Behind The Scenes Secrets: The Wizard Of Oz

TheWizard of OzWas Supposed To Look Totally Different

The film’s original director, Richard Thorpe, had an entirely different idea of how the film should look. Dorothy more closely resembled the original drawings in John R. Neill’s book and had a chicer, blonde haircut with a full face of baby doll makeup.

Judy Garland, who arguably madeThe Wizard of Ozwhat it was, wasn’t cast for the role of Dorothy, either. Thorpe was hopeful that the studio could score Shirley Temple (which didn’t end up happening, but more on that later). Thorpe was also the one who cast Buddy Ebsen as the tin man. Thorpe ended up being fired from the film after two weeks.

Judy Garland Almost Didn’t Play Dorothy

Judy Garland makesThe Wizard of Ozwhat it is, and while she was always a studio favorite for the role, she wasn’tthestudio favorite. Execs thought Shirley Temple was a better fit – she was a better age and a bigger star. Despite Temple’s fame, producers worried that she didn’t have a good enough singing voice for the part.

Fortunately for Garland, Temple was contracted to 20th Century Fox, not MGM. MGM wanted to trade Clark Gable and Jean Harlow for Temple, but the idea was shot down when Jean Harlow died unexpectedly at the age of 26. According to recent reports, it may have been Harlow’s toxic hair dye that caused her liver to fail and led to her untimely death.