Did anyone hang themselves in The Wizard of Oz? My kids told me this.?

Answer 1

Is it true that you can see a man hanging himself in The Movie?

No, of course not. It's true that you can see a shadowy figure fluttering in the background at the end of the scene in the Tin Woodman's forest, just as Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Woodman are marching offscreen as they sing "We're Off to See the Wizard." And if you ever get a chance to see the film projected onto the big screen of a movie theater, you can quite clearly see that it is a bird flapping its wings. (A number of birds were rented from the Los Angeles Zoo for this scene. Other birds sharp-eyed viewers can also see in that forest are a toucan and a peacock.) Let me say that again to make it perfectly clear to those who still believe it's a hanging man:


IT IS A BIRD FLAPPING ITS WINGS.
So what kind of bird is it? For a long time, many thought it was a stork, but this is probably just a conjecture, since there was a stork in the original novel. I have now had two birders tell me that it was a crowned crane, or Balearica pavonina. Since I'm not any sort of bird expert, I will have to take their word for it.
So why do so many think that this poor, innocent bird is a hanging man? The problem is, most people today don't see The Movie on the big screen; they watch it on television, videotape, or DVD. And the scan lines that make a TV picture possible do the disservice of making the picture less clear than on a movie screen. The small size of most TV screens and the lack of clear prints before 1989 don't help, either. So on a television screen, the stork is not very clear. Some have thought it was a stagehand accidentally caught in the shot, or the Wicked Witch still lurking in the background, but for some reason this shadowy figure passed into urban legend as a hanging man. But it can't be. Studio security was tighter than usual on The Movie, and it's extremely unlikely that a major studio like MGM wouldn't notice such a macabre sight, or would allow it to be included in one of its highest profile pictures. Besides, most of those trees were on a painted backdrop, and the rest were artificial, and thus too fragile to hold that much weight. And towards the end of the scene, all three principal actors look directly at the object in question. If it was something that wasn't supposed to be there, especially something so gruesome, doesn't it make sense that at least one of them would alert the crew and stop filming right then and there? Don't forget, there were a lot of people on the set watching what was going on, with the director and his assistants, the cameramen, the lighting crew, and so forth. Would all of them not notice something suspicious? Could all of them not say anything about it for so long?

Some amusing variants of this story have surfaced:

The hanging man was one of the Munchkin actors — which is unlikely, as the forest scenes were actually shot before the Munchkinland scenes, and the little people playing the Munchkins hadn't arrived in town at that point. Many of the surviving Munchkin actors have also stated that this is false.
A Munchkin actor hanged himself after being rejected by one of the Munchkin actresses — see above.
The man hanging himself is the director's son, upset that he didn't get a part in The Movie or on the crew — which is impossible, as Victor Fleming only had two young daughters at the time.
MGM was forced to leave the shot in, as they couldn't afford to reshoot the scene — which is extremely unlikely, as MGM was the biggest studio of the day, and could well afford another take.
The man who hanged himself was the grandfather of the boy who became the ghost in Three Men and a Baby, another popular Hollywood urban legend. Since the "ghost" is actually a cardboard cutout of actor Ted Danson, this is not terribly likely.
The "hanging" was actually a technician who got entangled in some cables or ropes and accidentally fell into the scene, strangling himself — I think somebody is confusing the stagehand and hanging legends.
The bird was added in later to mask the hanging — well, then, couldn't they have made the bird clearer? Or erased the hanging man entirely?
The hanging person was a young, unknown actress who was upset that she didn't get the part of Dorothy — the only actresses ever seriously considered for the part were Judy Garland and, for a brief time, Shirley Temple (see question 11.7 for the details).
The hanging was still in the original videotape release of The Movie, but replaced by the bird in the 1989 fiftieth anniversary rerelease — the only change made from the early '80s release and the 1989 one was to finally change the Kansas scenes back to their original sepia tones. Furthermore, I can personally attest to seeing the bird in a film print in 1979, before The Movie was ever released on home video.
The hanging is really somewhere else in the scene, or the next one — look, if people can't even figure out where the hanging is, could it possibly be that it isn't really there?
I'm just part of some conspiracy to cover up the truth — if I am, I wish someone would let me in on the secret! I have no reason to hide the truth, I am in no one's employ or thralls, and I don't see what good it would do me or anyone else to hide it now. The truth is, there is no hanging.
"I know who the hanged man was" — yet every time someone has told me this, they clam up when I ask for a name or details. If there is truly a hanging in The Movie, I and Oz and film researchers around the world are going to need a lot more evidence than "It looks like a hanging man" or a man with no name.

Answer 2

Wizard Of Oz Hanging

Answer 3

Wizard Of Oz Background

Answer 4

It, indeed, is a large bird, probably a crane. The crew borrowed several large birds from a nearby zoo to make the forest set look more alive and natural. The crane stretches out its wings in the middle back of the set just as Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and the Lion start to skip down the YBR singing "We're Off to see the Wizard" after the "beehive" run-in with the Wicked Witch of the West. There are lots of rumors and urban legends surrounding the movie. This one is the most wide-spread, probably followed next by the idea that the munchkins were "little drunks." That idea was spread after Judy Garland cracked the joke in an interview. A few of them might have had a little temper, but they weren't stumbling through the studio.

Answer 5

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Did anyone hang themselves in The Wizard of Oz? My kids told me this.?

Answer 6

I heard the same thing years ago. It was said that when Dorothy and the scarecrow and I think the tin man, I know it was before they met up with the lion, Well anyway, when they were walking threw the woods the scene was being shot, and in the distance you they could see someone hanging from a tree. They had to reshoot the scene. and somewhere they still have that footage....... Tall tale or truth ???????????

Answer 7

It's a man who got turned down for the part of the Tin Man! It's the scene when Dorathy and them were picking apples and then the wicked witch appears by the cottage, beside the cottage you have to look very very closely but yes he hung himself on the set. I don't remember his name but it caused quite an uproar when it was finally noticed I am sure! at least thats what my father said and he should know! haha

Answer 8

No, not that I know of. I remember watching The Wizard Of Oz many times and I do not remember that. I do not think I would want to watch the movie if that happen in it. I hope that I helped you out.

Answer 9

that is pure urban legend. You can not see one of the munchkins or anyone else that hanged themselves or were hanged in the back of any of the scenes I have done extensive urban legend research and I have come across that particular a couple of times and when it came up it was always debunked.

Answer 10

its a peacock!!!! in the back of the scene where theyre skipping down the road after they meet tinman a peacock tail swings between some treeS!!!! its like the boy i the window in three men and a baby!!!!