Here's How The Tornado Scene In The Wizard Of Oz Was Actually Made

May 2024 · 1 minute read

Gillespie made his tornado out of muslin cloth in a sock-like shape, which could move much like a real one. Gillespie's new version could twist, bend, and shift around in an authentic way. The next challenge was getting the twister to move around on the film's soundstage. The top of the muslin sock was wrapped around some chicken wire to help it hold its shape and then was attached to a gantry crane. The crane was on a track that spanned the entire stage. The gantry was custom-built for the film, and cost more than $12,000 — an enormous expense for 1938 (via Peraton Weather).

The bottom of the muslin cloth and chicken wire tornado was attached to a cart on a track, according to Playbill. Two stagehands, hidden under the stage floor, moved to the cart back and forth to give the tornado its dramatic motion across the prairies of Kansas. All of Gillespie's efforts really paid off as the final version of the film shows. "The Wizard of Oz" tornado scene is considered the first realistic depiction of a twister in a film. Gillespie earned an Academy Award nomination for all the wonderful special effects he did for the movie.

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