Under the Rainbow

Under the Rainbow is a 1981 American comedy film directed by Steve Rash and starring Chevy Chase, Carrie Fisher, Eve Arden, and Billy Barty. Set in 1938, the film's plot is loosely based on the gathering of little people in a Hollywood hotel to audition for roles as Munchkins in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Jerry Maren, who had a role as a Munchkin in the original film, also appears in Under the Rainbow. Filming locations include the original Culver Hotel, which was used by the Munchkins during the filming of The Wizard of Oz. The film received widespread negative reception with critics due to its depiction of little people and use of sight gags involving them. Earning just $8.3 million during its initial run, the film is considered a box office flop. It was nominated for two Golden Raspberry Awards for Joe Renzetti and Billy Barty. Plot In Kansas 1938, little person Rollo Sweet lives in a homeless shelter while waiting for an offer from Hollywood with bus fare to California. Other residents crowd around a radio, but the reception is poor. Rollo climbs to the roof to fix the antenna, then slips and falls from the roof. In Culver City, California, near Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios, a diverse group of people check into a hotel. Among the hotel guests are Annie Clark, a longsuffering employee at MGM; an Austrian duke, duchess, and their Secret Service escort Bruce Thorpe; Nazi secret agent Otto Kriegling; Kriegling's Japanese contact Nakamuri; a large group of Japanese photographers; and 150 little people, including Rollo Sweet, who have been cast as Munchkins in MGM's The Wizard of Oz. The hotel itself has been left in the hands of the owner's incompetent nephew Homer while the boss is out of town on business.