# Films that put the actors and crew through hell **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 11, 2010, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-put-the-actors-and-crew-through-hell/563762 "2010-12-11T05:19:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-put-the-actors-and-crew-through-hell/563762/41 "2010-12-13T00:32:53Z")
I had always heard that **The Texas Chainsaw Massacre** was a pretty bad production, reading the trivia page at IMDB certainly seems to confirm it [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072271/trivia](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072271/trivia) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-put-the-actors-and-crew-through-hell/563762/42 "2010-12-13T00:47:39Z")
\*Eyes Wide Shut \* Stanley Kubrick’s last film seemed to take forever. I recall interviews where the cast was about ready to walk. Kubrick was notorious for running late and over budget. He was never satisfied with a shot. etc. The physical conditions weren’t bad (unless walking around in S&M outfits and masks bothered them). But, the repeated takes and delays were reportedly agonizing. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-put-the-actors-and-crew-through-hell/563762/43 "2010-12-13T00:54:51Z")
“March of the Penguins” must have been a real joy to work on. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/JZWt5YkhVp8/maxresdefault.jpg "March Of The Penguins Trailer [HD]") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZWt5YkhVp8) It was amazing to watch, though, and Morgan Freeman’s mellow narration made it all the better. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-put-the-actors-and-crew-through-hell/563762/44 "2010-12-13T03:26:13Z")
**The African Queen**. According to its IMDb page: _Press materials and contemporary articles detailed the perils of shooting on location in Africa, including dysentery, malaria, contaminated drinking water, and several close brushes with wild animals and poisonous snakes. Most of the cast and crew were sick for much of the filming._ ETA that I meant to include a link. Here ya [go](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043265/trivia). ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-put-the-actors-and-crew-through-hell/563762/45 "2010-12-13T03:57:16Z")
The **Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)** was famously miserable shoot, both because of the steamy North Queensland location, and for the all the hair-pulling among the directors (note the plural) and the volatile stars Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer. [More details](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Island_of_Dr._Moreau_%281996_film%29#Production). And I understand the desert scenes in **Star Wars** were pretty miserable for all concerned, due to the extreme heat. (Imagine being inside a droid costume under such circumstances.) The heat played hell with equipment, too, melting rubber and plastic bits. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-put-the-actors-and-crew-through-hell/563762/46 "2010-12-13T04:01:34Z")
During Apocalypse ,Martin Sheen had a heart attack at the age of 36. That seems pretty rough. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-put-the-actors-and-crew-through-hell/563762/47 "2010-12-13T04:04:24Z")
Oh, and speaking of Herzog, the production of [Fitzcarraldo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitzcarraldo#Production) was famously miserable as well: > [@](#): > > In his autobiographical film Portrait Werner Herzog, Herzog has stated that the film’s spectacular production was partly inspired by the engineering feats of ancient standing stones. The film production was an incredible ordeal, and famously involved moving a 320-ton steamship over a hill without the use of special effects… > > …Casting of the film was also quite difficult. Jason Robards was originally cast in the title role, but he became ill with dysentery during early filming and, after leaving for treatment, was forbidden by his doctors to return. Herzog then considered casting Jack Nicholson, and even playing Fitzcarraldo himself, before Klaus Kinski accepted the role. By that point, forty percent of shooting with Robards was complete, and for continuity Herzog was forced to begin a total reshoot with Kinski. Mick Jagger was originally cast as Fitzcarraldo’s assistant Wilbur, but due to the delays his shooting schedule expired and he departed to tour with the Rolling Stones. Herzog dropped Jagger’s character from the script altogether and reshot the film from the beginning. > > Klaus Kinski himself was a major source of tension, as he fought with Herzog and other members of the crew and greatly upset the native extras. In his documentary My Best Fiend, Herzog says that one of the native chiefs offered to murder Kinski for him, but that he declined because he needed Kinski to complete filming. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-put-the-actors-and-crew-through-hell/563762/48 "2010-12-13T04:18:54Z")
IIRC, the big multi-million dollar set for Waterworld sink midway through. The climbers who were filming the IMAX film “Everest” had to stop to join in the search for the victims of the 1996 Everest disaster. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-put-the-actors-and-crew-through-hell/563762/49 "2010-12-13T04:22:02Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > The climbers who were filming the IMAX film “Everest” had to stop to join in the search for the victims of the 1996 Everest disaster. Good pick. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-put-the-actors-and-crew-through-hell/563762/50 "2010-12-13T04:31:13Z")
In a reversal of circumstances, Frank Capra stopped making movies after\* A Pocketful of Miracles \*because the star Glenn Ford drove him crazy on the set. Ellen Burstyn and Linda Blair claimed continuing back problems as a result of scenes in _The Exorcist_. Director William Friedkin also slapped William O’Malley, an actor and Jesuit priest to induce a somber expression. Along the lines of Jaws, the 1976 \*King Kong \*remake encountered malfunctions with a giant mechanical monkey hand. Supposedly, one of the fingers got stuck in an upright position after the crew was, uh, rehearsing. Buddy Ebsen nearly died after being painted with the wrong kind of makeup as the Tin Woodman in _The Wizard of Oz_. Accidents were common in\* Tarzan \*films, with falls from trees, vines, and animal bites. ---
**Author:** ![fuzzypickles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9d8465/32.png) [@fuzzypickles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fuzzypickles)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-put-the-actors-and-crew-through-hell/563762/51 "2010-12-13T04:50:02Z")
The filming of [Platoon](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091763/) was the epitome of Hell. And it wasn’t even REAL Hell. ---
**Author:** ![Cyberhwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-put-the-actors-and-crew-through-hell/563762/52 "2010-12-13T06:22:05Z")
I think I remember some of the **Lord of the Rings** cast complaining at how much of a perfectionist Peter Jackson was. John Rhys-Davies, who played Gimli had very negative reactions to the prosthetics he wore. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-put-the-actors-and-crew-through-hell/563762/53 "2010-12-13T18:35:02Z")
[Cracked.com](http://www.cracked.com/article_16541_insane-true-stories-behind-6-cursed-movies.html) offers, The Poltergeist Trilogy, Superman, Atuk, Rosemary’s Baby, The Conqueror and The Omen as “cursed” movies. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-put-the-actors-and-crew-through-hell/563762/54 "2010-12-13T20:54:24Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > A notorious example of harsh set conditions would be **Metropolis.** For the final scenes of the movie, director Fritz Lang had a mob of extras (including young children) standing in the middle of a pool of frigid water (and get doused by a hose as well) for HOURS. Ironically, the film is supposed to _protest_ the abuses of the working-class proletariat. And to add insult to injury, the recent discovery of the near-complete print makes it clear that much of that sequence was then hacked out of the film in the post-premiere butchery of it. ---
**Author:** ![PookahMacPhellimey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pookahmacphellimey/32/3175_2.png) [@PookahMacPhellimey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PookahMacPhellimey)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-put-the-actors-and-crew-through-hell/563762/55 "2010-12-13T21:08:47Z")
Bjork ended up _eating_ part of her character’s costume after filming _Dancer in the Dark_. Having seen the film I can actually understand it, too. Whatever his talents as a film-maker, I think Von Trier is a truly awful human being. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-put-the-actors-and-crew-through-hell/563762/56 "2010-12-13T21:44:39Z")
_Hearts of Darkness_ is definitely worth watching to see how hellish conditions on-set were for _Apocalypse Now_. _Waterworld_ was a notoriously long and difficult shoot, out on the water in glaring sunlight, and I’ve read that both _Blade Runner_ and the most recent _Harry Potter_ movie were very tough due to long days of filming while drenched. Charlie Chaplin rivaled Stanley Kubrick for repeated retakes, over and over and over again, sometimes with no script at all, just improvising with a huge cast and crew. As to radiation poisoning among the cast and crew of _The Conqueror_, behold, The Master Speaks: [Did John Wayne die of cancer caused by a radioactive movie set? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/374/did-john-wayne-die-of-cancer-caused-by-a-radioactive-movie-set) ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-put-the-actors-and-crew-through-hell/563762/57 "2010-12-13T23:09:02Z")
Passendaele, at least the battle scenes, were supposed to be quite hellish - based on a few buddies that played extras. This was not due to dictator-like directing, but solely the conditions. That said, it was supposed to be as accurate as possible. ---
**Author:** ![Tess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@Tess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tess)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-put-the-actors-and-crew-through-hell/563762/58 "2010-12-15T03:27:04Z")
engineer\_comp\_geek already mentioned Kubrick in general. Specifically, I remember reading that during filming for The Shining he brought a then 69-year-old Scatman Crothers to tears over the repeated retakes (a \*reduced \* 40 for one scene). There were so many revisions Jack Nicholson gave up reading the script and he frequently went home and collapsed. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-put-the-actors-and-crew-through-hell/563762/59 "2010-12-15T03:51:06Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > The **Island of Dr. Moreau (1996)** was famously miserable shoot, both because of the steamy North Queensland location, and for the all the hair-pulling among the directors (note the plural) and the volatile stars Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer… Speaking of Australia; I was watching **The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert** with the comentary on last night. Let’s see trudging across the Outback from Sydney to Alice Springs in a bus that was also the main set, wearing elaborate gowns and full make up in 40/100+ degree heat, freezing nighttime temperatures, flies, a grueling shooting schedule, sounds like hell. It took hours for the cast to climb that rock formation in the final scenes, in full costume, and no safety people to do a walk though before the actors were filmed inches from the edge of a cliff. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2010, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-put-the-actors-and-crew-through-hell/563762/60 "2010-12-15T21:58:18Z")
In one of her books Diana Cary Serra (1920s child actress Baby Peggy Montgomery) talks about her father Jack, a former cowboy turned bit actor when men on horseback were needed, plotted to kill Cecil B DeMille. DeMille’s film “The Crusades” involved some dangerous stunts storming a castle were the extras got hurt falling off a bridge (and if you couldn’t work, tough luck getting paid). Jack’s plan involving a stampede to run over DeMille never came to fruition but he apparently could require actors to do dangerous things (such as Victor Mature wrestle an old lion). I’m sure a lot of dangerous things happened on sets before world war II. James Cagney says in his autobiography that for films like “Public Enemy”, the studio would have a former soldier fire a machine gun with live bullets. Years ago during the AFI salute to Lillian Gish (who outlived most of the presenters except for Colleen Moore, they had to get John Boy Richard Thomas and Sister Bertrille Sally Field) someone mention Gish still suffered from problems filing the ice floe on a river scene in “Way Down East”. Three actors and a mechanic were killed filming Howard Hughes’s “Hell’s Angels”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-put-the-actors-and-crew-through-hell/563762.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-that-put-the-actors-and-crew-through-hell/563762.md?page=4)