Interesting facts you may not have known about the cult film "The Wizard of Oz"

On the 80th anniversary of the premiere of this achievement, we bring you seven interesting things you may not have known about The Wizard of Oz.

Eight decades ago, one of the most famous and influential films of all time was premiered - "The Wizard of Oz" - starring Judy Garland, the song "Above the Rainbow", the characters Scarecrow, Can and The Scary Lion, as well as the sentence "Toto, we're not in Kansas "gave a permanent place in the history of popular culture of the 20th century.

Eight decades ago, one of the most famous and influential films of all time was premiered - "The Wizard of Oz" - starring Judy Garland, the song "Above the Rainbow", the characters Scarecrow, Can and The Scary Lion, as well as the sentence "Toto, we're not in Kansas "gave a permanent place in the history of popular culture of the 20th century.

Namely, "The Wizard of Oz", based on the novel of the same name by Frank Baum, won two Oscars (he was nominated for six), and last year it was declared the most influential and most watched film in the world.

Here are just a few interesting things you may not have known about the cult film:

THE SONG "ABOVE THE RAINBOW" SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN IN THE MOVIE.

When composer Harold Arlen presented the famous song "Above the Rainbow", the producers thought that the song was too "symphonic" and that it would not be easy to perform. In addition, director Victor Fleming wanted to throw it out, considering it too long and complicated. However, the song entered the final version of the film, but the troubles did not stop there. Critics rated the song as long and unnecessary, but the song "Behind the Rainbow" won the Oscar for best original song.

THE GREEN PAINT USED FOR MARGARET HAMILTON'S COSTUME WAS SO POISONOUS THAT AFTER THE END OF THE FILM, THE ACTRESS HAD TO GO ON A STRICT DIET.

Jack Young, one of the make-up artists who worked on the film, discovered that the green paint, used to cover the body and face of actress Margaret Hamilton, was very toxic because it contained copper. "Every night when we took off her costume, her face had to be cleansed flawlessly.

Apparently, the color remained on her face for some time after the end of filming, so the actress had to be on a special diet.

DIRECTOR VICTOR FLEMING SLAPPED JUDGE GARLAN BECAUSE SHE COULDN’T STOP GIGGING.

In the book "Victor Fleming: The American Master of Film", film critic Michael Sragow described this incident.

When Judy Garland couldn't stop laughing on the set, Fleming took her outside and said, "Darling, this is serious," and slapped her, then added, "Now come back to do the job."

Allegedly, Fleming felt bad that he slapped the actress, so he asked someone else to slap him. Garland heard this and said, "I'm not going to do that, but I'm going to kiss your nose."

THE SCARY LION COSTUME WAS MADE OF REAL LION FUR.

In an effort to make the Wizard of Oz look as authentic as possible, the Cowardly Lion costume, worn by Bert Lahr, is made of real lion fur. There were several specimens of costumes, which means that more lions lost their lives due to the media company Metro Goldwyn Meyer.

The costume was lost until 1970, when he found a drug dealer and later sold it at an auction in New York for 3 million dollars.

SEVERAL (SERIOUS) INJURIES HAPPENED DURING THE RECORDING.

Margaret Hamilton, who played the character of the Evil Witch from the West, suffered burns on her face and hands.

Ray Bolger, the actor who played the character of the Scarecrow, got permanent indentations on his face from a rubber mask that was glued to his face every morning.

Buddy Ibsen, the actor who was originally chosen to play the character of Tin, gave up the role because of the costume that contained aluminum dust, which caused complications in his lungs.