" soundtrack edition. Garland was to sing a brief reprise of "Over the Rainbow" while Dorothy was trapped in the Witch's castle, but it was cut because it was considered too emotionally intense. Because Garland sung the reprise live on set, only the underscoring from the final edit survives. However, the on-set audio of the scene when it was originally filmed under Richard Thorpe still exists and

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3392-518: Is more menacing than her literary counterpart, making Dorothy too afraid to ever lose her temper with the Witch. She makes sure that Dorothy knows her power when Dorothy meets the Scarecrow by throwing a ball of fire at them. Before Dorothy and her friends get to the city, the Witch casts a sleeping spell over a field of poppies through which the group must pass. Glinda remotely counteracts the spell with snowfall. The Wicked Witch then flies on her broom over

3498-452: Is not as antagonistic to Dorothy and only becomes so once she sees Dorothy has intruded on her land, and her appearance is described very differently. In the novel, she also does not carry a broom, rather an umbrella, which she uses on one occasion to strike Dorothy's dog Toto . Her nature is a volatile and yet somewhat cowardly one when compared to the film version. Despite her immense power, she avoids face-to-face contact with her enemies, and

3604-623: The Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Over the Rainbow". The song ranks first in the AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs and the Recording Industry Association of America 's " 365 Songs of the Century ". MGM composer Herbert Stothart , a well-known Hollywood composer and songwriter, won the Academy Award for Best Original Score . Georgie Stoll was associate conductor, and screen credit

3710-591: The Emerald City , demanding that the citizens of the Emerald City surrender Dorothy to her, and the Wizard demands the destruction of the Witch, with her broom as proof, in exchange for granting the wishes of Dorothy and her companions. Unlike Baum's original depiction, the Wicked Witch sends the Winged Monkeys as the first wave of attack. She is killed when Dorothy throws a bucket of water on her, in attempt to put out

3816-730: The Evil Queen in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ) to the familiar "ugly hag". She was replaced on October 10, 1938, just three days before filming started, by MGM contract player Margaret Hamilton . Sondergaard said in an interview for a bonus feature on the DVD that she had no regrets about turning down the part. Sondergaard would go on to play a glamorous feline villainess in Fox 's version of Maurice Maeterlinck 's The Blue Bird in 1940. Hamilton played

3922-573: The Wicked Witch of the South , and the Wicked Witch of the North to conquer the Land of Oz and divide it among themselves, as recounted in L. Frank Baum's Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz . She shows no interest in the death of the Eastern Witch and all she cares about is obtaining the Silver Shoes which will increase her power. W. W. Denslow 's illustrations for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz depict her as

4028-563: The Wicked Witch of the West . Singra waylays the Scarecrow , and tricks the girl she thinks is Dorothy into drinking her potion. Singra, however, has blundered: she has mistaken Trot for Dorothy, turning the little girl into a piece of green cheese. Dorothy sets out to rescue Trot, while Singra continues to seek her vengeance. Dorothy is aided by Percy, a giant talking white rat — a character that Cosgrove Payes introduced in The Hidden Valley of Oz . In their efforts, they encounter

4134-411: The greatest films of all time and is the most commercially successful adaptation of Baum's work. In rural Kansas , Dorothy Gale lives on a farm owned by her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em. Dorothy's neighbor, Almira Gulch, who had been bitten by Dorothy's dog, Toto, obtains a sheriff's order authorizing her to seize Toto. Toto escapes and returns to Dorothy, who runs away to protect him. Professor Marvel,

4240-539: The yellow brick road to the Emerald City, the home of the Wizard of Oz , as he might know how to help her return home as the bubble makes her vanish and float away. Along the way, Dorothy meets the Scarecrow , who wants a brain; the Tin Man , who wants a heart; and the Cowardly Lion , who wants courage. The group reaches the Emerald City, despite the efforts of the Wicked Witch. Dorothy is initially denied an audience with

4346-434: The "horse of a different color" scene, Jell-O powder was used to color the white horses. Asbestos was used to achieve some of the special effects, such as the witch's burning broomstick and the fake snow that covers Dorothy as she sleeps in the field of poppies. The Wizard of Oz is famous for its musical selections and soundtrack. Its songs were composed by Harold Arlen , with lyrics by E. Y. "Yip" Harburg . They won

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4452-406: The 35 ft (11 m) of muslin from a steel gantry and connected the bottom to a rod. By moving the gantry and rod, he was able to create the illusion of a tornado moving across the stage. Fuller's earth was sprayed from both the top and bottom using compressed air hoses to complete the effect. Dorothy's house was recreated using a model . Stock footage of this tornado was later recycled for

4558-413: The Baum family denies ever seeing the coat or knowing of the story; Hamilton considered it a rumor concocted by the studio. The production faced the challenge of creating the Tin Man's costume. Several tests were done to find the right makeup and clothes for Ebsen. Ten days into the shoot, Ebsen suffered a toxic reaction after repeatedly inhaling the aluminum dust (which his daughter, Kiki Ebsen, has said

4664-505: The Great and Powerful , and the television series Once Upon a Time . The Wicked Witch of the West is the malevolent ruler of the Winkie Country. Her castle is described as beautiful instead of being the sinister fortress shown in the 1939 film. In all versions, she is aquaphobic . The Wicked Witch of the West was not related to the Wicked Witch of the East , but leagued together with her,

4770-519: The Kansas sequence. They completed the final draft of the script on October 8, 1938, following numerous rewrites. Others who contributed to the adaptation without credit include Irving Brecher , Herbert Fields , Arthur Freed, Yip Harburg, Samuel Hoffenstein , Jack Mintz, Sid Silvers, Richard Thorpe , George Cukor and King Vidor . Only Langley, Ryerson, and Woolf were credited for the script. In addition, songwriter Harburg's son (and biographer) Ernie Harburg reported: So anyhow, Yip also wrote all

4876-564: The MGM costume and wardrobe department, under the direction of designer Adrian , had to design over 100 costumes for the Munchkin sequences. They photographed and cataloged each Munchkin in their costume so they could consistently apply the same costume and makeup each day of production. Gale Sondergaard was originally cast as the Wicked Witch of the West, but withdrew from the role when the witch's persona shifted from sly and glamorous (thought to emulate

4982-601: The North and the Witch of the East. West seemingly obeys the Wizard of Oz's law against magic, owns a brothel in the Emerald City and is a poppy opium addict, deteriorating her magical skill. She is very emotional, especially when compared to the reserved behavior of Glinda's. Despite claiming to hate magic because it could not save her mother and sister witches during the Beast Forever's last attack, she resorts to it quickly when in pursuit of Dorothy after she accidentally killed East. The Wizard of Oz The Wizard of Oz

5088-558: The Olympian Crystal, and Zelena makes her choice to fight for good, killing Hades with the same weapon, and naming her daughter Robin after the child's father. The Witch of the West appears as one of the main characters in the television series Emerald City , portrayed by Ana Ularu . Here she's 1 of the last Cardinal Witches of Oz and the "Mistress of the Western Fields, Vessel of Truth and Solace", along with her sisters Glinda of

5194-419: The Rainbow " and Best Original Score for Stothart; an Academy Juvenile Award was presented to Judy Garland. While the film was sufficiently popular at the box office, it failed to make a profit for MGM until its 1949 re-release, earning only $ 3 million on a $ 2.7 million budget, making it MGM's most expensive production at the time. The 1956 television broadcast premiere of the film on CBS reintroduced

5300-520: The Scarecrow was a man so stupid that the only employment open to him was scaring crows from cornfields, and the Tin Woodman was a criminal so heartless that he was sentenced to be placed in a tin suit for eternity. This torture softened him into somebody gentler and kinder. Cannon's vision was similar to Larry Semon 's 1925 film adaptation , in which the magical elements are absent. Afterward, LeRoy hired screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz , who delivered

5406-407: The Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion to the castle. They free Dorothy, but are pursued and finally cornered by the Witch and her guards. The Witch taunts them and sets fire to the Scarecrow's arm. When Dorothy throws a bucket of water onto the Scarecrow, she inadvertently splashes the Witch, causing her to melt away. The Witch's guards gratefully give Dorothy her broomstick, and the four return to

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5512-437: The Scarecrow, and it was rerecorded. The original version was considered lost until a copy was discovered in 2009. All lyrics are written by E. Y. Yip Harburg; all music is composed by Harold Arlen Some musical pieces were filmed and deleted later, in the editing process. The song "The Jitterbug", written in a swing style, was intended for a sequence where the group journeys to the Witch's castle. Owing to time constraints, it

5618-661: The Silver Shoes on the girl's feet, the Wicked Witch decides to steal them, and thereby acquire even more power. When she succeeds in acquiring one silver shoe by making Dorothy trip over an invisible bar, the little girl angrily throws a bucket of water onto the Wicked Witch. This causes the old witch to melt away . The Wicked Witch's dryness was enumerated in some clues before this. Furthermore, when Toto had bitten her, she had not bled; her wickedness had dried her up long ago. Unfortunately, L. Frank Baum did not explain precisely why water had this effect on her, nor did he ever imply that all evil witches could be likewise destroyed. However,

5724-581: The Tin Woodman, and the armed Winkie slaves being scared off by the Cowardly Lion. The protagonists are eventually subdued by the Witch's third and final permitted use of the winged monkeys. Nevertheless, the old witch cannot kill Dorothy because the girl is protected by the Good Witch of the North 's kiss. She, therefore, settles for enslaving Dorothy, and tries to force the Cowardly Lion into submission by starving him, though Dorothy sneaks him food. Upon seeing

5830-434: The Wicked Witch episode on November 24, 2019, as part of a "Lost and Found" event that celebrated the 50th anniversary of Sesame Street . It was accompanied by many other clips, including the unaired episode " Snuffy's Parents Get a Divorce ", along with a discussion panel with Jim Henson Legacy president Craig Shemin, former Sesame Street head writer Norman Stiles, and Sesame Workshop's Rosemarie Truglio. Hamilton also played

5936-541: The Wicked Witch of the West in The Paul Lynde Halloween Special (1976), and reprised her role several times on stage, most notably at the St. Louis Municipal Opera . Hamilton also appeared as herself on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood three times between 1975 and 1976. In these appearances, she demonstrated how her costume and acting skills made her appear to be the Witch, and assured her young viewers that there

6042-602: The Wicked Witch of the West, who is named Theodora , in the 2013 film Oz the Great and Powerful . In this version, she is portrayed as a 'good witch' and as the younger sister of Evanora ( Rachel Weisz ), who is at war with Glinda ( Michelle Williams ) for control of Oz; Theodora wants nothing more than for peace to come back to their land. She falls in love with Oscar Diggs ( James Franco ), but her feelings for him are one-sided; Theodora wants to be Oscar's queen when he rules Oz. After Oscar goes to meet with Glinda, Evanora convinces Theodora that Oscar had betrayed her, offering her

6148-622: The Wicked Witch was too scary for their children, using phrases such as "screams and tears" and "the threat of the witch's power remains in children's eyes." As a result of these complaints, Anna Herera, of the CTW Research Department, told the creators of Sesame Street to not re-air the episode. The episode was considered lost but was leaked anonymously on June 18, 2022. The Museum of the Moving Image in New York City screened part of

6254-405: The Witch's guard saying "Hail to Dorothy! The Wicked Witch is dead!" and dissolved to a huge celebration by the citizens of the Emerald City, who sang the song as they accompanied Dorothy and her friends to the Wizard. Today, the film of this scene is also lost, and only a few stills survive, along with a few seconds of footage used on several reissue trailers. The entire audio track was preserved and

6360-426: The Wizard by his guard, but the guard relents due to Dorothy's grief, and the four are led into the Wizard's chambers. The Wizard appears as a giant ghostly head and tells them he will grant their wishes if they bring him the Wicked Witch's broomstick. During their quest, Dorothy and Toto are captured by flying monkeys and taken to the Wicked Witch, but the ruby slippers protect her and Toto manages to escape, leading

6466-477: The Wizard of Oz's army out of the Winkie Country, when he attempted to overthrow her. When Dorothy Gale and her companions Scarecrow , Tin Woodman , and Cowardly Lion were sent by the Wizard to destroy her, the Witch attacked them with her various creatures. Each of these attempts was thwarted with the Tin Woodman killing the 40 great wolves, Scarecrow killing the 40 crows, the black bees dying upon trying to sting

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6572-406: The Wizard, but he tells them to return tomorrow. When Toto pulls back a curtain, the "Wizard" is revealed to be an ordinary man operating machinery that projects a ghostly image of his face. The four travelers confront the Wizard, who insists he is a good man at heart, but confesses to being a humbug. He then "grants" the wishes of Dorothy's three friends by giving them tokens to confirm that they have

6678-410: The book is an unofficial entry in the series of Oz books by L. Frank Baum and his successors. Cosgrove Payes had published her first Oz book, The Hidden Valley of Oz , in 1951 with Reilly & Lee , the publisher of the Oz series since the time of Baum. The Wicked Witch of Oz would have been the next book in the series, and was intended for publication in 1954 but Reilly & Lee cancelled

6784-561: The cast pointed out her breasts and made other lewd comments. Victor Fleming slapped her during the Cowardly Lion's introduction scene when Garland could not stop laughing at Lahr's performance. Once the scene was done, Fleming, reportedly ashamed of himself, ordered the crew to punch him in the face. Garland, however, kissed him instead. She was also forced to wear a cap on her teeth due to the fact some of her teeth were misaligned and also had to wear rubber discs on her nose to change its shape during filming. Claims have been made in memoirs that

6890-468: The creatures she controls. She has a pack of 40 great wolves , a flock of 40 crows , a swarm of black bees , and an army of Winkies. She possesses the enchanted Golden Cap, which compels the winged monkeys to obey her on three occasions. First, the witch commanded the creatures to help her enslave the Winkies and to seize control of the western part of the Land of Oz. Second, she made the winged monkeys drive

6996-421: The credits are Glinda and the Munchkins. Uncredited Production on the film began when Walt Disney 's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) showed that films adapted from popular children's stories and fairytales could be successful. In January 1938, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer bought the rights to L. Frank Baum's popular novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from Samuel Goldwyn . Goldwyn had considered making

7102-423: The daylight-bright lighting the early Technicolor process required, which could heat the set to over 100 °F (38 °C), which also had the side effect of bringing the production's electricity bill to a staggering estimate of $ 225,000 (equivalent to $ 4,928,469 in 2023). Bolger later said that the frightening nature of the costumes prevented most of the Oz principals from eating in the studio commissary; and

7208-424: The desired result, she resorts to trickery, disguising herself as a sweet old lady in an effort to steal the broom back. David turns the tables on her by willingly giving it back after talking her into asking for it politely and with respect. Unfortunately, she does not learn the lesson about being nice and heads home on discourteous terms with the locals (except, perhaps, for Big Bird, who says he will miss her because

7314-477: The dialogue in that time and the setup to the songs and he also wrote the part where they give out the heart, the brains, and the nerve, because he was the final script editor. And he – there was eleven screenwriters on that – and he pulled the whole thing together, wrote his own lines and gave the thing a coherence and unity which made it a work of art. But he doesn't get credit for that. He gets lyrics by E. Y. Harburg, you see. But nevertheless, he put his influence on

7420-555: The events of the episode were an exciting change). The Wicked Witch accidentally drops the broom again while showing off on her flight home, and David, again in possession of it, laments his prediction that the whole ordeal will now repeat itself. This episode received a very negative reception. After it was aired, the Children’s Television Workshop (CTW) and series creators Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett received numerous letters from parents, who complained that

7526-470: The farm hands and the Professor they were there too, and they smile, humoring her. As Dorothy hugs Toto, she gratefully exclaims, "Oh, Auntie Em, there's no place like home!" In the film's end credits, whenever a Kansas character has a counterpart in Oz, only the Kansas character is listed. For example, Frank Morgan is listed as playing Professor Marvel, but not the Wizard of Oz. The only Oz characters listed in

7632-422: The film as a vehicle for Eddie Cantor , who was under contract to Samuel Goldwyn Productions and whom Goldwyn wanted to cast as the Scarecrow. The script went through several writers and revisions. Mervyn LeRoy 's assistant, William H. Cannon , had submitted a brief four-page outline. Because recent fantasy films had not fared well, he recommended toning down or removing the magical elements. In his outline,

7738-420: The film by screenwriter Noel Langley . Gulch is a socialite who owns half the county, seeking to have Dorothy's dog Toto taken to the sheriff and destroyed after being bitten. This prompts Dorothy to call her "a wicked old witch." Miss Gulch takes Toto away in her basket, but he escapes. In the tornado scene, Dorothy sees Miss Gulch on her bicycle transform into a Wicked Witch flying on a broom. Gale Sondergaard

7844-567: The film from Cukor's creative realignment, as producer LeRoy had already expressed his satisfaction with the film's new course. Production on the bulk of the Technicolor sequences was a long and exhausting process that ran for over six months, from October 1938 to March 1939. Most of the cast worked six days a week and had to arrive as early as 4 a.m. to be fitted with makeup and costumes, and often did not leave until 7 pm or later. Cumbersome makeup and costumes were made even more uncomfortable by

7950-601: The film to the public. According to the U.S. Library of Congress , it is the most seen film in movie history. In 1989, it was selected by the Library of Congress as one of the first 25 films for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant"; it is also one of the few films on UNESCO 's Memory of the World Register . The film

8056-401: The frequently drunk actors portraying the Munchkins propositioned and pinched her. Garland said that she was groped by Louis B. Mayer . Arnold Gillespie , the film's special effects director, employed several techniques. Developing the tornado scene was especially costly. Gillespie used muslin cloth to make the tornado flexible, after a previous attempt with rubber failed. He hung

8162-515: The identity of Maid Marian ( Christie Laing ), who is rescued and brought back to the present by the heroes. She becomes pregnant by Robin Hood ( Sean Maguire ), primarily to make Regina suffer (Regina and Robin had started a relationship before the perceived survival of Maid Marian). After Emma becomes the Dark One, she speeds up Zelena's pregnancy so she can have an unhampered ally. However, Zelena begins to bond with her new daughter, though after Emma

8268-476: The makeup with alcohol to prevent infection. Since the film has been released, credible stories have come out indicating that Judy Garland endured extensive abuse during and before filming from various parties involved. The studio went to extreme lengths to change her appearance, including binding her chest and giving her Benzedrine tablets to keep her weight down, along with uppers and downers that caused giggling fits. There were claims that various members of

8374-513: The name of Zelena (which means "green" in some Slavic languages ), the daughter of Cora, the Queen of Hearts ( Barbara Hershey / Rose McGowan ) and older half-sister of Regina, the Evil Queen ( Lana Parrilla ). Abandoned by Cora and raised in Oz, Zelena learned how to control her own powerful magic with the help of Rumplestiltskin ( Robert Carlyle ). Wishing for familial love, and growing increasingly jealous of Regina's past success at infiltrating

8480-491: The project, since the Oz books were no longer selling well. The book remained unpublished until the International Wizard of Oz Club brought out the first edition in 1993, with illustrations by Eric Shanower . The club declared it book 45 in the series. In the documentary, Oz: The American Fairyland , Payes states that she refused all requests to read her manuscript with "not 'til it's a book." The title character

8586-427: The qualities they sought. The Wizard reveals that he, like Dorothy, is from Kansas and accidentally arrived in Oz in a hot air balloon. When he offers to take Dorothy back to Kansas with him aboard his balloon, she accepts, but Toto jumps off and Dorothy goes after him, and the balloon accidentally lifts off with just the Wizard aboard. Glinda reappears and tells Dorothy she always had the power to return to Kansas using

8692-449: The role, but the studio refused to spare him during the long shooting schedule. Instead, another contract player, Frank Morgan , was cast on September 22. Veteran vaudeville performer Pat Walshe was best known for his performance as various monkeys in many theater productions and circus shows. He was cast as Nikko, the head Winged Monkey , on September 28, traveling to MGM studios on October 3. An extensive talent search produced over

8798-405: The royal family, Zelena works to collect ingredients to create a time-travel spell to create a more favorable trajectory for her life. She is eventually stopped by Emma Swan as well as Regina's new mastery of light magic in time to oppose her, before seemingly killed by Rumplestiltskin. It was later discovered that Zelena's soul successfully went back in time, where she revived herself and assumed

8904-425: The ruby slippers, but had to find that out for herself. After sharing a tearful farewell with her friends, Dorothy heeds Glinda's instructions by tapping her heels three times and repeating, "There's no place like home." Dorothy is transported back to Kansas, where she awakens in her own bed. Aunt Em attends to her while Uncle Henry and the farm hands stand by. Professor Marvel stops in as Dorothy describes Oz, telling

9010-458: The same dire effect on Haley, he did at one point suffer an eye infection from it. To keep down on production costs, Haley only rerecorded "If I Only Had a Heart" and solo lines during "If I Only Had the Nerve" and the scrapped song "The Jitterbug"; as such, Ebsen's voice can still be heard in the remaining songs featuring the Tin Man in group vocals. LeRoy, after reviewing the footage and feeling Thorpe

9116-519: The scarecrow, Elphaba's survival at the end, Nessarose using a wheelchair instead of being born without arms, Boq having a continuing love interest for Glinda – and eventually becoming the Tin Woodman instead of Nick Chopper, the complete cutting of Elphaba's years in the Vinkus, the deletion of Liir's birth, Fiyero not having a wife and children, and Doctor Dillamond not being murdered. Mila Kunis portrays

9222-464: The scenes Garland and Hamilton had already completed had to be reshot. Cukor also suggested the studio cast Jack Haley, on loan from Fox, as the Tin Man. Cukor did not shoot any scenes for the film, but acted merely as a creative advisor to the troubled production. His prior commitment to direct Gone with the Wind required him to leave on November 3, 1938, when Victor Fleming assumed directorial responsibility. As director, Fleming chose not to shift

9328-439: The screenplay, while others made uncredited contributions. The music was composed by Harold Arlen and adapted by Herbert Stothart , with lyrics by Edgar "Yip" Harburg . The Wizard of Oz is celebrated for its use of Technicolor , fantasy storytelling, musical score, and memorable characters. It was a critical success and was nominated for five Academy Awards , including Best Picture , winning Best Original Song for " Over

9434-515: The songs written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg . Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf submitted a script and were brought on board to touch up the writing. They were asked to ensure that the story stayed true to Baum's book. However, producer Arthur Freed was unhappy with their work and reassigned it to Langley. During filming, Victor Fleming and John Lee Mahin revised the script further, adding and cutting some scenes. Haley and Lahr are also known to have written some of their dialogue for

9540-441: The studio misrepresented as an "allergic reaction") in the aluminum powder makeup he wore, though he did recall taking a breath one night without suffering any immediate effects. He was hospitalized in critical condition and was subsequently forced to leave the project. In a later interview (included on the 2005 DVD release of The Wizard of Oz ), he recalled that the studio heads appreciated the seriousness of his illness only after he

9646-406: The task of replicating the famous "wobbly-walk" of Stone's Scarecrow), he recorded all of his songs, went through all the rehearsals as the Tin Man and began filming with the rest of the cast. W. C. Fields was originally chosen for the title role of the Wizard (after Ed Wynn turned it down, considering the part "too small"), but the studio could not meet Fields' fee. Wallace Beery lobbied for

9752-567: The thing. The original producers thought that a 1939 audience was too sophisticated to accept Oz as a straight-ahead fantasy; therefore, it was reconceived as a lengthy, elaborate dream sequence . Because they perceived a need to attract a youthful audience by appealing to modern fads and styles, the score had featured a song called "The Jitterbug", and the script had featured a scene with a series of musical contests. A spoiled, selfish princess in Oz had outlawed all forms of music except classical music and operetta . The princess challenged Dorothy to

9858-491: The toxicity of Hamilton's copper-based makeup forced her to eat a liquid diet on shoot days. It took as many as twelve takes to have Toto run alongside the actors as they skipped down the Yellow Brick Road. All the Oz sequences were filmed in three-strip Technicolor , while the opening and closing credits , and the Kansas sequences, were filmed in black and white and colored in a sepia-tone process. Sepia-tone film

9964-402: The whole plot – is different onstage." Schwartz justified the deviation, saying "Primarily we were interested in the relationship between Galinda – who becomes Glinda – and Elphaba...the friendship of these two women and how their characters lead them to completely different destinies." In addition to this change in focus, other major plot modifications include Fiyero's appearance as

10070-470: The wicked witch Mombi is similarly disposed of in The Lost King of Oz and the wicked witch Singra is clearly afraid of the same fate in the early chapters of The Wicked Witch of Oz . In the film, the Witch is iconic for her green skin, pointed hat, broom, boisterous, dramatic (yet nasty) personality, and cackle; in the books, her personality is somewhat more subtle: she is not as obviously sadistic, she

10176-576: Was also used in the scene where Aunt Em appears in the Wicked Witch's crystal ball. The film was not the first to use Technicolor, which was introduced in The Gulf Between (1917) as a two-color additive process, nor the first to use the three-color subtractive Technicolor Process 4 , which made its live-action debut during a sequence in The Cat and the Fiddle (1934). In Hamilton's exit from Munchkinland,

10282-499: Was cut from the final theatrical version. The film footage of the song has been lost, although silent home-film footage of rehearsals has survived. The audio recording of the song was preserved, and was included in the two-CD Rhino Records deluxe edition of the soundtrack, as well as on the film's VHS and DVD editions. A reference to "The Jitterbug" remains in the film: The Witch tells her flying monkeys that they should have no trouble apprehending Dorothy and her friends because "I've sent

10388-418: Was given to George Bassman , Murray Cutter , Ken Darby and Paul Marquardt for orchestral and vocal arrangements. (As usual, Roger Edens was also heavily involved as an unbilled musical associate to Freed.) The songs were recorded in the studio's scoring stage before filming. Several of the recordings were completed while Ebsen was still with the cast. Although he had to be dropped from the cast because of

10494-471: Was given to the use of color in the production, with the MGM production crew favoring some hues over others. It took the studio's art department almost a week to settle on the shade of yellow used for the Yellow Brick Road . Several actresses were reportedly considered for the part of Dorothy, including Shirley Temple from 20th Century Fox , at the time, the most prominent child star; Deanna Durbin ,

10600-437: Was hospitalized. Filming halted while a replacement for him was sought. No footage of Ebsen as the Tin Man has ever been released – only photos taken during filming and makeup tests. His replacement, Jack Haley , assumed Ebsen had been fired. The makeup used for Haley was quietly changed to an aluminum paste, with a layer of clown white greasepaint underneath, in order to protect his skin. Although it did not have

10706-514: Was included as an extra in all home media releases from 1993 onward. The Deluxe Edition soundtrack marries the singing from the Thorpe take to the underscoring from the Fleming version to approximate what this would have sounded like. The Wicked Witch of Oz The Wicked Witch of Oz is a novel by Rachel Cosgrove Payes . Written in the early 1950s but not published until four decades later in 1993,

10812-406: Was made of leather-covered buckram , and the oil used to grease his joints was made from chocolate syrup . The Cowardly Lion's costume was made from real lion skin and fur. Due to the heavy makeup, Bert Lahr could only consume soup and milkshakes on break, which eventually made him sick. After a few months, Lahr put his foot down and requested normal meals along with makeup redos after lunch. For

10918-457: Was nothing about her to be feared, because her portrayal in the film was only make-believe. The story line of the stage adaptation "goes far afield" from the 1995 novel. As Winnie Holzman observed in an interview with Playbill , "It was [Maguire's] brilliant idea to take this hated figure and tell things from her point of view, and to have the two witches be roommates in college, but the way in which their friendship develops – and really

11024-472: Was originally cast as the Wicked Witch of the West, but withdrew from the role when the witch's persona shifted from sly and glamorous (thought to emulate the Evil Queen in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ) to the familiar "ugly hag". On a 1976 episode of the American children's TV show Sesame Street , the Witch, once again played by Hamilton, drops her broom and falls onto the street. Big Bird and

11130-607: Was ranked second in Variety ' s inaugural 100 Greatest Movies of All Time list published in 2022. It was among the top ten in the 2005 BFI ( British Film Institute ) list of "50 films to be seen by the age of 14" and is on the BFI's updated list of "50 films to be seen by the age of 15" released in May 2020. The Wizard of Oz has become the source of many quotes referenced in contemporary popular culture. The film frequently ranks on critics' lists of

11236-447: Was rushing the production, adversely affecting the actors' performances, had Thorpe replaced. During reorganization on the production, George Cukor temporarily took over under LeRoy's guidance. Initially, the studio had made Garland wear a blonde wig and heavy "baby-doll" makeup, and she played Dorothy in an exaggerated fashion. Cukor changed Garland's and Hamilton's makeup and costumes, and told Garland to "be herself". This meant that all

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