Deleted songs[edit]

Lobby card with still of deleted musical number "Hail! Hail! The Witch Is Dead!", sung upon the return to the
Emerald City

Some musical pieces were filmed and deleted later, in the editing process.
The song "The Jitterbug", written in a swing style, was intended for a sequence where the group
journeys to the Witch's castle. Due to time constraints, it was cut from the final theatrical version.
The film footage of the song has been lost, although silent home-film footage of rehearsals has
survived. The audio recording of the song was preserved, and was included in the two-CD Rhino
Records deluxe edition of the soundtrack, as well as on the film's VHS and DVD editions. A
reference to "The Jitterbug" remains in the film: The Witch tells her flying monkeys that they
should have no trouble apprehending Dorothy and her friends because "I've sent a little insect on
ahead to take the fight out of them."
Another musical number cut before release came right after the Wicked Witch of the West was
melted and before Dorothy and her friends returned to the Wizard. This was a reprise of "Ding-
Dong! The Witch Is Dead" (blended with "We're Off to See the Wizard" and "The Merry Old Land
of Oz") with the lyrics altered to "Hail! Hail! The witch is dead!" This started with the Witch's guard
saying "Hail to Dorothy! The Wicked Witch is dead!" and dissolved to a huge celebration by the
citizens of the Emerald City, who sang the song as they accompanied Dorothy and her friends to
the Wizard. Today, the film of this scene is also lost, and only a few stills survive, along with a
few seconds of footage used on several reissue trailers. The entire audio track was preserved
and is included on the two-CD Rhino Record "deluxe" soundtrack edition. [47]
Garland was to sing a brief reprise of "Over the Rainbow" while Dorothy was trapped in the
Witch's castle, but it was cut because it was considered too emotionally intense. The original
soundtrack recording still exists, and was included as an extra in all home media releases from
1993 onward.[48]

Underscoring[edit]
Extensive edits in the film's final cut removed vocals from the last portion of the film. However,
the film was fully underscored, with instrumental snippets from the film's
various leitmotifs throughout. There was also some recognizable classical and popular music,
including:

 Excerpts from Schumann's "The Happy Farmer", at several points early in the film,
including the opening scene when Dorothy and Toto hurry home after their encounter with
Miss Gulch; when Toto escapes from her; and when the house "rides" the tornado.
 An excerpt of Mendelssohn's "Opus 16, #2", when Toto escapes from the Witch's castle.
 An excerpt of Mussorgsky's "Night on Bald Mountain", when Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the
Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion try to escape from the Witch's castle.
 "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree", when Dorothy and the Scarecrow discover the
anthropomorphic apple trees.
 "Gaudeamus Igitur", as the Wizard presents awards to the group.
 "Home! Sweet Home!", in part of the closing scene, at Dorothy's house in Kansas.
 An excerpt of Tchaikovsky's "Waltz of the Flowers", Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow
and the Cowardly Lion, Toto. Poppy field sleeping
(This list is excerpted from the liner notes of the Rhino Records collection.)

Post-production[edit]
Principal photography concluded with t