#LOST IN OZ EVIL WEST MOVIE#
#LOST IN OZ EVIL WEST SKIN#

#LOST IN OZ EVIL WEST SKIN#

Copper-based, it could only be (painfully) removed with alcohol, for several weeks after completing her scenes, Hamilton’s skin retained a green tinge. The green makeup wasn’t without problems too. She was left with burns on her face and hands and spent several days recuperating in hospital. That must’ve been quite a blow, considering what the actress went through during filming: during the scene when the Wicked Witch leaves Munchkinland in a flash of smoke and flames the trapdoor failed to open, and Hamilton’s costume caught fire. So perfectly cast was Hamilton that, when the film was sent for screen tests, audiences claimed her role was too scary, and many of her scenes were cut. I said, ‘Yes?’ and he said ‘Maggie, they want you to play a part on the Wizard.’ I said to myself, ‘Oh Boy, The Wizard of Oz! That has been my favorite book since I was four.’ And I asked him what part, and he said ‘The Witch’ and I said ‘The Witch?!’ and he said ‘What else?'” “I was in a need of money at the time….and my agent called. In the DVD commentary for Oz, Hamilton describes her reaction to the role: By the time MGM were casting for the Oz role, Hamilton had completed five or six pictures for the studio. Not wanting to be typecast, she refused to sign a studio contract but kept her price low to avoid scaring off potential employers. Following the play’s success she relocated to Hollywood where, after reprising the role on screen, she soon found herself playing a variety of small but not insubstantial parts under directors including Frank Capra, Fritz Lang, Michael Curtiz and Busby Berkeley. Hamilton was a kindergarten teacher who started her career in community theatre and got her her first break in the 1932 Broadway production Another Language. Costume designer Adrian was also brought on board and tasked with upping the scare factor, although it’s unclear if that was a directive from Cukor or an implementation from the top. Although Cukor didn’t actually shoot any scenes he made a few key changes, including Dorothy’s hair and make-up. If that sounds chaotic, that’s because it was: the script underwent multiple rewrites, the original director (Roger Thorpe) was replaced with George Cukor who in turn was supplanted by Victor Fleming and finally, King Vidor, and Buddy Ebsen (the original Tin Man) suffered an allergic reaction to his aluminium-based make-up.

It’s unclear whether Sondergaard refused to embrace ‘ugly’ or if MGM decided she couldn’t, but she was dropped from the role three days before filming began and was replaced by Margaret Hamilton. The film’s producer Mervyn LeRoy was concerned that the first screen tests were too beautiful, so a few blemishes were added.

Initially, a more vampish look was favoured – no doubt inspired by Disney’s Wicked Witch ( Snow White, 1937) – and Gale Sondergaard was engaged for the role. The Witch however, could have been very different. Gale Sondergaard’s screen test for the role In fact, her instantly recognisable pointed hat was auctioned by Profiles In History in May 2010 with a guide price of $100,000 to $150,000 (although there’s no word on the final sale price). Of course, Hamilton wasn’t the first actress to play a witch on screen, but her creation has been incorporated into pop culture history and her appearance forms the stereotype we have of witches today.

#LOST IN OZ EVIL WEST MOVIE#

“I’ll get you my pretty, and your little dog too!” With that phrase, Margaret Hamilton secured Oz’s Wicked Witch of the West a spot at the top of movie villain lists forever – no mean feat considering that the film was released in 1939 and that her screen time in it was cut to 12 minutes because she was simply too scary. Check out all the posts, where there’s evil, dastardly wrongdoings and malice aplenty! This post is my contribution to the Great Villain Blogathon, hosted by three wonderful (and non-villainous) bloggers: Silver Screenings, Shadows & Satin and Speakeasy.

Lost in oz evil west