The significance of 'The Wizard of Oz' returning to broadcast TV and breaking down myths of its making
(Above) Full interview between ABC57's Tim Wolak and Oz historian John Fricke
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The ability for anyone with a TV and antenna to watch the classic fairytale film based on the L. Frank Baum book, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," for free is what helped cement its place in history.
The tradition of showing the film near Thanksgiving and Christmas persisted until 1998 when Turner Network bought the rights to all the MGM films. Turner then showed "The Wizard of Oz" only on their cable channels.
ABC57's Digital Producer Tim Wolak spoke with John Fricke, noted "Wizard of Oz" and Judy Garland historian, author, and spokesperson for Oz on behalf of Warner Brothers, about the film's legacy and the truth behind some of the film's most persistent conspiracy theories and what actually went wrong with the production.
"The crazy thing is that the Wizard of Oz was first shown on network television in 1956, and then it was held for three years. But starting in 1959, it became this annual event that grew and grew and grew because there were three networks, and it was only on once a year, and there was no home video or streaming or anything like that. And so, if you wanted to see 'The Wizard of Oz,' and once you'd seen it, you wanted to see it again," Fricke said.
Fricke said over the last 20 years or so, he's met kids and young adults who have never seen "The Wizard of Oz" because it was no longer an annual event and they didn't have access to cable or streaming. Fricke added there are several homes all over America without such luxuries.
Of course, for decades now, the film has been available to own on home video through a variety of evolving formats including Laserdisc, VHS, Betamax, CED, DVD, Blu-ray, and now 4K UHD. But what made the annual airing special was bringing together families and friends to spend time together.
As Fricke pointed out, "They announced it, and every kid in America, and a lot of parents and grandparents would say, 'Oh, it's coming!' And you talk about it at school, and, and on the playground, and at church, at the temple, where, wherever you were, and it was a major, major event. Time magazine even devoted a half page to it in either 1965 or 1966, called the 'OZ-bowl Game,' to align it with what the Super Bowl would be for their fathers. That this is what the kids looked forward to year after year. The ratings were always astronomical."
When speaking about what makes the film so timeless and relatable, Fricke brings it back to the original 1900 book by Baum, with the story of a journey of girl who is taken away from home and has to get back.
Fricke says that's something every child can identify with. The fear of being lost.
Fricke said, "In the case of the MGM movie, there's also the fear of losing her pet and of running away from home, and so that the kids get involved within the first 15 minutes, all in sepia, not even in color yet, and they will watch. Then color kicks in, this tornado kicks in, the musical numbers kick in, the characters. All of that is Frank Baum fantasy, as demonstrated by the best entertainers that MGM could find."
Also touched upon in the book and film are the feelings of love, courage and fear, and doubting your own intelligence.
"We all have those things. Ray Bolger, the Scarecrow, used to say it best in interviews. He said, 'We all have a brain and a heart and courage, but it's up to us to develop them, to cling to them, to bring them forward, to trust ourselves, to put ourselves out there and know that we have these gifts to share,' and he said, 'if you use those gifts properly in your life, they'll bring you home.' And home is not a place or an abode; it's people, people you love and people who love you."
Our conversation also delved into the actual production of the film, including both known facts and conspiracies, from poison snow to a suicide in the background of the film.
Starting off, did you know Ray Bolger, the Scarecrow, was originally cast as the Tin Man? He fought to switch parts, thus becoming the iconic clumsy hay-filled man.
Subsequently, Buddy Ebsen, notable for going on to play Jed Clampet on the Beverly Hillbillies, was cast as the Tin Man, which would end up being a disaster due to unforeseen circumstances.
"The makeup test for the Tin Man, and when they started filming, his face was covered in clown makeup-that white base that you see clowns have in the circus, time immemorial. Then that white clown makeup was dusted with little, tiny aluminum particles, ground-up aluminum particles, and they dusted his face with it. They clung to the white paint, and he looked silver," said Fricke. "Well, this was wonderful-a great way to make a man of tin. And when they started filming, they dusted him, but they had to dust him over and over and over again, multiple times a day. Well, after about 8, 10 days of this, he unwittingly discovered that he had an allergy to aluminum, or that kind of aluminum."
The powdered aluminum would lead to Ebsen suffering a life-threatening reaction.
Fricke said, "He'd been inhaling those particles. His lungs were coated as if with glue. He couldn't unclench his fists. His legs were tightening. He couldn't move his feet. They had to put him in an iron lung and find another Tin Man overnight."
Ebsen was out. He went on to recover and continue his career.
"Buddy Ebsen's replacement was Jack Haley, another song and dance man, and they mixed the aluminum particles with the white paste so that there were none floating around, and he couldn't have the same trouble. Although nobody thought that he would have an aluminum allergy, and he probably didn't. So, they were, they were as careful as they could be," Fricke said.
Many fans and casual pop culture enthusiasts believe the snow that saves Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion in the poppy field near the Emerald City was made of asbestos, a material which was used as snow for a number of years throughout Hollywood and TV.
But what is the truth about Oz?
"It's the same thing with the poppy field legend that, 'oh it was asbestos, that snow was made of asbestos,' but there are many other theories that it was made of gypsum which would have been equally usable and equally harmless but or much less harmless as it turned out but nobody knew in 1938, 39 what asbestos could do?" Fricke stated.
Fricke explained any time you see snow in a movie or a TV show from the silent days of Hollywood up through the 60s on TV, it was probably asbestos due to its ease of use. Once studios found out it could be damaging, they stopped using it.
The darkest legend surrounding the family classic is the rumor of a suicide by hanging caught on camera and left in the film's final edit.
Fricke explained it evolved from people noticing something moving in the background of the scene after Dorothy and Scarecrow find and rescue the Tin Man.
"40 years ago, the guess was that 'oh, it's a stagehand that got, you know, was caught up there, and he didn't realize he was on camera, and he moved. But the take was so good, they used it anyway, and they felt nobody's going to see this because they didn't expect these movies to be viewed dozens and scores and hundreds of times the way classics have been,'" Fricke explained.
The stagehand caught on camera then evolved.
"Instead of a stagehand who was standing there, it became a stagehand who hung himself from the tree. Then it became an actress, an unknown actress who hung herself from the tree because she didn't get the part of Dorothy," Fricke said.
The theory further evolved to an MGM executive who hung himself on the tree because the movie was costing so much money and he was going to lose his job. And finally, it became a Munchkin who hung himself.
As the film continued to be restored and enhanced and became more readily available on home video, the picture became clearer.
It was a bird. Specifically, a Sarus crane, a large silver-gray bird about five feet tall with a long neck and big wings.
Fricke noted, "MGM filmed 'The Wizard of Oz' on sound stages in Culver City, California. The only outdoor footage in 'The Wizard of Oz' is the opening and closing credits with the clouds going by in the sky. As a result, everything had to be done indoors and in the apple orchard, the cottage, the Tin Man discovery with the trees in the background. They wanted it to give an outdoor atmosphere. So, Los Angeles Zoo Park was in dire straits, and MGM went to them and said, 'We will be glad to rent some birds from you for our movie, and you will have some income that way.' So, if you watch that scene, as Dorothy and the Scarecrow are coming up the Yellow Brick Road under the branches of a tree, the Wicked Witch is hiding behind the tree. On the branch of the tree, you'll see a toucan, a live toucan. As the scene goes on with the apple trees and the discovery of the Tin Man, you'll see a peacock moving around in the background."
Fricke says the rumors about "The Wizard of Oz" that have grown throughout the years are unfair, because the movie was so difficult to make.
He stated, " There were accidents, there were dangers, but none of them were intended. None of them were disregarded or brushed off. They did everything they could to make that picture as great as it was, and that took a lot of innovations: fireworks, smoke work, double exposures, flying monkeys. You know that all had to be invented. A tornado. They did an awfully good job."
Along with being an Oz historian, Fricke has a long history with the state of Indiana. He was the featured emcee at the now defunct annual Chesterton Wizard of Oz Festival from 1989 to 2012, where surviving Munchkins would also attend.
You may even recognize Fricke's voice since he's supplied commentary audio tracks on eight Judy Garland DVD releases over the years, including "The Wizard of Oz," and has frequently been featured on TCM, The Today Show, and NPR.
Fricke has lectured about Oz and Judy Garland at MOMA and Lincoln Center in New York City, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles, the National Film Theatre in London, and at the Deauville Film Festival in France.