The film was nominated for six Oscars, but lost Best Picture to Gone with the Wind.

THE WIZARD: And you, Scarecrow, have the effrontery to ask for a brain, you billowing bale of bovine fodder?!
SCARECROW: [He bows and approaches on his knees] Yes, Your Honor-- I mean Your Excellency-- I mean Your Wizardry!

The Wicked Witch's death certificate is dated May 6, 1938, the 20th anniversary of L. Frank Baum's death.

It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming, who eventually left production to take over direction of the troubled Gone with the Wind production.

Of course, he's supposed to shed machine oil, but real oil didn't photograph well, so the production substituted chocolate syrup.

Dorothy falls into a pig pen, then kicks and screams as she's being rescued.

When she lands in Oz, Dorothy says, "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

Talk about authentic! The costume, which was made from actual lion pelts, sold for more than $3 million at a New York City auction in 2014.

The last name of Gale was originally mentioned in Baum's script for the 1902 Broadway stage version of The Wizard of Oz, in which it was a setup for a joke. (DOROTHY: "I am Dorothy, and I am one of the Kansas Gales.")

Dorothy met her friends in this order: Scarecrow, Tim Man, Cowardly Lion.