14 On-Set Disasters from the Golden Age of Hollywood
The film industry could have avoided a lot of tragedy if they just didn’t use so many horses— or invite the wrath of a vengeful God.
‘Ben-Hur’ (1925)
While filming at the actual ancient Roman chariot racing venue Circus Maximus, the wheel of a chariot broke and the stuntman driving it died.
‘Noah's Ark’ (1928)
While trying to play God and recreate “the great flood,” a ton of extras were injured, one guy lost a leg and three people died.
An Unknown 1929 Film
A super-famous German shepherd named Strongheart accidentally touched a hot studio light. His burn became infected, and he died a few weeks later.
‘The Viking’ (1931)
Twenty-seven people died for B-roll. After the film was finished, a producer and the real-life adventurer Varick Frissell decided they needed footage of the abandoned, ice-bound ship The Viking. While filming, some dynamite on board spontaneously exploded.
‘Scarface’ (1932)
Director Gaylord Lloyd was blinded in one eye when an exploding squib shot a piece of copper right into his peepers. He followed (tragically) in his brother’s footsteps — Harold Lloyd was an actor who famously lost his hand when a prop bomb went off.
‘The Crusades’ (1935)
Four stuntmen were injured when their horses fell into a moat. The horses had to be put down, and all four riders had to be hospitalized. Piece of shit director Cecil B. DeMille refused to pay them extra, saying it was their fault they “bungled a simple scene.”
‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ (1936)
In a freak accident, a stuntman fell off his horse and landed on a prop sword that was perfectly positioned to impale him. This movie also killed dozens of horses, leading to a major overhaul of animal safety rules.
‘Citizen Kane’ (1941)
Orson Welles gashed his hand open while the cameras were rolling, and also fell down a flight of stairs, chipping his ankle bone and putting him in a wheelchair for two weeks.
‘The Cruel Sea’ (1953)
Actor David Sinden told the director ahead of time that he didn’t know how to swim, but the director thought he was kidding. It turns out he was also just physiologically un-buoyant. When he jumped into a water tank for a scene, he sank like a stone. His co-star noticed and was able to dredge him up before he died.
‘Summertime’ (1955)
A cruel director gave Katharine Hepburn permanent conjunctivitis. Her character was supposed to accidentally fall into a canal, but Hepburn had requested a stunt double to jump into the foamy, chemical mess the director had created. He refused, saying it would look fake, and made her film the scene over and over again. Her eyes became irritated that night, and she never fully recovered.
‘The Ten Commandments’ (1956)
This production was straight-up cursed. Whipping up a fake sandstorm riled up the local scorpions and cobras, which attacked multiple extras. A girl’s costume was set on fire when an extra carrying a torch tripped. Most tragically, piece of shit director Cecil B. DeMille survived a heart attack on set.
‘The Siege of Sidney Street’ (1960)
Actor Leonard Sachs burned his scalp off because the crew wanted to save 20 minutes. To film a scene in a burning room, they slathered his shoulders and key props in a fireproof jelly, but decided that gooping up his head would take too long.
‘Spartacus’ (1960)
In a choreographed fight, actor Charles McGraw had his head dunked in a big soup pot. The other actor accidentally smashed McGraw’s head on the rim, causing him to suffer a broken jaw while being drowned in soup.
‘The Manchurian Candidate’ (1962)
Frank Sinatra broke his pinky finger punching a table. Almost a decade later, he had to pull out of the starring role in Dirty Harry because his hand was still all jacked up.
