#46: Lost Scenes

Director Mervyn LeRoy had ambitious plans to trim a staggering 20 minutes from the movie’s runtime. As a result, some potentially delightful scenes were left on the cutting room floor. Among these lost moments were a bobby-soxer-like dance number called “Jitterbug,” reprises of the iconic songs “Over The Rainbow” and “Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead,” and several additional dance sequences featuring the Scarecrow.

These deletions also meant that audiences missed out on more sepia-toned Kansas scenes, which could have provided further depth to the story. While the final cut of the film remains a beloved classic, these lost scenes serve as a tantalizing glimpse into what might have been, highlighting the challenges of editing and the difficult choices made during the film’s production.