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Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Tragic tales of three Hollywood legends killed in World War II revealed in honor of Memorial Day
As the Second World War ravaged the globe, every sort of person was swept inexorably into its grisly vortex - royals and villagers, dockworkers and debutantes, plucky daredevils and cowardly psychopaths. Even Hollywood, then at its pinnacle of glamour and sophistication, found itself hemorrhaging lives to the titanic struggle engulfing the planet. A debonair movie star who brought his cut-glass English élan to America and acted in the highest-grossing movie of all time then had his career cut hideously short when he was shot down by the Luftwaffe. A ravishing blonde who established herself as one of the queens of the screwball comedy lost her life when her tempestuous marriage to an A-list screen idol collided disastrously with her pioneering war work. And one musical icon went missing in action the night before the Battle of the Bulge began and was never found, leaving a generation of his shattered fans clinging to wild theories about how he might somehow have survived. This Memorial Day, as America honors its war dead, remembers three showbiz legends killed in the bloodiest conflict in human history.... Leslie Howard In December 1939, three months after Hitler invaded Poland, the faraway city of Atlanta, Georgia played host to the star-studded premiere of the most feverishly hyped movie Hollywood had ever seen. Gone with the Wind, with its intoxicating blend of Civil War history and doomed romance, plus the electrifying central performances by Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable, exploded onto the scene as an instant classic. But one of the main stars was absent from the Atlanta gala, having already rushed back to his native Britain when it entered the war against Nazi Germany. Leslie Howard, born to a Hungarian Jewish father with the surname Steiner, had fashioned himself a screen persona so frostily elegant that any outsider might have imagined he came from the crème de la crème of the English upper classes. He established himself as a towering figure of interwar British cinema, playing Sir Percy Blakeney in The Scarlet Pimpernel and Henry Higgins in a movie of George Bernard Shaw's comic masterpiece Pygmalion. But his most enduring role was in Hollywood's Gone with the Wind as the wanly indecisive Southern gentleman Ashley Wilkes, the husband of Olivia de Havilland's Melanie and the unshakable romantic obsession of Vivien Leigh's Scarlett O'Hara. The year 1939 saw Howard poised for a sensational career as a Hollywood A-lister, riding high as one of the main characters in a box office juggernaut. But after Neville Chamberlain declared war that September, Howard bought himself out of his Hollywood contract, relinquished his royalties and raced home. He quickly became a deft propagandist for the Ministry of Information, starring in movies about the inventor of the Spitfire and the escape of Jewish refugees, to the mounting fury of Joseph Goebbels. By May 1943, he had proven his mettle enough to be sent on a mission to neutral Spain and Portugal, both of which were under rightist dictators but also potentially susceptible to Howard's charms, particularly Madrid, where the iron-fisted generalissimo Francisco Franco apparently quite liked Gone with the Wind. But Howard, having spiraled into a depression after the recent meningitis death of his mistress Violette Cunnington, was recklessness itself. While on his madcap Iberian trip, he had a fling with a baroness even though he was told she might be a Nazi spy and also crossed paths with his ex, the local actress Conchita Montenegro - who claimed more than half a century later that Howard attempted to use her fascist husband's connections as a means of bending Franco's ear. In the end, when he was leaving Lisbon to go home, Howard held a ticket on a commercial KLM plane that often went from Portugal to England under an arrangement whereby civilian flights would be left alone by both sides. But he rescheduled his trip to be a day earlier than planned, such that two passengers had to be kicked off to accommodate the movie star and his pudgy cigar-chomping agent, who bore a distinct resemblance to Winston Churchill, according to the book Flight 777: The Mystery of Leslie Howard by Ian Colvin. The Luftwaffe shot his flight down over the Bay of Biscay, killing everyone onboard. Why did the Germans obliterate the civilian plane - an airline from a country, the Netherlands, that they had already occupied? The topic is a wellspring of conjecture to this day: Did they mistake Howard's agent for the real Churchill? Was Howard himself so effective an Allied propagandist that he became a target in his own right? Or was the whole episode an error? But amid all the speculation, the fact is that Howard's incandescent talent was snuffed out when he was just 50, and his remains were never discovered. Carole Lombard Carole Lombard looked like the woman who had it all: a glittering career as one of the top heroines of the Hollywood comedy and an envied marriage to America's premier rugged sex symbol, Clark Gable. But the luminous façade concealed a private life rocked by betrayal and insecurity, one that sent Lombard careening down the path to her destruction. She started off as a fuller-figured actress in silent movies, but when talkies arrived and standards shifted, Lombard found herself under intense pressure to rapidly lose weight or have her career cut off at the heels before it got fully off the ground. A studio executive pleaded with the house dietitian: 'We're supposed to give her parts. But look at that figure! Think you can do anything?' Lombard was plunged into a monastic regime of sad little green salads and gelatin desserts, presided over by a dietitian who bragged to Photoplay about how she 'pounded and squeezed and slapped that flesh away' from the actress' body. After wrenching herself down four dress sizes in three weeks, Lombard rose to become the sleek crown jewel of the screwball comedy. Along with her radiant beauty, she found herself in a genre where she got to be as funny as the men, matching her formidable comic chops up against those of John Barrymore in Twentieth Century and her ex-husband William Powell in My Man Godfrey, the latter of which earned her an Oscar nomination. As the shadow of war gathered over America, she remained a platinum blonde beacon of wit and chic, starring in one of Alfred Hitchcock's rare light comedies, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, which came out at the dawn of 1941. That December, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. Two weeks after the attack, Lombard and Gable summoned up a claque of Hollywood luminaries to the Beverly Wilshire Hotel for an emergency summit of the Victory Committee actors' branch. Cary Grant, Irene Dunne, Bob Hope, Claudette Colbert, Rosalind Russell, Gary Cooper, Bette Davis, Charles Boyer and more were in attendance, per Christian Blauvelt's book Hollywood Victory: The Movies, Stars, and Stories of World War II. Hollywood was mobilized to the cause of the Allied victory, and right from the start, Lombard was at the forefront of the war bond tours that became a key prong of the industry's contribution to the struggle. With Gable as the head of the Victory Committee and Lombard at his side, the pair emerged as the reigning power couple of Hollywood's war. But the united front they displayed to their fans belied a tortured relationship poisoned by a fatal strain of distrust. To the public, Gable was adored as the ultimate smoldering totem of raw male sexuality - but from inside the marriage, Lombard knew that the other edge of the sword was his ravenous appetite for other women. She repeatedly paid jealous visits to the set of her husband's 1941 movie Honky Tonk, where he was widely thought to have carried on an affair with his co-star Lana Turner, who later denied as much in her memoirs. By the time Lombard was about to embark on her war bond tour in January 1942, five weeks after Pearl Harbor, she and Gable were on the rocks. They had a furious row over his adultery the night before her departure, according to Robert Matzen's book Fireball: Carole Lombard and the Mystery of Flight 3. When she boarded her train the next day, he neglected to see her off at the station - while she, demonstrating her ability to always find the joke, left a nude mannequin with blonde hair in their bed to tide him over while she was gone. Lombard thundered through a triumphant tour of her native Indiana, at one point selling $2 million worth of war bonds in a single day. But she was going to pieces inside, desperate to get back to Los Angeles and confront her straying husband in a bid to salvage the marriage. There has even been a nagging rumor that she was plotting to surprise Gable by reaching him early and catching him with Lana Turner. She was meant to take the train home, but she was unable to resist the urge to see her husband as soon as possible and so booked passage on a commercial flight. Dragging along her frightened mother and press agent, Lombard used her star power to hustle her way onto the full plane, undeterred by the dangerous winter weather or the fact they would have to stop multiple times in order to refuel. At the last minute, the frantic press agent tried to dissuade Lombard by wagering the decision on a coin toss, but he lost. The plane crashed into a mountain in Nevada on a dark night owing to pilot error, killing all 22 people onboard including Lombard, aged 33. In spite of his inability to stay true to her, Gable loved Lombard madly and was thrown into a frenzy of grief over her death, even attempting the climb the 7,800-foot mountain her flight hit in a vain mission to find her corpse. The month after she died saw the release of her last and perhaps best-loved movie To Be or Not to Be, a giddily vicious Ernst Lubitsch farce starring her and Jack Benny as an egomaniacal actor couple in Nazi-occupied Warsaw. Her effervescent sparkle in the film had the same champagne fizz she always exhibited onscreen, but it was now overlaid with the haunting knowledge of her death during the very war she had just helped satirize. Glenn Miller As a bandleader, Glenn Miller had more Top 10 hits than either Elvis Presley or the Beatles got years later; pictured circa 1937 not long before he reached his peak of stardom Now that the Big Band Era has passed into the woozy haze of gentle nostalgia, it may be a surprise to remember what a superstar Glenn Miller was. A trombonist from Iowa who dropped out of college to pursue music, Miller worked his way up into the stratosphere of interwar American pop music. As a bandleader, he had more Top 10 hits than either Elvis Presley or the Beatles got years later, and he created some of the most lasting smash records of his genre, most famously Moonlight Serenade and Chattanooga Choo Choo. He cut the original recording of At Last nearly two decades before Etta James, amid a string of successes like Little Brown Jug, In The Mood and Tuxedo Junction. Miller commanded a devoted fanbase with his earworm ballads, breezy charisma and quirky smile, which sent more than a few of his female admirers swooning. By the time America entered the war, he was 38 years old with weak eyesight, and his attempts to enter the Navy were rebuffed - but he was still determined to forego his $20,000 weekly earnings and serve his country. His art, as usual, was his way through the door, and the Army Service Forces accepted his pitch to join up and try 'streamlining modern military music.' Miller gave his final civilian performance in New Jersey on September 27, 1942, three years to the day after Warsaw surrendered to the Nazis. He was taken under the wing of the commander of U.S. Army Air Forces, General Henry 'Hap' Arnold, who declared that Miller's work was 'my kind of music' and gave him license to recruit 38 of the best musicians from more than 400 continental bases to form his Major Glenn Miller Army Air Forces Orchestra. Miller brought his signature style to the front, adding strings to the big band and creating a sound that became the gold standard copied by his successors. 'The band helped the war effort. It made people want to join,' said Bill Chivalette, curator of the Air Force Enlisted Heritage Hall, to Air Force University Public Affairs. 'It helped with recruiting. They created the greatest orchestra of its time in the military. Their performances were wonderful. He truly had rock star status.' Miller took the show to Britain and then toured Europe, performing for over a million troops in 11 countries and playing on even when the bombs were falling nearby. His musicians were somewhat less delighted than his audiences, owing to his merciless perfectionism - one recalled a day known as 'Black Monday,' when Miller told every single performer precisely 'what he thought' of him. In December 1944, while France was in the process of being liberated, Miller, 40, was supposed to fly there from England to play, but to his increasing exasperation, the planes kept getting canceled because of bad weather. Ultimately, the irascible musician was so fed up he caught hold of an officer he knew who was flying across the English Channel on December 15 and hopped aboard, without getting authorized or even sending the information up the chain of command. The plane disappeared over the water and was never found. It took three days for Allied forces to even realize Miller was missing, as they were preoccupied with the Battle of the Bulge, which broke out hours after he vanished. The eventual investigation failed, and he was pronounced dead in absentia a year and a day after his disappearance, in accordance with U.S. military etiquette. His legions of fans went wild with heartache and seized on the mystery surrounding Miller's flight to formulate theories about how he might actually have arranged to go missing in order to be a spy, or for a woman, or to flee to South America, etc. Among those who accepted that he was dead, one line of thinking held that he was taken down by friendly fire, another that he made it to Paris but succumbed to a heart attack in the arms of a local prostitute, still another that he was at Allied headquarters in France and was killed in a Nazi assault. As late as 1989, there was a joke on The Golden Girls where Blanche (Rue McClanahan) mentions that 'Glenn Miller's dead' and Dorothy (Bea Arthur) emotionally bursts out: 'He's not dead! He's missing!' But most of his admirers resigned themselves to the likelihood that Miller's plane crashed into the English Channel, adding him and his two fellow passengers to the ranks of the millions killed in the conflict. He left behind his widow Helen, who had been his college sweetheart before he dropped out to launch his big band career, and their young son Steven. And he left behind his music, which was cherished for decades by countless listeners who had borne the same bereavement Helen did and held onto his records as a memory of their last dance with the loves they lost to the war.
Forbes
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Portofino's Hotel Splendido Has A Stunning Villa To Book This Summer
The Villa Beatrice, a short walk from the Splendido, was originally designed by Gino Coppedè, a renowned and prolific architect in early 20th-century Italy. Courtesy of Belmond Portofino has long been a gliterrati playground and its desirability shows no sign of diminishing after more than 60 years in the jet-set spotlight. Each season superyachts compete for one of the limited number of berths in its tiny harbor; reservations at dining hot spots Cracco, Chuflay and Da Puny are snapped up the moment temperatures begin to rise, and for decades the village's artisan and specialty boutiques have been sought after by visitors who could shop anywhere—style icon Gianni Agnelli liked to purchase loafers at Mingo Portofino. where you can do the same today. This summer there'll be another reason for deep-pocketed travelers to stop by when the Hotel Splendido Belmond debuts a new property, a private one-key villa, which will be a first for the luxury travel company. The seaside palazzo, called Villa Beatrice, is a five-minute walk from the hotel, and sits on a private spit overlooking the sea. The hills around Portofino are home to some of the most exclusive private homes in the world, including the estate owned by Dolce & Gabbana, the fashion designers. The Dowager Duchess of Westminster owns a vineyard here that produces the local white, vermentino. The Villa has three floors and an additional Torretta, or tower level. COURTESY OF BELMOND For decades the most famous place to stay in Portofino has been the aptly named Hotel Splendido, a Belmond property since 2014, and owned by LVMH since 2019. Winston Churchill, a connoisseur of many things and someone who knew how to pick his Riviera resorts, stayed here as did Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Vivien Leigh, Ava Gardner and more recently, George Clooney. British actress Vivien Leigh at the Hotel Splendido in 1954. Photo by Mario De Biasi/Mondadori via Getty Images Mondadori via Getty Images Centuries before Portofino became a requisite A-list stop, it was a coveted prize for power players on the Italian peninsula. The Romans were thought to use Portofino as a harbor; in the 1500s Saracen pirates, determined to wangle a foothold in the area, attacked a strategically placed Benedictine Abbey so often the beleaguered monks had to flee from their home with the heavenly panoramas. (The abbey eventually became a private residence, then in 1902 the site of the Splendido.) Napoleon stationed troops at Castello Brown, a medieval castle with Roman roots perched high above the village. Later European aristocrats came to holiday; in the 1920s, Elizabeth von Arnim's best-selling novel, Enchanted April, gave the burgeoning resort a widespread renown. The English actor Rex Harrison vacationed in Portofino and helped put it on the celebrity map during Italy's dolce vita heyday, where it has remained every since A view over the Gulf of Tigullio. Courtesy of Belmond The Hotel Splendido's Villa Beatrice, which will open this summer, overlooks the mesmerizingly beautiful Gulf of Tigullio, and offers exceptional views and private access to the sea. This former family home, built for a Ligurian shipbuilding magnate, Attilio Odero, spreads out over three levels (with a Torretta, or tower floor) and includes four suites, a rooftop terrace, and a separate cottage called La Casetta with an additional suite. The villa was originally designed by Gino Coppedè, a renowned and prolific architect in early 20th-century Italy, whose buildings in a Rome neighborhood blending Art Nouveau and other distinct architectural styles, turned it into one of the Eternal City's cultural attractions, subsequently called Quartiere Coppedè. A sitting area. Courtesy of Belmond A terrace overlooking the sea. Courtesy of Belmond. Martin Brudnizki, an architect famous for his sleekly glamorous interiors and luxury hospitality design, oversaw the the multi-year renovation of the villa. The palazzo's external Coppedè frescoes were restored, marble bathrooms revamped, and the decor styled with antiques, contemporary pieces and artwork with connections to the region. Brudnizki said in a statement that the goal for Villa Beatrice was to create a space that blends modern sophistication with the history of the Ligurian coast 'where guests feel as though they've been welcomed into a cherished family villa.' Amenities at the property include butler service, a plunge pool with sun deck, a pavillion for yoga or spa treatments, gym, and a terrace for outdoor dining. Guests can also arrange for a private chef. The hotel will introduce its renovations to the main buiding this summer. Courtesy of Belmond The Splendido itself, which has also been undergoing a multi-year update under the direction of the Martin Brudnizki Design Studio, debuts its renovated main building this summer. In addition to new rooms and suites, the hotel will have restyled guest areas including cocktail, lounge and coffee bars, a refreshed breakfast space, and a permanent Dior Spa with a roof terrace. Splendido updates completed in 2023 include the stunning (saltwater) pool where you can swim and take in views of the Portofino coast, and the redesigned La Baronessa Suite, fashioned as if it were a sumptuous retreat in a Ligurian palazzo. It has its own garden and provides direct access to the pool.
Belfast Telegraph
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Belfast Telegraph
Meet the Antrim writer whose book influenced Angelina Jolie movie: ‘I was scared because the fans are intense'
Writer Lyndsy Spence takes time out from working on Vivien Leigh movie to help launch Ballyscullion Park Book Festival Antrim author and screenwriter Lyndsy Spence is never sure how far her books about interesting women will reach. But her biography of the late opera singer Maria Callas influenced the recent Angelina Jolie film Maria, and a Greek director has optioned it for a TV series.
Irish Times
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Writers' shelfies: a book that holds permanent residency
This year the Belfast Book Festival is asking the public to 'take a shelfie', sharing a photo of beloved books that have greatly influenced their life, way of thinking or that bring them joy with each re-read. In support of this, six authors from the Belfast Book Festival's 2025 programme share one book that holds permanent residency on their bookshelf. Neil Hegarty The Ghost of Thomas Kempe by Penelope Lively - chosen by Neil Hegarty On a shelf in my study sits a Sellotaped-together copy of Penelope Lively's classic children's novel The Ghost of Thomas Kempe, which won the Carnegie Medal in 1973. I often look at it, and each time I'm reminded of its lasting impact on me. The book deals with memory, and with the influence of the past upon the present – with themes that register in my own writing today, and which I can trace back directly to this formative reading experience. Children's books can do this: they can set you up for life – they can, in other words, change your life. READ MORE Neil Hegarty, is a writer from Derry, Northern Ireland. Hegarty's novels include The Jewel; and Inch Levels, which was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Novel of the Year Award. Babita Sharma Beloved by Toni Morrison - chosen by Babita Sharma This book holds a permanent place on my bookshelf because of its haunting power and poetic complexity. The novel explores the traumatic legacy of slavery through Sethe, a mother haunted by the ghost of her lost child. Morrison's language is both beautiful and unsettling, weaving a fragmented narrative that immerses you in the characters' pain and resilience. The story's honesty about the horrors of slavery and its psychological scars left me deeply moved. Beloved is unforgettable and timeless. Everyone should experience its profound impact, at least once. Babita Sharma is a journalist, broadcaster and author of The Corner Shop and the Priya Mistry series. Eimear McBride in 2024. Photograph: Kat Green Vivien Leigh by Hugo Vickers - chosen by Eimear McBride Conservative estimates suggest at least 3,000 permanent residents but a survivor from my early teens is Hugo Vicker's biography of Vivien Leigh. Famed for Oscar-winning roles in Gone with the Wind and A Streetcar Named Desire, as well as her tumultuous marriage to Laurence Olivier, Leigh was a fascinating woman. Vickers' exquisite exploration of her life and career, as well as the tragedy of her manic depression in an era of poor understanding and treatment, has led to a lifelong interest in the gap between private and public selves in the lives of creative people . Eimear McBride is the author of four novels: A Girl is a Half-formed Thing, The Lesser Bohemians, Strange Hotel and The City Changes Its Face. She held the inaugural Creative Fellowship at the Beckett Research Centre, University of Reading and is the recipient of the Women's Prize for Fiction, Goldsmiths Prize, Kerry Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. Oliver Jeffers Catch-22 by Joseph Heller - chosen by Oliver Jeffers My dad recommended Joseph Heller's commentary on the absurdity of war, Catch-22, when I was about 16. I started it, but couldn't make any sense of it. That was entirely the point, at least to begin with, and I gave up about a dozen pages in. About 10 years later, as we discussed another looming crisis, he urged me to try again. I did. And it is, to this day, one of the only books that has ever given me a physical reaction, as what began as a swirling, discordant cacophony of writing found its harmony in a beautiful and sudden crescendo. An absurd book I return to time and again to make sense of humanity's recurring conflicts. Oliver Jeffers is an Australian-born Northern Irish artist, illustrator and writer. His award-winning and bestselling picture books include The Day the Crayons Quit, How to Catch a Star, What We'll Build Wendy Erskine. Photograph: Khara Pringle I Like This Poem: A Collection of Best-Loved Poems Chosen by Children for Other Children - chosen by Wendy Erskine I Like This Poem is a 1979 poetry anthology, edited by Kaye Webb, and published in the International Year of the Child. Each poem included was actually chosen by a child and accompanied by an explanation as to why they picked it. It's a pretty brilliant, unusual selection: Langston Hughes, William Blake and Stevie Smith are there. And the kids' justifications were so singular and engaging! The grubbiest pages denote my favourites – a poem about ageing boxers and another about a dead bird. The 10-year-old me felt like I could be welcomed into the poetry club by these kid selectors, if I knew them. It was the gateway book for me, I suppose you might say. Wendy Erskine is the author of two short story collections, Sweet Home and Dance Move. Her debut novel, The Benefactors, is published next month. Paul McVeigh. Photograph: Chad Alexander Henry and June by Anaïs Nin - chosen by Paul McVeigh I have a copy of Henry and June by Anaïs Nin that was gifted to me by a friend while I was at university 35 years ago. I'd never read anything like it before. I remember as a young man reading it on a tube in London and getting off at a station and I couldn't meet anyone's eye, I felt so affected by it. Her fearlessness in exploring art, life and particularly her sexuality was a watershed moment for me in pursuit of my own truth. It is on a shelf in my living room; it's the only book I know exactly where it sits and my eyes go there from time to time and rest on it. The Belfast Book Festival will take place from June 5th-12th all under the one roof at The Crescent Arts Centre, Belfast. The 15th edition of the festival promises a packed programme of poetry, fiction, crimewriting, journalism, screenwriting, a memorable exhibition plus developmental opportunities via expert-led discussions and workshops. Tickets on sale at:
Buzz Feed
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
Here's A Roundup Of 17 Beloved Movies That Faced So Many Issues They Almost Didn't Make It To The Big Screen
Making a movie sounds like a glamorous experience, but the reality is that it can be as tough, draining, and obstacle-ridden as any other job. Managing a group of that many people definitely doesn't come without its challenges, and some movie sets run into so many difficulties, studios lose faith in them entirely. This is even the case for some of your favorite classic flicks. But thankfully, oftentimes a miracle will happen and something will convince the execs not to lose faith. Here's a roundup of 19 times production difficulties resulted in a huge movie not being released at all — almost. 1. Gone With the Wind If we're starting with rocky production experiences, Gone With the Wind is definitely one to have in mind, seeing as the studio literally started filming before they had decided on a lead actress. And once they settled on Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O'Hara, leading man Clark Gable reportedly wasn't content with Vivien as his costar. The film also saw a number of disagreements about its themes and nature, and some execs even wanted to change Rhett's iconic line: 'Franky, my dear, I don't give a damn.' Thankfully, they didn't get their way. 2. Jaws The difficulties of filming in open water were definitely a big factor in why production was such a nightmare for this movie. Budget restraints and logistical difficulties meant that Steven Spielberg had to reel back his use of special effects, and scenes were often improvised and rewritten in real time. However, the lack of special effects meant that Steven focused more on creating tension and suspense, which arguably made Jaws what it is today. Because I know it's not just my body that goes into fight or flight when I hear those menacing da-duns. 3. Toy Story 2 If you don't know about The Great Deletening (term coined by me), strap in, because the Toy Story 2 lore is wild. During production, one animator was cleaning out files on their computer and accidentally erased 90% of the film. It was completely gone. The only reason Toy Story 2 was ever recovered was because of a director called Galyn Susman, who was on maternity leave and had copied the file to her home computer. And thank god she did, because the film earned 5 times its production budget after it was released. I just know the animator who deleted the movie has nightmares about the incident every time they shut their eyes. Despite the critical and box office success of Ridley Scott 's first Gladiator film, production was hugely challenging. They began shooting with an unfinished script, which caused a number of problems. However, one of the film's most prominent issues was that one of the cast members, Oliver Reed, who played Antonius Proximo, tragically died during filming after an incident in a bar. The film was still able to be completed even though Oliver died before his scenes were completed in filming, as they used a body double and CGI, but he was posthumously nominated for a BAFTA. 5. Iron Man The first Iron Man was not only iconic in its own right, but it also kicked off the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe as we know it. However, there were a number of issues that took place during production, including multiple scenes being changed or filmed completely improvised. Alongside technical difficulties, the studio was worried about Robert Downey Jr.'s place as the leading man, as this movie was set to be his comeback after years of substance issues. But despite their troubles, the movie became the hit we know today. 6. The Emperor's New Groove Kuzco my beloved. This Disney classic almost got scrapped entirely after the studio tasked producer Randy Fullmer to rework the entire concept in two weeks due to test screenings going badly. Thankfully, Randy managed the impossible task, and despite the initial production issues, the movie was released. 7. Slumdog Millionaire I don't even want to imagine a world where we don't have Dev Patel dancing to Jai Ho. But that scene in particular was almost impossible to shoot, according to line producer Tabrez Noorani. As the shot involves hundreds of extras dancing in a train station, they had to film for ten consecutive days between 2 and 4 am, and police interference, along with filming close to the Red Light District in Mumbai meant that filming almost got shut down a number of times. 8. Rocky Courtesy Everett Collection While he's known for starring in the hit, Sylvester Stallone actually also wrote the script for Rocky himself. While studios were excited by the idea, they didn't have as much faith in him as an actor, due to his lack of star power. However, Sylvester insisted that the movie be made with him as the lead, or not at all, and his fight paid off. 9. Star Wars: A New Hope We all know and love George Lucas's series as being a rousing success, but many didn't have faith in Episode IV while it was being made. The studio threatened to pull the plug after George insisted on countless reshoots, and the actors had difficulty with their dialogue. George's vision demanded a ton of special effects that racked up the budget, but ultimately it was realized and started off one of the biggest blockbuster hit franchises of all time. 10. The Wizard of Oz Courtesy Everett Collection Old Hollywood sets were definitely tricky places to be. A lack of safeguarding laws and general apathy towards the cast and crew's wellbeing meant that The Wizard of Oz, while a magical experience in theaters, was definitely not all rainbows and gumdrops behind the scenes. The film had multiple rewrites and somehow went through three directors, and had wild safety issues on set: including but not limited to Margaret Hamilton suffering burns all over her body, Buddy Ebsen being hospitalized after an allergic reaction to his silver makeup, and pretty much everything poor Judy Garland endured. Oh, and the fake snow being made from literal asbestos. You know, like, the poison. 11. Dumbo Courtesy Everett Collection With a short runtime and low production costs, Dumbo was set to make money for the studio. However, the animators rightfully complained about unfair working conditions, as many were being forced to work much longer hours than their contracts stated. They went on strike after a number of layoffs, but the film ended up being completed and released, and Disney made a significant profit anyway — to no one's surprise. This is why we need unions, folks! 12. Back to the Future ©MCA/Courtesy Everett Collection Can you believe we almost had a different Marty McFly? After five whole weeks of shooting with actor Eric Stoltz as the protagonist, the decision was made to cut the poor guy and recast Michael J. Fox as the time-travelling hero. And while Michael's performance was obviously fantastic, the late decision resulted in around $4 million worth of reshoots. Also, Doc's famous car caused significant delays in production due to the fact that it definitely wasn't a performance car. 13. Bambi Walt Disney / Courtesy: Everett Collection The struggles that Disney faced with Bambi in production were actually because of the film's focus on tragedy and grief — because if you didn't bawl to this movie, you truly have a heart of stone. The studio was hesitant about how graphically they would depict the upsetting themes for kids, and the film was put on hold as a result, but thankfully, eventually released. 14. Psycho Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection / Everett Collection I know for a fact I spent ages in my film classes wondering about Alfred Hitchcock's reasoning to shoot this film in black and white, assuming that it was for some super meaningful symbolic reason. However, it's actually because he was flat broke. He made the decision to fund the film himself after Paramount thought his concept 'distasteful,' and even though Hitchcock fought for it to be made, they still only gave it a limited release. 15. Titanic ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection The trouble with James Cameron's romantic tragedy was rooted in dates — for various reasons, the shoot kept having to be pushed back, and this resulted in it becoming one of the most expensive films ever made at the time. Thankfully, it all worked out, but it definitely put the crew on edge, while actors were forced to film in difficult and freezing conditions. 16. Sleeping Beauty Courtesy Everett Collection While it looks like Sleeping Beauty 's fairytale narrative might have guaranteed a smash hit from the start, the creators had a hard time fleshing out Aurora's character to be different and stand out from her princess predecessors. The film also dealt with a rocky release date, as it kept getting pushed back, as well as troubles with the crew, after one director had a heart attack. 17. The Godfather Courtesy Everett Collection Now, this one had difficulties, but for reasons that were pretty meta. Did you know the actual mafia involved itself in the production? They had a say in reinstating one of the film's producers after he was fired by Paramount Pictures, and some of the extras and cast members were people associated with the mafia. As reported by Collider, this includes Lenny Montana, who played Luca Brasi: Vito's bodyguard. Lenny was allegedly a real bodyguard for Andy Russo, the notorious boss of the Colombo crime family. But despite mafia meddling, the movie was not shelved and became the classic we all know and quote today.
