The Wizard of Oz

Continuity mistake: When the Tin Man starts chopping the Witch's door his axe has marks all over it. Several shots later he raises it again to chop down another door and it's as new as the day he bought it. (01:23:35)

????

The Wizard of Oz mistake picture

Continuity mistake: The Tin Man starts chopping the Witch's door and it's not the same one we just saw three shots before. The wood is a different color and the dark metal brace has been polished in the close-up. (01:23:40)

????

The Wizard of Oz mistake picture

Continuity mistake: At first the Tin Man starts chopping the top part of the Witch's door with his ax and two shots later he's chopping about two feet lower, near the handle. If you look closely when he eventually gets the door open, the top part has not been touched. (01:23:40)

????

Continuity mistake: As the Tin Man chops open the Witch's door only one piece of wood has fallen off of it. In the next shot when Dorothy comes through there's much more rubble on the floor (in front of and behind the door) than there should be. (01:24:00)

????

Continuity mistake: When the Lion, the Scarecrow, and the Tin Man are chopping down the witch's door to free Dorothy before the hourglass runs out, they are dressed in the guards' uniforms. We see the axe hit the door, and in the next wide shot they are not in the uniforms. There is a slight view of the uniforms in a pile on the floor, as if the trio had changed out of them between axe blows. (01:24:00)

Continuity mistake: As the Wicked Witch puts her flaming broomstick on the Scarecrow, look closely at the Tin Man. His chest dent that we saw several shots earlier on the left side of his costume, has been dented out. (01:24:20 - 01:26:15)

????

Continuity mistake: The Tin Man looks at the rope that holds up the chandelier and it's covering the knot. The next time we see it as he takes the axe to it, the rope is on the left of the knot. (01:24:40)

????

Continuity mistake: When the Wicked Witch throws the hour glass down at them the monkey on her right runs and hides behind the statue. In the next shot he's back sitting right next to her. (01:24:45)

????

Continuity mistake: As the Wicked Witch throws her hour glass at them we see behind her as she stands on the balcony, and her broomstick is definitely not anywhere near her. As she runs down the stairs, it's in her hand. (01:24:45)

????

The Wizard of Oz mistake picture

Continuity mistake: As the chandelier falls on the guards at the witch's castle, all the candles are blown out by the time it lands. The next shot shows some of them relit. (01:24:50)

Continuity mistake: When the Tin Man, Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion and Dorothy are cornered in the witch's castle, the scarecrow grabs the Tin Man's axe and chops a rope, releasing the chandelier, which falls on the guards. In the next shot, however, as the witch is shrieking "seize them", the guards give chase with only 1 or 2 laying on the floor. (01:24:55)

Continuity mistake: The Scarecrow is in the lead as the four run away from the guards and enter the tower where the Wicked Witch is eventually melted. In the next shot the Tin Man is in front. (01:25:35)

????

Continuity mistake: As the four enter the tower where the Wicked Witch is eventually melted, we see guards and steps on the left of the tower. When seen from above the entrance that the guards use is on the right of the tower. (01:25:35)

????

Continuity mistake: The Wicked Witch enters the tower and says, "Ring around the Rosie" and the broom in her hands changes between shots. The one she sticks in the fire is different. (01:26:00)

????

The Wizard of Oz mistake picture

Continuity mistake: When the Witch melts, the broom is laying several inches from her dress. In the next shot, the broom is practically touching her dress. (01:26:20)

brantlee

Continuity mistake: Immediately after Dorothy throws the water onto the witch, there is a long shot of the group as they observe the Wicked Witch beginning to melt. In this shot you can see that the Scarecrow's arm is still on fire, yet nothing is done about it as they all focus on the Witch. In the next full shot of the Scarecrow the fire is completely out. (01:26:20)

Continuity mistake: Dorothy throws water at the Wicked Witch not knowing it will melt her. If you look closely the witch is drenched when it hits her but in the next close up shot she doesn't have a drop of water on her. (01:26:20)

????

Continuity mistake: If you look at Dorothy's dress, it's wet before she throws the water on the Wicked Witch. In the next shot the water spot (on Dorothy's dress) disappears only to return later when she gets the broomstick. (01:26:20)

????

Continuity mistake: As Dorothy throws the water on the Wicked Witch the Tin Man goes from holding his ax in front of him to holding it close to his chest with the ax head sideways between shots. (01:26:20)

????

Continuity mistake: After the Wicked Witch of the West lights her broomstick and the scarecrow on fire, and Dorothy throws the water on her, in the next shot after the water hits her, you see the broomstick laying next to her burnt out but not smoking. (01:26:20)

The Wizard of Oz mistake picture

Continuity mistake: In the beginning while Dorothy is still on the farm, she walks along the pig pen fence and then falls in. When Bert Lahr picks her up out of there her dress is perfectly clean. (00:03:45)

More mistakes in The Wizard of Oz

Dorothy: How can you talk if you haven't got a brain?
Scarecrow: I don't know. But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't they?

More quotes from The Wizard of Oz

Trivia: The "tornado" was a thirty-five foot long muslin stocking, photographed with miniatures of a Kansas farm and fields.

rabid anarchist

More trivia for The Wizard of Oz

Question: It is implied strongly in this movie that water makes witches melt, and this is spoofed in other media. I've only ever seen this referenced to wicked witches. Does water make good witches, such as Glinda, melt too?

Answer: In all likelihood, probably not. Water is often depicted and represents purity, and cleansing. It flows smoothly, is beautiful, clear, and responsible for life on Earth. Everything the Wicked Witch is not. Where as the good Witch is pure and of a true heart. So it makes sense that something so evil and impure as the evil witch would be effected by the purest substance there is, yet not harm the good witch because she is good.

Quantom X

Answer: In the original book, water caused the wicked witches to melt away because they were so old and shriveled that all the fluid in their bodies had long since dried away. Meanwhile, the film Oz: The Great and Powerful instead implies that the Wicked Witch of the West is weak against water due to being a fire-elemental witch, which could also be the case for this incarnation, meaning it wouldn't apply to other witches like Glinda (whose element in both films appears to be ice) or even the Wicked Witch of the East (whose powers are never shown in this film, but were electricity-based in Oz the Great and Powerful).

More questions & answers from The Wizard of Oz

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.