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The Wizard of Oz went through its fair share of hurdles
before premiering on the big screen in 1939. There were
rumors that the production of the movie, which was
based on L. Frank Baum’s best-selling book, was cursed.
It went through five directors, 14 writers and required
thousands of costumes—some 3,210 in total. Veteran stage
and screen actor Frank Morgan played both Professor
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was given a coat to wear as Professor Marvel. It had been
bought at a secondhand shop near MGM Studios. The tat-
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VUOPZS\JRJOHYSH[HU·WLYMLJ[S`(IP[TVYL[OHUWLYMLJ[S`
as it turns out. Morgan kept the coat as part of his costume
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KPZJV]LY`(UHTLOHKILLUZL^UPU[V[OLQHJRL[»ZSPUPUN!
L. FRANK BAUM. The author of The Wizard of Oz had passed
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movie wasn’t cursed after all.
—Rakeem Nelson, EDITORIAL INTERNHistory’s Mysteries
Another Frank Morgan mystery at Guideposts.org/MysteriousOz