15 Myths About the Making of Classic Movies
From the outside, the glamorous process of making a movie is an exciting mystery shrouded in secrecy. Of course, those in the industry know it's just a job, full of annoying customers and incompetent coworkers you just put up with until you can clock out. Still, that doesn't stop imaginations from running wild, even if the supposed stories from set that end up circulating are hilariously untrue.
15 Psycho
The myth: Hitchcock blasted Janet Leigh with cold water to get a genuine scream out of her.The reality: It’s called “acting.” Leigh said the water was a comfortable temperature the whole time.
14 Singin’ in the Rain
The myth: That rain the actors sang in wouldn’t show up on film, so the crew used milk instead of water.The reality: It was difficult to see the water, but instead of doing anything weird, they just backlit it.
13 Jaws
The myth: Robert Shaw performed his iconic monologue about the U.S.S. Indianapolis drunk out of his mind.The reality: Shaw wanted to do the scene drunk, but he was “just too far gone” and “had a complete blackout,” so he had to reshoot it the next day -- completely sober.
12 The Wizard of Oz
The myth: A munchkin hanged himself on set, and you can see his body in the background of the Enchanted Forest.The reality: It’s a bird. A large crane borrowed from the Los Angeles Zoo, to be specific.
11 Goldfinger
The myth: Actress Shirley Eaton really did die of “skin asphyxiation” after being completely painted gold, just like her character.The reality: Eaton is super alive. Also, that’s not how that works.
10 2001: A Space Odyssey
The myth: HAL is so named because each letter in it comes just before each letter in IBM.The reality: It’s short for “heuristic algorithm,” and Arthur C. Clarke, who wrote the stories the movie is based on, was “quite embarrassed” when the coincidence was pointed out because “IBM had given us a good deal of help.”
9 The Shining
The myth: Kubrick intentionally traumatized Duvall with emotional abuse and endless takes, to the point that she quit acting.The reality: Duvall always said that, while the shoot was difficult, she “wouldn’t trade it for anything,” and her career was fine. Does no one remember Popeye?
8 The Godfather
The myth: Marlon Brando refused to learn his lines, relying instead on cue cards “taped to walls, lamps, other props, and even on the forehead of Brando’s co-stars.”The reality: Brandon legitimately had trouble remembering his lines, and his cue cards were unobtrusive enough not to bother anyone. It’s unclear if their foreheads were involved.
7 King Kong vs. Godzilla
The myth: The Japanese release of the film has a different ending, with Godzilla defeating the mighty monkey instead of the other way around (sorry for spoilies).The reality: No international markets received different cuts. The rumor was made up wholecloth by a fan magazine.
6 Young Frankenstein
The myth: The horses whinny in fright every time someone says Frau Blücher's name because it sounds like the German word for “glue.”The reality: Any German speaker can tell you it doesn’t. She’s just a scary lady, and the horses serve as a sort of equestrian “dun, dun, DUN!” Gene Wilder named the character because he “just thought it was a funny name.”
5 The Little Mermaid
The myth: A disgruntled Disney employee secretly inserted phallic imagery into the VHS cover image.The reality: Illustrator Bill Morrison owned up to the design, explaining that he simply didn’t notice how one of the castle’s towers looked in the midst of an all-nighter and had no reason to be disgruntled, continuing to get work from Disney until he was hired for The Simpsons.
4 Ben-Hur
The myth: A stuntman died filming the chariot race sequence of the 1959 release, and footage of his death was left in the movie.The reality: You can see a stuntman get injured for real, but it was just a bonk on the chin. One did die while filming 1925’s Ben-Hur, but his death isn’t visible. Even back then, they weren’t monsters.
3 Three Men and a Baby
The myth: The ghost of a boy who was killed in the house where Three Men and a Baby was filmed can be seen behind a curtain in one shot.The reality: It’s a forgotten cardboard cutout of Ted Danson. Also, ghosts aren’t real.
2 Alien
The myth: None of the other cast members knew an alien was going to erupt from John Hurt’s chest, so their reactions are genuine.The reality: They knew about the chestburster. They just didn’t know there was gonna be quite so much blood, including in some of their faces.
1 Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
The myth: Ricardo Montalbán’s rippling pecs were prosthetic.The reality: That’s all Montalbán, baby. Even at 62 years old, "The guy was in great shape," director Nicholas Meyer said in 2017. Also, he really, really wants people to stop asking him about it. Thirsty weirdos.
