Wizard of Oz
On a recent visit with our grandkids, we did a lot of fun stuff. Swimming, tie-dying, games. Lots of games. But probably the most fun for me was watching a five-year old watch the Wizard of Oz for the first time.
The film may look a little creaky - it is after all 87 years old — but it was magical for the little one, who spent most of the movie on the edge of her seat, holding her mother’s hand.
The amazing change from black and white to technicolor. The munchkins, scary witch, flying monkeys, talking apple trees, wonderful songs.
They sure don’t make movies like that anymore.
Which may not be such a bad thing. The six months of film-making were a horror show of serious hazards for the actors. Wicked witch Margaret Hamilton suffered severe burns made worse by her flammable copper green makeup. She spent five weeks in the hospital. Cowardly lion Bert Lahr’s costume was made from a real lion pelt, weighed 90 pounds and was unbearably hot and smelly in the 100 degree temperatures of the set. Buddy Ebsen, the first actor cast as the tin woodman, suffered lung injury after a few days wearing makeup made from aluminum dust. He never fully recovered. Oh yes, that snow falling on the poppy fields? Asbestos.
The Wizard of Oz is still a dream of a movie to watch, with its messages of home, hope and courage. But for the actors, it must have been a six-month nightmare.
I’m Deborah Booth and that’s my perspective.
