Not everyone judges a book by its cover, and it’s no different with characters. While the Wicked Witch of the West today is an icon with her black hat and green complexion today, that wasn’t always her signature style. Originally the concept for the Wicked Witch gave her a much more sleek and sexy style. Producers however, concerned with making her appear convincingly evil and cruel changed her look before filming. They needed her to contrast much more sharply with the look of Glinda the Good Witch.
The look wasn’t the only thing that changed but, like the Tin Man, the Wicked Witch also had to be recast. Gale Sondergaard was originally hired to play the Wicked Witch but, upon learning of the change to the look and makeup, stepped away from the project. Margaret Hamilton stepped in to take Sondergaard’s place.
The Lion Costume Was Made From Real Lion Fur!
The costume for the Cowardly Lion is something to behold. If a man and a lion had a baby, odds are, it would look something like Bert Lahr did in The Wizard of Oz. This makes even more sense when you realize that a large portion of Lahr's costume is in fact made from the pelts of real lions. The look was great but, like the saga of the Tin Man, there were struggles involved. The costume, and its real lion pelts, weighed almost 50 pounds.
Early on there were rumors the MGM actually wanted to use a real lion, their famous mascot Jackie, from their logo, to play at least a small part of the role, but in the end, other than the pelts, the part was all human. Bert Lahr's humor and warmth would not have been a part of the character, or even possible, had an actual lion been cast in his place.
Toto Had A Nice Salary For A Dog Actor
Toto was played by a female Cairn terrier named Terry. Terry made appearances in 16 films throughout her career, her most impressive performance being The Wizard of Oz. Before being cast as Toto, Terry starred alongside Shirley Temple in "Bright Eyes."
Her experience led to the canine earning more than some of the human actors cast in the film – all of the munchkins included. Terry earned $125 a week on the film, which would be over $1,500 a week today. Actors cast to play the munchkins made only between $50 and $100 a week. It was good money at the time, but still not the movie star money Terry was making as Toto.
The Witch Was Too Wicked For The Big Screen
Margaret Hamilton's casting, and the new black and green look, worked so well that the character took on a life of her own. Have you seen the musical or read the book "Wicked"? However, Hamilton inhabited the character so well she took away from the "light hearted" family adventure producers hoped the film would be.
Hamilton's performance, they feared, was just a little bit too scary for a children's audience. Rather than recasting again, executives cut down the scenes in which Hamilton appeared. Despite losing some screen time, Hamilton's presence was no less strong in the film, or as part of the movie's legacy.
Margaret Hamilton Got Injured During The Action
Producers may have cut some of Margaret Hamilton's scenes, but that was far from the worst thing that happened to the actress on the project. Hamilton, like Ebsen before her, was injured on set and was absent for a full six weeks of filming.
During the Wicked Witch's first appearance in the movie, where she appears in Munchkinlan. Hamilton was actually burned just as she was supposed to disappear in a puff of smoke and flames. The stunt was designed to drop the actress safely through a trap door before any flames appeared, however, due to a malfunction, the door did not open quick enough, though the flames appeared right on cue. The actress was left with burns on her hands and face.