Question 1

True or false: The ruby slippers were silver in the original book by L. Frank Baum.

Accepted Answer

True. Baum's book had silver shoes; the movie changed them to ruby red to show off Technicolor.

Question 2

True or false: The actor who played the Tin Man had to be hospitalized from the aluminum dust makeup.

Accepted Answer

True. Buddy Ebsen was originally cast as the Tin Man but got severe lung issues from aluminum powder and was replaced.

Question 3

True or false: The tornado in the film was created using a full-scale spinning funnel of real wind and debris.

Accepted Answer

False. The tornado was a 35-foot muslin stocking twirled by a crane, with dust and wind added in post-production.

Question 4

True or false: The Cowardly Lion was played by a classically trained Shakespearean actor.

Accepted Answer

True. Bert Lahr had a background in vaudeville and Shakespeare, bringing comedic timing to the cowardly role.

Question 5

True or false: The film originally had a scene where the Scarecrow sings a song about his brain.

Accepted Answer

False. A song called 'If I Only Had a Brain' was cut from the Scarecrow but kept as part of a medley; no separate solo existed.

Question 6

True or false: Judy Garland was paid more than the Munchkin actors for her role as Dorothy.

Accepted Answer

False. Garland earned about $500 a week; some Munchkins made more per day than she did per week.

Question 7

True or false: The Wicked Witch of the West was originally written as a sympathetic character.

Accepted Answer

False. Baum's witch is purely evil; the sympathetic backstory was invented for the 1995 novel 'Wicked.'

Question 8

True or false: The horses in the Emerald City scenes were actually painted with a colored gelatin dye.

Accepted Answer

True. To achieve the horse-of-a-different-color effect, the crew dyed the horses with harmless Jell-O-like powder.

The Wizard of Oz Trivia Questions