Production #1060 page 10

Production #1060 page 10 by ric gustafson


On October 12 1938, Richard Thorpe began to direct the Wizard of Oz. Twelve days later, he was fired. At the time, he was filming scenes inside the Witch's Castle with Dorothy, the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion. Before Victor Fleming took over the directing reins in November, George Cukor helped out. Cukor noticed that how Dorothy looked was all wrong for the picture. He had Judy Garland take off her blonde wig and most of her makeup.
Victor Fleming was a man's director who piloted his own plane and rode motorcycles. In 1938, he was making $2,500 a week and was fifty five years old. His wife gave birth to two daughters Victoria and Sally. All the film Thorpe had done was thrown out and now Fleming was the official director. The only cast change was that Jack Haley replace Buddy Ebsen as the Tin Woodman. Fleming loved to tell stories regarding silent movies. Toward the end of filming, Fleming was asked to help with ' Gone with the Wind. A director named King Vidor was asked to finish filming the Wizard of Oz.


research help: ' The Making of the Wizard of Oz' by Aljean Harmetz


Peace and God's blessings. Love Ric