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34 Behind-the-Scenes Horrors That Hollywood Fat Cats Wish Had Stayed Behind-the-Scenes

October 05, 2023

It’s somewhat comforting that complete monsters like Harvey Weinstein, or Hyde from That ‘70s Show, were unable to hide behind their power within the industry. But sadly, so many “Golden Age of Hollywood” monsters came and went unscathed. Some are even still revered here in 2023, despite being “canceled” years or decades ago — lookin’ at you, Roman Polanski. Some of these wildly unsafe, immoral or downright illegal practices were pulled off with complete disregard for human life. Let’s just say we’re glad someone stepped in with safety regulations, and thank god for unions.

34

BTS STORIES FROM HORROR MOVIES 2005 THE AMITYVILLE HORROR Before production for this remake began, a dead body washed up on set. During filming, Ryan Reynolds and the rest of the team would wake up at 3:15am, the same time around which Ronald DeFeo Jr. killed his family in the events that inspired the franchise. CRACKED.COM — Source

33

The Exorcist

BTS STORIES FROM HORROR MOVIES 1973 THE EXORCIST The home where the movie would be filmed caught on fire, so filming was delayed. During the shoot, actress Ellen Burstyn was injured, and her scream of agony can be heard in the film. Relatives of Linda Blair and Max Von Sydow died during production, and two actors died shortly after production wrapped. CRACKED.COM — Source

32

BTS STORIES FROM HORROR MOVIES 1983 TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE The tragic helicopter accident that killed actor Vic Morrow and two child actors was just due to gross negligence from the higher-ups. The spooky-ass coincidence, though, is that Morrow got a $1 million life insurance in 1974 because, I have always had a premonition that I'll be killed in a helicopter crash. CRACKED.COM — Source

31

BTS STORIES FROM HORROR MOVIES 1982 POLTERGEIST Tragedy followed this film. Actress Dominique Dunne was strangled and died in the same year the film came out, and Heather O'Rourke died of cardiac arrest at age 12, in 1988. A priest exorcized the set of the 1986 sequel, so maybe it all comes from the original using actual human remains for the pool scene. CRACKED.COM — Source

30

The cast was subject to constant psychological torture. THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT CRACKED COM They were periodically told to pick fights with each other, while being stalked through the woods day and night by crew members. — Source

29

Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The actors were losing their minds, and their lunches. TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE CRACKED.COM Conditions were hot, gross, and terrifying. Everyone was on edge all the time, and the cast routinely leaned out the window to puke during the dinner scene. — Source

28

Sam Raimi injured and tortured Bruce Campbell for months. THE EVIL DEAD CRACKED.COM The whole cast was in the dark when it came to Raimi's practical effects, but Campbell took the brunt. For example, Raimi routinely re-sprained his ankle. — Source

27

Wes Craven threatened to murder Drew Barrymore's dog. SCREAM GRACKED COM In order to rile her up into the blubbering ball of fear she becomes, the director recounted acts of animal cruelty to her between takes, culminating in the graphic threat. — Source

26

Alakina Mann The Others Mann had to stay indoors during daylight hours for the duration of the three-and-a-half-month shoot in order to remain pale. CRACKED.COM — Source

25

Linda Blair

Linda Blair CRACKED.COM At only 14, she blew audiences away with her iconic performance as possessed Regan MacNeil in The Exorcist. She suffered a broken back on set, serious emotional traumas, and received hate and death threats for her association with the devil. — Source

24

Alfred Hitchcock

Illegal filmmaking Alfred Hitchcock terrorized actors and birds) on The Birds. Hitchcock pelted actress Tippi Hedren with live birds (injuring and killing the birds), and force-fed whisky to seagulls to get them to stay still for longer. Hedren was hospitalized, and he ruined her career when she refused his sexual advances. CRACKED — Source

23

Illegal filmmaking Extras died in 1928's Noah's Ark. For the flood, cameraman Hal Mohr quit when director Michael Curtiz rolled his eyes at his safety concerns. Three extras died, another lost a limb, and a dozen suffered serious injuries, but Curtiz somehow escaped any legal repercussions. CRACKED — Source

22

Illegal filmmaking Easy Rider's drug use and knife fights, The drugs used on camera were real, and the cast and crew partook off-camera as well. Director Dennis Hopper also threatened actor Rip Torn with a knife, but claims Torn pulled a knife first. CRACKED — Source

21

THE CONQUEROR was the most carcinogenic set of all time They filmed so close to an atomic bomb test site that 91 out of the 220 cast and crew members got cancer later in life. 46 of those, including John Wayne, died from it. Radiologist Dr. Robert Pendleton said, Blame for their exposure on set would hold up in a court of law. CRACKED — Source

20

CRACKED Death and snake venom on FITZCARRALDO In Werner Herzog's 1982 film, several indigenous extras were killed or injured. A logger was bit by a venomous snake, and had to cut off his own foot with a chainsaw to stop the poison from spreading. — Source

19

Asbestos exposure on GOLDFINGER The 1964 James Bond movie used asbestos boards in its set construction. Set painter Ronald Sharp later developed mesothelioma and died at age 59. His widow sued his former employers for compensation. CRACKED — Source

18

Melissa McCarthy

CRACKED A hostile set made MELISSA MCCARTHY physically ill She said that she once worked with someone who ran such a volatile, hostile set that it made her physically ill. My eyes were swelling up, | was absorbing all of this nuttiness. There were people weeping, visibly so upset by this one person. — Source

17

CRACKED Starvation on the set of RAPA NUI In 1994, Kevin Reynolds' passion project was filmed on Easter Island, in the Pacific. We had one flight a week from the mainland, and there were times we ran out of food to feed people, and things like that, it was...if was very bad. — Source

16

A myriad of diseases on the set of SORCERER William Friedkin's 1977 thriller was shot in Ecuador and the Dominican Republic for 10 hellish months. Не lost 50 pounds and contracted malaria, and at least 50 cast and crew were evacuated from the set with malaria, food poisoning, gangrene, or other injuries. CRACKED — Source

15

Asbestos rained down daily on FULL METAL JACKET Matthew Modine (joker) said, That was one of the most toxic places I've ever been. We'd be having a cup of tea in the morning, and all the dust would fall in. You just drank the tea and didn't think too much about the dust. There was asbestos everywhere from the buildings that were knocked down. CRACKED — Source

14

CRACKED THE TERMINATOR filmed without a permit and poisoned the crew Since they didn't pay for permits, they snuck a lot of shots on L.A. streets. They didn't stop filming when pesticides were sprayed over the city, so the fog washing over the cast and crew was incredibly toxic. — Source

13

THE WIZARD OF OZ almost killed Buddy Ebsen Before Jack Haley, Ebsen was the original Tin Man, but the aluminum dust used to coat the costume almost killed him. The cramps in my arms advanced into my chest and | wouldn't even be able to take a breath. | was sure | was dying. CRACKED — Source

12

Unclean water on PREDATOR They shot the 1987 movie in the jungles of Palenque, Mexico, and many of the cast and crew got sick with travelers' diarrhea because of the unpurified water. Kevin Peter Hall said, Predator wasn't a movie, it was a survival story for all of us. CRACKED — Source

11

ACTORS WERE TURNED INTO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PEOPLE. Classic Hollywood SUCKED Were you, say, a Latina named Margarita Cansino? Well, it sucked for you! Hollywood would use hair dye and electrolysis to transform you into all-American white girl Rita Hayworth. Such things were pretty much standard procedure. CRACKED.COM — Source

10

CHILD ABUSE WAS COMMON. Classic Hollymood SUCKED F в С Shirley Temple is the rare child star who didn't grow up into a messed-up adult, but that wasn't because of Hollywood's lack of trying. She was only three when she was in sexually suggestive short movies - and when she misbehaved on set, she was forced to sit on a block of ice. CRACKED.COM — Source

9

AFRICAN-AMERICAN ACTORS HAD IT EVEN WORSE THAN OTHERS. Classic Hollywood SUCKED ARABIA SEPIT FC2 ACROSEMENT When Hattie McDaniel won an Oscar for Gone with the Wind, she couldn't sit with her white co-stars - in fact, she was lucky to be allowed in the ceremony at all. And even with her family connections, Lena Horne struggled to get parts, because she refused to play maids. CRACKED.COM — Source

8

FORCED ABORTIONS WERE ALL THE RAGE. Classic Hollywood SUCKED Abortion was illegal in the 1930s, but female movie stars kept getting them - because studios mandated them. Fixers would arrange for appendectomies and other phony hospital treatments, to keep their actresses box office value. CRACKED.COM — Source

7

CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD WAS RUN BY HARVEY WEINSTEIN TYPES. Classic Hollymood SUCKED Studio execs, agents, and filmmakers were very powerful men, and would often abuse that power. Sexual harassment was rampant - and unlike today, there wasn't the slightest chance the perpetrators would ever face consequences. CRACKED.COM — Source

6

Classic Hollywood

STUDIOS PRETTY MUCH OWNED THE ACTORS. Classic Hollywood SUCKED Actors could only work for the studio they were under contract with - and the contracts were long term. Often, however, studios would lend each other stars - sometimes as a way to punish the actor for defying their masters. CRACKED.COM — Source

5

STUDIOS GAVE DRUGS TO CHILD STARS. With ironclad contracts and without child labor laws, studios pushed their young stars to work crazy hours. Judy Garland revealed that Mickey Rooney and her were given amphetamine uppers to keep them alert during 18-hour work days and then sleeping pills at night. CRACKED.COM — Source

4

IN THE EARLY DAYS OF CINEMA, REAL BULLETS WERE FIRED AT ACTORS. Before blanks, squibs, and special effects were invented, directors would hire sharpshooters to shoot over actors' heads during gunfight scenes. CRACKED.COM — Source

3

A day after the infamous Kristallnacht, when thousands of Jews were brutalized, WALT Disney was the only one of Hollywood's big names who agreed to meet with Leni Riefenstahl, one of Hitler's favorite filmmakers and declared Nazi sympathizer and promoter. Не gave her a tour of his studio. CRACKED CON — Source

2

Disney widely popularized the myth that lemmings deliberately commit mass suicide in its nature documentary White Wilderness. FROM THE TOP OF THE WORLD! FABULOUS NEW ADVENTURE IN EXCITING ENTERTAINMENT Walt Disney's WHITE WILDFRNESS TECHNICOLOR . TRUE-LIFE ADVENTURE FEATURE Disney filmmakers actually threw the cute rodents of a cliff to stage a scene of their migration, now known to be a natural act of dispersion that involves some accidental deaths. GRACKED.COM — Source

1

Disney made military training videos and war propaganda during WWII. Animators used their signature silly gags and cutesy art style to make things like Disney's instructional video for firing anti-tank rifles-- starkly at odds with the modern company's child-friendly image. CRACKED.COM — Source

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