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When Dorothy becomes appalled at the Lion's behavior and slaps him, examine her
facial expression. She snuggles Toto close to her in an attempt to cover her own
giggles at the Lions blubbering. |

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"She's
really most sincerely dead." It is interesting to note that the date
inscribed on the certificate for the demise of the Wicked Witch of the East is
the death date of L. Frank Baum - May 6. |

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After
the Wicked Witch has blown out of Munchkinland in a fiery billow, Glinda takes
Dorothy by the arm and warns her never to let those Ruby Slippers off her feet
for a moment. Watch closely as Glinda raises her wand and knocks it into her
crown, you can even hear the 'clink' as it strikes. |
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Dorothy was the name of Baum's infant niece. She died at the age of 5 months in
1898. |
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Watch closely as Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Tin
Woodsman head down the road on their way to the Emerald City. To give the indoor
set used in this sequence a more "outdoors" feel, several birds of
various sizes were borrowed from the Los Angeles Zoo and allowed to roam the
set.
A stork can be seen wandering around just outside the Tin Woodsman's
shack while Dorothy and the Scarecrow attempt to revive him with oil.
The Hanging Man Rumor!
At the very end of this sequence, as the three main characters move down the
road and away from the camera, one of the larger birds (often said to be an emu,
a crane, or a stork) standing at the back of the set moves around and spreads
its wings. No munchkin, no hanging -- just a big bird.
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Notice Dorothy's wavering pigtails when she encounters the Scarecrow.
Her hair length varies from short to long and back again. |
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Bert Lahr, the cowardly lion wore 50 pounds of genuine
lion skins, lined with
padding to fill out the costume. |
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For it's time, The Wizard of Oz was
an expensive movie. The final tally came to around $2.77 million . Most
headlining feature movies, by comparison, cost around $1 million at the time. The
Wizard of Oz, however, was not the costliest movie of the year: Gone with
the Wind cost a whopping $4 million to make. |
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