It all began with Richard Thorpe as its director. Thorpe was shunted away by producer Mervyn LeRoy for his lack of skills to create the right fairy tale atmosphere. .
Then came George Cukor, director of The Philadelphia Story, My Fair Lady, and Gaslight, who famously slapped Katherine Hepburn for spilling ice cream on an expensive costume, was brought in as a temporary replacement for Thorpe.
The firing of Director continued for Wizard of Oz under production, as Cukor was fired as director of Gone with the Wind, allegedly because he was gay and knew all about Clark Gable's secret homosexual past.
Cukor transformed the make up looks by getting rid of Dorothy's heavy make up and blonde hair. He also recommeneded Garland play the role as innocent and wide-eyed, not coy and knowing.
He didnt last long too, as Victor Fleming took charge of production and got straight to work, slapping Judy Garland in the face for giggling during a take. After finishing about 80 percent of the movie, Fleming was called away to direct Gone with the Wind.
Soon after, Fleming left and King Vidor was brought in to finish Oz. Vidor had won an honorary Oscar for "his incomparable achievements as a cinematic creator and innovator." But all that was left for Vidor to shoot were the Kansas scenes.
Finally, Fleming came back to edit Oz after finishing Gone with the Wind, so when he came in he was really worried ithe wizard of oz pacing at the beginning of the film.was less impactful So, the song in the movief was restored when Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg, who wrote it, argued vehemently to studio head Louis B. Mayer that it was the most important song in the movie.
Strange things happen in movies and in Hollywood. Shows, perfection is hard to achieve.