If you put four dwarfs in a room with enough opium and alcohol, it’s bound to end in tears.
In 1935, MGM studios embarked on a movie adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz. The production called for the casting of many dwarfs to play the Munchkins of the mythical Land of Oz, and the studio began recruiting ‘small persons’ from all over the world.
During production, rumors spread around Hollywood of wild Munchkin sex orgies, drunken behavior and general dwarf debauchery. More sinisterly, a Munchkin is said to have committed suicide by hanging himself on the set during filming—what appears to be a small human body is clearly visible hanging from a tree in the Tin Man scene. It is a claim that has passed into Hollywood legend.
Set in a hotel room in Culver City, California, Babylon Heights is Irvine Welsh and Dean Cavanagh’s scabrous and hilarious imaging of what could, very possibly, have led to the dwarf suicide.
About the author
Dean Cavanagh is a screenwriter, television and movie producer, and music producer. He lives in West Yorkshire and is a frequent collaborator of novelist Irvine Welsh.
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