The Wizard of Oz is a film that’s been adored by generations, but it’s also been shrouded in mystery, thanks to a slew of rumors suggesting the film was cursed. From injuries to bizarre mishaps, many fans believe something was off about the making of this 1939 classic. But how much of it is true?
During the production of this beloved film, several accidents occurred that have since fueled the idea of a curse. Margaret Hamilton, who portrayed the Wicked Witch of the West, suffered severe burns during one of the film’s more explosive scenes. Her stunt double, Betty Danko, was also injured in a similar mishap when a scene involving a smoke-emitting broomstick went horribly wrong, sending her to the hospital.
The beloved dog Toto wasn’t immune either—injured when someone accidentally stepped on him. And Buddy Ebsen, originally cast as the Tin Man, had to leave the production after an adverse reaction to the makeup, which left him in excruciating pain.
Despite these incidents, Oz expert and historian John Fricke, author of The Wizard of Oz: The Official 50th Anniversary Pictorial History, insists that many of the events were simply the result of the filmmakers’ ambitious attempts at groundbreaking moviemaking. “They were doing stuff that had never been done before,” Fricke explains, pointing out that these were dangerous stunts and effects that weren’t intentionally reckless.
The most famous of these incidents involves Margaret Hamilton’s severe burns during a scene in which the Wicked Witch disappears in a burst of smoke and fire. Hamilton was forced to take a six-week break to recover. When she returned, she refused to film another sequence with a similar effect, where her character was meant to fly on a broom with smoke coming from it. Instead, her stunt double, Betty Danko, stepped in, but when she activated the smoke release, the broom exploded. “Betty Danko went flying in one direction. The hat went in another direction. The broom went in a third direction,” Fricke recalls, “and she ended up in the hospital.”
Meanwhile, the original Tin Man, Buddy Ebsen, suffered a terrible reaction to the aluminum dust in his makeup, which caused violent muscle spasms that threatened his breathing. Ebsen’s harrowing experience was detailed in his memoir, The Other Side of Oz, where he recounts waking up in agony with his body locking up in cramps. “I panicked. What was happening to me?” Ebsen wrote, recalling the terrifying ordeal that ultimately led to his replacement by Jack Haley.
While these accidents are tragic, Fricke argues that they were the result of the film’s groundbreaking and experimental nature, not some malicious force. “90 percent of what they attempted gave us a classic motion picture,” he says. “The other 10 percent went wrong unintentionally, and that’s what’s been inflated into a legend.”
Of course, The Wizard of Oz has also been plagued by more bizarre rumors over the years. One particularly lurid story, which gained traction in the 1980s, claimed that the Munchkin actors sexually harassed Judy Garland on set, with some versions alleging the Munchkins even went so far as to make her life miserable. Fricke is quick to dismiss this, stating firmly, “The Munchkins did not sexually abuse Judy Garland.”
Another infamous myth involves a supposed suicide of one of the Munchkins, with some fans claiming to see a shadow of the body hanging in a scene. Fricke dismisses this as a fabrication, noting, “There is no hanging Munchkin at Tin Man’s cottage. This is the kind of stuff that gets perpetuated.”
In the age of internet rumors and conspiracies, it’s easy for wild tales to take on a life of their own. But Fricke stands firm in his defense of the truth. “We’re living at a time when anything is believable,” he says. “But we know the truth.”
Despite the many myths and misfortunes that have surrounded it, The Wizard of Oz remains one of the most cherished and influential films of all time. And while the rumors persist, the truth—thanks to experts like Fricke—shines through.
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