Film Anectodes and Other Movie-related Stories

[gwynplaine]

_ It's no secret that Bette Davis and Joan Crawford hated each other. During the filming of "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane", in the scene where Davis' character has to drag Crawford's on the floor, Crawford intentionally loaded herself with extra weight and Davis threw her back after repeated takes.
_ Speaking of loaded, on the set of "Spider Baby", Lon Chaney Jr., a notorious drinker, was sucking on oranges all the time. People were happy that he quit drinking for the film and that he was so serious about getting his daily intake of Vitamin C. Turns out the oranges were full of vodkat:
_ During the filming of Fitzcarraldo, Members of the Indian Tribe Herzog was shooting with came to ask him if he wanted them to kill Klaus Kinski for him, since he was such a nuisance on the set. Herzog politely declined the offer.
_ Heath Ledger locked himself up in a hotel room for a month, prior to shooting TDK, so he could perfect the Joker laugh, speech and mannerisms.
Some of these stories are probably true, others pure fiction, who knows and who cares? They are now part of Movie Lore.
If you care to share a story you know about films in general, welcome to this thread and thank you, because I personally love Film Anecdotes.

 

[Figs]

_ Speaking of loaded, on the set of "Spider Baby", Lon Chaney Jr., a notorious drinker, was sucking on oranges all the time. People were happy that he quit drinking for the film and that he was so serious about getting his daily intake of Vitamin C. Turns out the oranges were full of vodkat:

 

[gwynplaine]

Today "The Holy Grail" comes out on Blu so here we go with a little Monty Python anecdote.
One day the Gang received a letter from an appalled woman who had just discovered that one of them was gay. She lashed out at them for having a homosexual in their midst.
The Monty Python answered back with a letter thanking her and telling her that they had found the culprit and that they had killed him

 

[gwynplaine]

According to Malcolm McDowell, Stanley Kubrick originally planned to cast Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones in A Clockwork Orange, but was persuaded to change his mind when McDowell revealed that he could belch on command. He recalled. "I used it a few times in the film and in subsequent films. When you have a talent like that, you get it out whenever you can. It should be on my CV."

 

[gwynplaine]

After "Star Wars" was released, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg celebrated by going on vacation in Hawaii together. During a conversation on the beach, Spielberg mentioned that he had always dreamed of directing a James Bond movie. That's when Lucas allegedly pitched him the story for "Raiders of the Lost Ark". And the rest is history as they say.

 

[gwynplaine]

OK, one last one for the road:
_ Marlon Brando, concerned about his uncontrollable, escalating weight put a lock on his fridge.
Some times later, Jack Nicholson, his Mulholland Drive neighbor, gets up in the middle of the night and walks in on Brando raiding his fridge and pigging out on his foodt:

 

[C. Lee]

I met William Smith at a western convention several years ago. He told me that when he made the movie Deadly Trackers, Rod Taylor and Richard Harris hated each other so much, that they were constantly getting into fistfights and delaying the movie. When his part in the film was over, the director hired him to stay on the set until it finished shooting to keep them apart. He stayed on another 5 or 6 weeks just to stop them from fighting.

 

[gwynplaine]

I met William Smith at a western convention several years ago. He told me that when he made the movie Deadly Trackers, Rod Taylor and Richard Harris hated each other so much, that they were constantly getting into fistfights and delaying the movie. When his part in the film was over, the director hired him to stay on the set until it finished shooting to keep them apart. He stayed on another 5 or 6 weeks just to stop them from fighting.

Great anecdote
Even better as I've always been a fan of William Smith, since discovering him on "Rich Man, Poor Man" when I was a kid (Cool that you met him in person). I'm also a huge fan of Richard Harris.
Now, I really have to see this film Thanks for the story and the info,
C. Lee.

 

[gwynplaine]

I don't know if it's still the case, but John Travolta and Gerard Depardieu used to be very good friends when they were younger. And as a favor, Depardieu ended up dubbing his pal for the French version of De Palma's "Blow Out."

 

[Obi-Ron]

The coat worn by Professor Marvel in The Wizard of Oz was bought from a secondhand store - and was, by coincidence, apparently owned originally by Oz author L Frank Baum

 

[gwynplaine]

The coat worn by Professor Marvel in The Wizard of Oz was bought from a secondhand store - and was, by coincidence, apparently owned originally by Oz author L Frank Baum

Pretty cool

 

[gwynplaine]

Stanley Kubrick's direction to Vincent D'Onofrio for his last scene in "Full Metal Jacket" was:
"I want it big, Vince... Lon Chaney big."

 

[gwynplaine]

According to his then girl friend, Anjelica Huston, Jack Nicholson, a notorious fun loving gentleman, didn't do too much partying during the shooting of "The Shining", because he was exhausted and drained by the very demanding role of Jack Torrance and all the takes that Kubrick requested.

 

[danoyse]

When Walt Disney met with Glynnis Johns about a role in Mary Poppins, she was disappointed that Walt wanted her to play the role of Mrs. Banks instead of Mary Poppins.

So Disney assured her that it was a great role, and that the Sherman Brothers had written this terrific song just for her character, so she agreed to consider it.

After she left, Walt called the Sherman Brothers and asked them to write a song for Mrs. Banks.

The song they wrote was "Sister Suffragette", which turned out to be one of the funniest songs in the film:

[YT]aznNQ_5Kz8A&feature=related[/YT]

Also, Walt Disney's favorite song in Mary Poppins was "Feed the Birds", which he always asked the Sherman Brothers to play when they met in his office on Friday afternoons:

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When Richard Sherman played "Feed the Birds" at Disneyland to celebrate Walt Disney's 100th birthday, he blew a kiss towards Walt's statue, and a bird briefly landed on his piano as he was singing it.

 

[gwynplaine]

When Walt Disney met with Glynnis Johns about a role in Mary Poppins, she was disappointed that Walt wanted her to play the role of Mrs. Banks instead of Mary Poppins.

So Disney assured her that it was a great role, and that the Sherman Brothers had written this terrific song just for her character, so she agreed to consider it.

After she left, Walt called the Sherman Brothers and asked them to write a song for Mrs. Banks.

The song they wrote was "Sister Suffragette", which turned out to be one of the funniest songs in the film:

[YT]aznNQ_5Kz8A&feature=related[/YT]

Also, Walt Disney's favorite song in Mary Poppins was "Feed the Birds", which he always asked the Sherman Brothers to play when they met in his office on Friday afternoons:

[YT]XHrRxQVUFN4[/YT]

When Richard Sherman played "Feed the Birds" at Disneyland to celebrate Walt Disney's 100th birthday, he blew a kiss towards Walt's statue, and a bird briefly landed on his piano as he was singing it.

Cool story Thanks, Danoyse.

 

[TomServo]

Peter Jackson loved the movie Cabin Fever (Eli Roth '02) so much, he stopped production on LOTR several times to screen it for the crew for artistic inspiration, he also did free publicity quotes for the movie to help give it buzz.

 

[gwynplaine]

Peter Jackson loved the movie Cabin Fever (Eli Roth '02) so much, he stopped production on LOTR several times to screen it for the crew for artistic inspiration, he also did free publicity quotes for the movie to help give it buzz.

Good one. I didn't know about it. Thanks, TomServo

 

[C. Lee]

Years ago I met a bit player from the John Wayne movie THE ALAMO. He showed me pics of him in costume with Wayne and some of the others, I recognized him from the movie, so I know he was at least really there. But I can't guarantee this is true.

He told me a story about how he and several others were setting up the bar fight scene, when Patrick Wayne (John's son) came in with a couple of girls. He said Patrick was showing off for them, and busted a bunch of the sugar glass bottles and breakaway chairs and tables.Then they left, leaving the mess. The guy telling the story they tried to hurriedly clean things up and were trying to get replacements for the props because the shoot was coming up....when John came in to check on the set. John was the producer and director as well as star of the movie...so when he saw the mess he started to blow his stack. He hollered several things....but basicly wanted to know what the hell happened. The guy said they weren't sure what to say to him....they weren't sure what he would do if told his son had done it....but they went ahead and told him that Patrick had done it showing off for some girls.

He said that John told them to stop what they were doing....and that he would be back. A little while later he showed up with Patrick by the scruff of the neck and threw him into the set. He said John told him to clean everything up and told everyone the cost of the replacements would come out of Patrick's salary.

 

[gwynplaine]

Years ago I met a bit player from the John Wayne movie THE ALAMO. He showed me pics of him in costume with Wayne and some of the others, I recognized him from the movie, so I know he was at least really there. But I can't guarantee this is true.

He told me a story about how he and several others were setting up the bar fight scene, when Patrick Wayne (John's son) came in with a couple of girls. He said Patrick was showing off for them, and busted a bunch of the sugar glass bottles and breakaway chairs and tables.Then they left, leaving the mess. The guy telling the story they tried to hurriedly clean things up and were trying to get replacements for the props because the shoot was coming up....when John came in to check on the set. John was the producer and director as well as star of the movie...so when he saw the mess he started to blow his stack. He hollered several things....but basicly wanted to know what the hell happened. The guy said they weren't sure what to say to him....they weren't sure what he would do if told his son had done it....but they went ahead and told him that Patrick had done it showing off for some girls.

He said that John told them to stop what they were doing....and that he would be back. A little while later he showed up with Patrick by the scruff of the neck and threw him into the set. He said John told him to clean everything up and told everyone the cost of the replacements would come out of Patrick's salary.

Hahat: Great story

 

[gwynplaine]

In the original version of "Cape Fear", the scene where Robert Mitchum attacks Polly Bergen's character on the houseboat was almost completely improvised. Before the scene was filmed, J. Lee Thompson suddenly told a crew member: "Bring me a dish of eggs!" Mitchum rubbing the eggs on Bergen was not scripted and Bergen's reactions were real. She also suffered back injuries from being knocked around so much. She felt the impact of the "attack" for days.

 

[gwynplaine]

E.T's screenplay was largely written while Steven Spielberg was on location shooting "Raiders of the Lost Ark", during filming breaks.
Spielberg dictated the story to screenwriter Melissa Mathison who was there with her then boyfriend and future husband Harrison Ford.

 

[gwynplaine]

During the filming of The Shining, the set on stage 3 caught fire due to the large amount of lighting equipment being used, causing damage estimated at £1.25M.
On a side note, Jack Nicholson turns 75 today. Happy Birthday, Jack!

 

[danoyse]

E.T's screenplay was largely written while Steven Spielberg was on location shooting "Raiders of the Lost Ark", during filming breaks.
Spielberg dictated the story to screenwriter Melissa Mathison who was there with her then boyfriend and future husband Harrison Ford.

And Harrison Ford filmed a cameo for ET in a scene where he played Elliot's school principal, although only the back of his head was seen. In the scene, he's lecturing Elliot about the incident with the frogs, but when his back is turned, Elliot's chair lifts off the ground because at home ET was levitating things as an experiment.

The scene was, of course, cut from the film. But Henry Thomas was a huge Star Wars fan, and he was so excited to work with Harrison Ford that he took that day's call sheet home to show off to his friends.

Melissa Mathison also had a cameo as a school nurse in ET, but her scene was also cut.

 

[danoyse]

During the filming of The Shining, the set on stage 3 caught fire due to the large amount of lighting equipment being used, causing damage estimated at £1.25M.
On a side note, Jack Nicholson turns 75 today. Happy Birthday, Jack!

Also, the little boy who played Danny Torrance was never told that he was starring in a horror movie. Stanley Kubrick was afraid of scaring him.

 

[danoyse]

In The Omen, the evil smile that little Damien smiles at the camera in the final scene wasn't intended. Originally, Robert Thorne succeeded in killing Damien, but after a screening someone suggested that "the devil win" at the end, so the ending was re-shot with Damien attending the funeral of his parents, then glaring at the camera.

Originally, the final shot was to be of Damien giving an evil look (not a smile) at the camera. But little Harvey Stephens, who played Damien and was about 6 years old at the time, got the giggles when they were shooting the scene and they couldn't get him to stop smiling. In fact, his smile reportedly got bigger because Richard Donner kept telling him "Harvey, don't smile...don't you smile!" which only made him giggle more.

In the end, the smile stayed. And it's still creepy.