#41: Surrender Dorothy Speical Effect

The iconic scene in the 1939 film where the Wicked Witch of the West writes “Surrender Dorothy” in smoke across the sky was a remarkable feat of special effects for its time. To create this mesmerizing effect, the crew employed a clever technique. They used a hypodermic needle to inject black ink into a tank of an unknown liquid, possibly milk.

The tank, crucially, was made of glass, allowing the scene to be filmed from the bottom, effectively capturing the writing in reverse. This ingenious process not only added to the mystique of the Wicked Witch but also showcased the creative ingenuity of the film’s special effects team, leaving audiences then and now in awe of the magic of cinematic storytelling.