<P> LeRoy had always insisted that he wanted to cast Judy Garland to play Dorothy from the start; however, evidence suggests that negotiations occurred early in pre-production for Shirley Temple to be cast as Dorothy, on loan from 20th Century Fox . A persistent rumor also existed that Fox, in turn, was promised Clark Gable and Jean Harlow as a loan from MGM . The tale is almost certainly untrue, as Harlow died in 1937, before MGM had even purchased the rights to the story . Despite this, the story appears in many film biographies (including Temple's own autobiography). The documentary The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic states that Mervyn LeRoy was under pressure to cast Temple, then the most popular child star, but at an unofficial audition, MGM musical mainstay Roger Edens listened to her sing and felt that an actress with a different style was needed; a 50th anniversary documentary for the film suggested that Temple, then 10 years old, was slightly too young for the part . Newsreel footage is included in which Temple wisecracks, "There's no place like home", suggesting that she was being considered for the part at that time . A possibility is that this consideration did indeed take place, but that Gable and Harlow were not part of the proposed deal . </P> <P> Actress Deanna Durbin, who was under contract to Universal Studios, was also considered for the part of Dorothy . Durbin, at the time, far exceeded Garland in film experience and fan base and both had co-starred in a 1936 two - reeler titled Every Sunday . The film was most notable for exhibiting Durbin's operatic style of singing against Garland's jazzier style . Durbin was possibly passed over once it was decided to bring on Jaynes, also an operatic singer, to rival Garland's jazz in the aforementioned discarded subplot of the film . </P> <P> Ray Bolger was originally cast as the Tin Man and Buddy Ebsen was to play the Scarecrow . Bolger, however, longed to play the Scarecrow, as his childhood idol Fred Stone had done on stage in 1902; with that very performance, Stone had inspired him to become a vaudevillian in the first place . Now unhappy with his role as the Tin Man (reportedly claiming, "I'm not a tin performer; I'm fluid"), Bolger convinced producer Mervyn LeRoy to recast him in the part he so desired . Ebsen did not object; after going over the basics of the Scarecrow's distinctive gait with Bolger (as a professional dancer, Ebsen had been cast because the studio was confident he would be up to the task of replicating the famous "wobbly - walk" of Stone's Scarecrow), he recorded all of his songs, went through all the rehearsals as the Tin Man and began filming with the rest of the cast . </P> <P> Bert Lahr was signed for the Cowardly Lion on July 25, 1938; the next month, Charles Grapewin was cast as Uncle Henry on August 12 . </P>

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