In 1937, Mayer hired Mervyn LeRoy, a former Warner Bros. producer/director as MGM's top producer and Thalberg's replacement. LeRoy convinced Mayer to acquire the film rights to the popular children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; MGM purchased the rights from Samuel Goldwyn for $75,000 in 1938.
How much money did MGM originally make off of The Wizard of Oz?
While the film was sufficiently popular at the box office, it failed to make a profit for MGM until its 1949 re-release, earning only $3 million on a $2.7 million budget, making it MGM's most expensive production at the time.
This follows the general rule that any work published before 1923 is in the public domain. The film, The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland and directed in 1939 by Victor Fleming is NOT in the public domain. Instead, the copyright to The Wizard of Oz, is owned by its producer, the classic film studio MGM.
Terry the dog, who played Toto in The Wizard of Oz, was paid $125 a week, more than some human actors on set. While Terry's earnings surpassed some actors, Judy Garland, who played Dorothy, made more at $500 a week. The Munchkin actors, despite singing, dancing, and taking on multiple roles, earned less than Toto.
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Victor Fleming mostly directed it, but the troubled making of Gone with the Wind caused him to switch projects.
The History of the MGM Grand Las Vegas - Wizard of Oz Themed Hotel - The Emerald City
What happened to the cast of The Wizard of Oz during filming?
During the Munchkinland sequence, a faulty trap door was responsible for inflicting serious burns upon Margaret Hamilton, who played the Wicked Witch of the West. She missed six weeks of filming and subsequently insisted her stand-in handle any scenes involving fire.
How much did Judy Garland get paid for doing Wizard of Oz?
While her male co stars made 2500. to 3000 dollars a week, Judy Garland made $500 a week. Her complete earnings for The Wizard of Oz in 1939. totaled to 9580 $3, about $209,000 today. And don't worry, that rumor that Toto.
How much did Jack Haley get paid for Wizard of Oz?
There Were Other Wage Gaps on Set of 'The Wizard of Oz'
However, it's disproportionately low for the lead actor of the film. Ray Bolger, who played the Scarecrow, and Jack Haley, who played the Tin Man, were each paid $3,000 a week (almost $65,000 in 2023).
In the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, Toto was played by a female brindle Cairn Terrier named Terry. She was paid a $125 salary each week, which was more than some of the human actors (the Singer Midgets who played the Munchkins reportedly received $50 to $100 a week).
Despite being widely perceived as blue and white, the dress was actually blue and light pink, which was considered easier to capture in Technicolor, a new medium at the time.
Disney owned the rights to adapt all of Baum's books except The Wizard of Oz, but this did not matter because by 1985 both The Marvelous Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz were in the public domain.
How much did it cost to see The Wizard of Oz in 1939?
“But with the average national ticket prices at 25 cents (more than half of its audiences were juvenile patrons who paid a dime or 15 cents), it was not expected to recoup its $3 million in production and promotion costs.”
Since she was sixteen years old at the time of filming, Garland's maturing figure was bound into a figure-hiding corset. Since fantasy films generally were unsuccessful at that time, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer portrayed Oz as a head-trauma-induced delirium, instead of a real place.
The Cowardly Lion's costume weighed almost 100 pounds and was made with real lion pelts. His hefty tail was attached to a square block inside the Lion's backside.” You can see it as he and the Tin Man scale the cliff to the Witch's castle.
So to say the set of the Wizard of Oz was cursed is not an entirely false statement, but considering there were no supernatural powers involved in the accidents, it's safe to say one of those types of curses did not affect the set of this classic film.
Stephen Cox, author of The Munchkins of Oz, wrote in his 1989 book that in 1938, the Munchkins were paid US$50 per week, about US$900 in 2016. Meanwhile, Toto and her trainer earned US$125 per week, which would now equate to about US$2,100 per week.
How much did Judy Garland get paid for A Star Is Born?
A deal is struck where Judy would be paid $100,000 for Star, and Transcona would receive half of the film's profits. Judy gives birth to her second child, Lorna Luft. Judy is in New York at the St. Regis Hotel and sings at Jack Warner's daughter's "Coming-Out" Party hosted by Elsa Maxwell.
What was the official cause of death for Judy Garland?
Garland died from an accidental barbiturate overdose in London on June 22, 1969, less than two weeks after her 47th birthday. Her exceptional talents and vulnerabilities had made her one of the most enduringly popular Hollywood icons of the 20th century, and her funeral in New York City drew some 22,000 mourners.
Did Judy Garland wear a wig in Meet Me in St Louis?
Is Judy Garland wearing a wig or is her hair real? Like most actresses of the era, especially in period films such as this one, Garland wore a mixture of her own hair and "falls" or extensions.
As conceived and written by Lyman Frank Baum in 1900, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" was a political allegory of turn-of-the-century America. Written in the waning days of the Populist movement of the late 1800s, it was the story of the sad collapse of Populism and the issues upon which the movement was based.
Lung Failure and Hospitalization. Nine days into filming, Ebsen started to experience shortness of breath and cramping that sent him to the hospital. At one point his lungs failed. He remained hospitalized for two weeks during which the film's producer hired actor Jake Haley to replace him.
