12. Margaret Hamilton had several problems on the set and in the editing room
Margaret Hamilton’s performance as the Wicked Witch was so successful that many of her scenes were edited out of the film, with the producers and Louis B. Mayer concerned that she was too frightening for children. She paid a price for the scenes which remained. While filming the Witch’s exit from Munchkin Land, a delayed elevator drop led to her suffering severe burns on her hands and face. Because her green makeup had to be removed with alcohol, she was forced to stop work during her six-week recovery.
When she returned, it was with the proviso that she no longer be exposed to flame and fireworks through the remainder of the production. Her stunt double, Betty Danko, was used to film the entrance of the Wicked Witch in Munchkin Land in February, 1939. She also filmed the scene when the Witch was skywriting, astride a pipe filled with combustibles which resembled the witch’s broom. When the pipe burst due to overpressure, Danko suffered severe burns on her legs, leading to a hospital stay of almost two weeks and permanent scars on both legs.