There's that bird again!

OK then. . .one more Oz video, and I promise to shut up. Though we haven't quite resolved the controversy over the Suicidal Munchkin in  The Wizard of Oz, we're closing in on a solution. Conspiracy theorists swear they see a munchkin swinging from a noose in the background of the sprightly "We're Off to See the Wizard" quickstep number. And I've seen it, believe me I've seen it. It was way weird and it really did look like something swinging, even if it was only a sandbag.

Then these other clips of the same scene started showing up that had something else in place of the so-called dead munchkin.  If you really looked at it, it was obviously a giant bird of some kind stretching its wings out. Bizarre, but that's what it looked like.

So now Oz afficionados are combing every frame of the movie to find evidence of That Bird. And here it is! Right at the beginning of the Tin Man's song, one of my personal faves because I loved how he had to be oiled, you see a giant bird madly flapping its wings between Dorothy and the Tin Man. It's only on for a second, but if you watch for it it's totally obvious.

So which came first. . . dead midget or flapping crane?
Which one is real, and which one is photoshopped? Wouldn't it be a whole lot easier to photoshop a swinging dead body than a bird?

But that just raises another issue: what the hell is a tin man? I mean. . . a scarecrow. A lion, yes. Maybe even a munchkin, coz there are lots-a short people around. But who'd make a guy outta tin, I ask you. In the original book he was the Tin Woodman, but that doesn't make me feel too much better.

As for that bird, who knew? I don't remember no dern-toon-derrin' birds in Wizard of Oz. I need to watch the whole thing again and do a bird count.

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