Wizard Of Oz - Jitterbug (deleted scene)

The film originally contained an elaborate production number called "The Jitter Bug", which cost $80,000 and took five weeks to shoot, only to be cut after the first preview. In the scene, Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Cowardly lion, and the Tin Woodsman are on their way to the Witch's castle when they are attacked by "jitter bugs" - furry pink and blue mosquito-like "rascals" that give one "the jitters" as they buzz about in the air. When, after its preview, the movie was judged too long, MGM officials decided to sacrifice the "Jitter Bug" scene. The reasoned that it added little to the plot and, because a dance by the same name had just become popular, they feared it might date the picture.
The Witch still refers to the bug in the final film, just before telling the Monkeys to "Fly!" Only home movies of the filming of "The Jitterbug" survive, though the song is on current versions of both the soundtrack CD and the recent anniversary edition videotape. The sequence was also incorporated into a recent stage version of the musical.