The wizard of Oz (Movie) Death Hanging Scene.

Ever Since The wizard of Oz had been released to Home Video years before High Definition there have been rumors of a crew member of the Wizard of Oz hanging himself backstage just as Dorothy the Tin Man and the Scare Crow are leaving the Apple Tree yard where Dorothy and the Scarecrow final meet the Tin man.

In the upper left hand corner you could see a figure moving as though it was a Person swinging from a rope but it is in fact a Bird called a Peacock that is a Puppet that only appears in that scene and was not added for background anywhere else in the movie.

Here is the High Def Clip To prove it there is no hangin scene in the movie. enjoy.

[BRENDAJASON]

That poor girl went (through) hell from abuse on this movie and induced drugs and on thru her life. RiP Judy

[mrs.kellykelly]

In the original, there was a body. But when the HD version came out they covered it with a bird.

[meliniguez]

am I the only one who saw this? In the beginning of the song Dorothy looked back twice, and looked as if she was concerned about something.

[Alyssa-cq]

But did y’all notice how like Dorothy was looking back twice? Or is it just me

[eringavinn]

poor judy went through hell in that film, she never recovered.. my heart goes out for her, she was so young

[porko]

Thats so sad, the munchkin even spread his wings one final time before dying.

[emanhacker]

I love how everyone keeps saying dorothy looked back a couple times. The crane was directly behind them. She looked at the tin man twice. She didn’t look straight back at all

[moonlightbabe]

Slow down the scene, dorathy looks back once smiling, but then quickly looks back again and you see her face frowning for a second or two before she smiles again

[reniehandler]

This is definitely a huge bird with his head down at first then up, then down, turns and faces the actors then spreads its wings

[emilycortez]

Omg I just saw the original of this part and now this one Jesus lord that is sad and tragic scary even. (Who is watching this in 2020)

[laurabbb]

The version that people believe had the “hanging munchkin” is the one that played from 1939-1989. Then, in 1989, they created the remastered VHS tape for the movies 50TH anniversary, and people believe they added a bird to hide whatever the hanging thing was. You can tell which one is the original, by the fact that it has a more blue tint to it than the warmness of the remastered version. This is the remastered version.

[bluetifullcrayon]

Ok but 1, 2020, anyone?. and 2, this says the death hanging scene, so why are they singing??

[MaskedMan]

Okay, folks, here are the facts:

The Tin Woodman's introductory scene was initially filmed from November 6th to November 11th, 1938, but when someone realized that Jack Haley's suit was too shiny they knew they'd have to reshoot. So Wardrobe dirtied up the buckram Tin Woodman costume to make it look properly rusty, and the sequence was redone from November 15th to November 19th. It was a closed set with only authorized people permitted to enter. Each person there (and there were dozens, likely close to a hundred) had a task to perform, including set dressers and lighting technicians in the gantries up close to the ceiling. Birds were brought in, lent by the Los Angeles Zoo, including a saurus crane that at one point lunged for Ray Bolger, attracted by the straw stuffing in his costume. That crane appeared in the back of the set for however many takes they did of the shot of Dorothy and her friends heading upstage, and in the take selected by Film Editor Blanche Sewell, the crane was seen to peck at the ground, then rear up and spread its wings.

The next sequences filmed were the Cowardly Lion's intro scene (November 21st to 22nd), scenes in and around the Wicked Witch's castle (November 29th to December 3rd), and the Poppy Field scene (December 9th to 10th).

The Munchkinland sequence began filming on December 17th, over a month after the Tin Man scene was (if I may put it that way) in the can.

[itsedgaro]

This is the so call re mastered version, now a days they can add and delete things. The old school version you can CLEARLY see a person swing back and forth none stop. This version, yes that is a bird in the back. The original version?

[Childofthelost]

Well that certainly looks like a bird...But I remember when I was younger and i saw the movie on VHS (before I was ever told someone hung themselves) I pointed out the hanging body...Wish I knew where it was so I could watch it again with fresh eyes

[brianjohnson]

Just remember the plot of the wizard of oz is just two girls fighting over shoes

[callie]

this isn’t the real one. This the remastered. The original shows a human body being hanged from the tree.

[onceblindnowsees]

The story itself is older than the Internet, It's True. I remember my parents talking about it, and that was IN THE FKN 1980s!!!

[QueenLethargy]

The hanging munchkin was actually proven false. It was, in fact, originally a crane. The production crew actually borrowed live birds from a zoo and placed them around on set. At one point in the movie you can clearly see a live toucan perched in a tree.

Edit 3/22/22: Wow...Over 3 years and I'm STILL getting notifs on this thing. Just gonna clear stuff up for the moment:

1. Never worked for MGM. I think I was still in high school when I made this comment, and I know damn well if MGM was still running I wouldn't have the grades for it.

2. I used to believe the hanging munchkin was real too. Then again, I was the same kid who thought Lavender Town Syndrome would drive kids to suicide.

3. Y'all forget that even from 9 years ago, technology at the time could STILL achieve altered clips, given the time and patience. The only reason this rumor has lasted for so long is because of all the other terrible events that happened on-set and post-production. This video is basically a Creepypasta Lost Episode video, but was made believeable.

Anyways, I'll see y'all in another 2 years maybe.

Edit 7/7/2022: Even after my first edit I still kept gettin notifs on here. Anyways for the people coming from that Cursed Films series or people still thinkin the munchkin is real, there's a person in the replies here called "MaskMan66" who has a ton of info and more on the Wizard of Oz with several creditted sources and has debunked this myth several times here. MaskedMan66, you's a real one. 👍

[PKKAM]

The actors wouldve been extremely hurt if they messed up, so they couldnt react. In the rerelease they covered the body up with a bird, but as someone who owns the original VHS, there is a dead body hanging there. You see the scarecrow fall a few times aswell, with Dorthy helping him back up immediately, and thats probably his reaction to seeing the body.