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Haunted Or Cursed Films?

Where I Saw It

I may be conflating memory, considering this I found on an uban legend site:

Vic Morrow (died 23 July 1982)

In Hollywood's most infamous on-set tragedy, Vic Morrow and two child actors in Twilight Zone, The Movie were killed when struck by a helicopter during the late-night filming of a mock Vietnam battle scene in Valencia, California. All exposed film was immediately seized, but some eventually made its way into the 1992 compilation film Death Scenes 2.

*****

I also found a review of the movie in which the reviewer complains that, with the Vic Morrow episode cut off short, there is no resolution. Apparently, they cut to Ayckroyd. Hm.

I'd swear I've seen the end sequence in its correct place, and I don't watch those FACES OF DEATH things, which I consider pornography of sorts. Still, perhaps I'm conflating having seen the released clip with the movie itself, I don't know now.
 
Hmm, let's make a friendly wager, shall we? I accept PayPal.

The sequence goes as such from memory: Starts out in the bar, he walks outside and winds up in Nazi territory. He falls off the building and lands in the deep south during a Klan rally. He jumps into the lake after they start shooting at him and when he surfaces, he's in Vietnam. He comes upon a group of American soldiers, who throw a grenade at him. The explosion blows him back into Nazi-time, where they put him on a train bound for a concentration camp. End of story. No kids, no helicopter.

Believe me, I think I know my Twilight Zone.
 
Not A Matter of Belief

Ogo - it's not that I don't believe you, it's that I remember the sequence with the copter in the movie.

Could well be a case of brain editing, but also could be a case of different versions available or something.
 
Re: "real" ghosts on video

MX
That is actually a very common phenomenon! Many of the photos submitted to the http://www.ghoststudy.com website are of anomalous images appearing on television screens that are (supposedly) turned off!

Interesting… If only we had the equipment to rip the image before it had vanished. I checked through the links and I haven’t found anything similar likeness to what I remember. This ghost(?)seemed to be layered over the picture. It was a face… much like a negative version of the Turin Shroud. It looked very Christ like. This is odd in itself as neither me nor my family are religious and I personally think that the TS is a fake anyway.

A lot of the images on the first site are very questionable. The Orbs (in my opinion)are totally natural. They are only specks of dust caught in the flash of the camera. The flash being instantaneous, lights up the dust so fast that only the camera lens can pick them up. I’ve captured many of them when taking photos on a ghost hunt in Oxford prison (photos can be found on my site). Looks kind of cool but ruins a perfectly good photo.

MX
 
The Vic Morrow footage was recently shown on one of the Shock Video shows on HBO or similar. I don't think you should take Ogo up on his wager, Frater ;)

Regarding filmic mishaps, they're probably not all that uncommon. To add to the mythos around The Crow I believe there was a nasty accident on set, and part of the set/warehouse was demolished by a disgruntled employee.
I believe a stuntman died whilst filming the Dukes of Hazzard, but no-one seems to make anything paranormal out of that.
The Matrix sequels have lost Gloria "The Oracle" Foster to diabetes before she finished her scenes, not to mention the loss of Aaliyah in a plane crash. Her scenes are being re-shot with a different actress.
And as for the Wizard of Oz, entire books have been written on the making of that, such was the goings on. It's interesting how a movie that was considered a flop at the time of release has managed to endure.
I also think there were tales of all kinds of spooky goings on during the making of the Amityville Horror, though cynics suggested this was designed as part of the promotion upon release.

By curious coincidence I was at the Guggenheim Museum a few weeks ago where they had an exhibition of South American work, and one piece was an unfinished film by Orson Welles. I didn't see enough of it to catch any voodoo(!)

Nice thread. Keep it coming.
 
I read ages ago of the Rosemary's Baby curse. It goes something like this (I'm a bit vague on the details):

Roman Polanski films RB at a big hotel. This is the big hotel where ex-Beatle John Lennon was staying when he was shot. Charles Manson was obsessed with the Beatles' "White Album". Charles Manson was behind the murder of Sharon Tate, Polanski's wife.

All those links supposedly make up the RB curse - anyone else heard of this?
 
Various Replies

GNC - I'd not heard that, but those links you cite are valid. The Dakota is an apartment building just to the north of Central Park in NYC, by the way, not a hotel. Other films have been shot there, too, but ROSEMARY'S BABY makes best use of the spacious apartments.

DARK DETECTIVE - I've no intention of wagering with anyone, I don't gamble, but I'm perfectly willing to concede the point about Morrow's death scene having been cut from the theatrical version. What I'm wondering is, in the years since, whether a version of the movie that includes the scene might have been released, perhaps on VHS.

My own bet is that my mind is editing a viewing of the cut scene into my memory of the movie, a kind of mental courtesy I could do without, perhaps.

As for movies considered flops at the time which went on to huge success later, another notable one is Capra's IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. On its release, it wasn't even considered a Christmas season movie. And mind, it wasn't a flop, per se, but did reasonably well. It was then forgotten until the advent of TV, much like THE WIZARD OF OZ.

Was the film at the Guggenheim about Carnival in Rio, shot in black and white? May well have been the voodoo-cursed film itself.

Incidentally, did Welles believe the film project was cursed, or that he himself was? A fine distinction, perhaps, but significant in light of his subsequent career spiral.

MXHAUNTED - Yes, orbs are artifacts any photographer recognizes as dust and water on the lenses, etc.

You could videotape either static or a switched-off television in order to perhaps capture fleeting images. Of course, you'd then have to review an 8 hour loop of tape to find them, nearly as boring as watching paint dry or grass grow, but it could be done, and at least you'd have some evidence if anything showed up.

Evidence of what, who knows? Perhaps of faulty TVs, which could lead to a lucrative class-action lawsuit, eh?
 
Areosol

I've been racking my brain trying to remember if the helicopter scene exists in TZ, but since they showed the accident about a million times over here on the news when it happened, I can't be sure. I do think some footage of Vic and the kids is in the film, though.

As far as cursed films go - could Something's Got To Give qualify? Monroe's last picture, unfinished, the world's most enduring Hollywood icon of femininity? I could see her spirit being wrapped up in the film.

Also - what about Shrek? Apparently, Chris Farley had read for the role, and the film was completed with his voice. After his death, the role was redone by Mike Meyers... but is there a version with Chris Farley still in it sitting in a lab in Hollywood?
 
Farley SHREK

I'd not heard that about SHREK, but I'm puzzled why they'd dump a completed version of the film with Farley's voice. Are you sure they finished it with Farley?

Perhaps after Farley's death they needed dubs for a rewrite -- they do the vocal stuff first in animation, so it might not be considered definitive at that stage of production.

As for Monroe, she was never my image of much except slutty sleazy bubbleheaded blonde women, so I'm not sure of any spirit or what ever. Mae West, with her sass and wit and intelligence, is a much more appealing image of "feminiity" for me, alas.

Go figure.
 
Re: Various Replies

FraterLibre said:
Was the film at the Guggenheim about Carnival in Rio, shot in black and white? May well have been the voodoo-cursed film itself.

A large part of IT'S ALL TRUE was black & white, but I seem to recall the Carnival scenes being in color.
 
No, really it's true

Apparently, It's All True has another misfortune in it - from Amazon's review: "The film now known as It's All True is a combination of Welles's startling material--including the doomstruck episode called "Four Men on a Raft" (during production of which one of the men drowned)"

As far as Shrek goes: I can agree that the voice track Farley did was for the original script, and any changes at all would either require a Farley voice clone or recasting the part, which is what happened. But I wonder if it was recast just to avoid the controversy for a family film voiced by a now-dead actor who OD'ed. Or, it could have been they were hoping to take a long trip down Sequel City and wanted a voice they could use repeatedly.

Another weird film death - Bruce Lee, and the continuing mystery of his death and the incomplete film Game of Death. Of course, the title had DEATH in it, so it conforms to the idea of what would create a cult film death in the first place. I would really like to see the 40 or so minutes of restored footage for Game of Death, though.

I just noticed - Game Of Death = GOD?
 
Re: No, really it's true

Mr. R.I.N.G. said:
Another weird film death - Bruce Lee, and the continuing mystery of his death and the incomplete film Game of Death. Of course, the title had DEATH in it, so it conforms to the idea of what would create a cult film death in the first place. I would really like to see the 40 or so minutes of restored footage for Game of Death, though.

While we're on the curse topic, Academy-Award winner Gig Young, who appears in the film later killed his wife and then himself in a murder/suicide.
 
And lest we forget...

What about the curse of Superman?

George Reeves supposedly shoots himself (still an open verdict as his mother refused to believe George Reeves would kill himself.)

Christopher Reeves, no relation, and his accident.

Marlon Brando's son was charged for murder(?) I can't be sure.

And perhaps the most frightening thing is Margot Kider losing it! Losing years work on a novel, being found in someone's garden claiming "they're after me."

And even Clark Kent's high school sweetheart. She's now in Superman: The Early Years!!!!!

I may be wrong in some or all of these, please feel free to correct me.

As for the hanging Munchkin from Wizard of Oz, I read somewhere (possibly FT) that is was a peacock on set which looked amazing like a hung munchkin.

Also Red Heat, one of the stunt co-ordinators died whilst building a platform for Scwarzeneggar's fight scene at the beginning on the movie.
 
Orson Welles? He didn't need a voodoo curse. He was comprehensively cursed by the newspaper magnate, Randolph Hearst, after Citizen Kane, allegedly, did a number on Hearst's love affair with the actress, Marion Davies.

Rosemary's Baby? Didn't they also use the Chelsea Hotel for filming? Everybody's been there, including, John Lennon and (I remember you well, in the Chelsea Hotel) Janice Joplin.

Superman? Yep. That `curse' always pulls me up short. Not a good part to play it seems.
 
Hotel Erotique

I'm not sure there are any scenes in the Chelsea in ROSEMARY'S BABY -- it was filmed mostly inside the Dakota apartment building, where Lennon lived and was gunned down.

"Rosebud", the mysterious word the reporters track down in CITIZEN KANE, must've given Wm. R. Hearst fits the first time he watched the movie, because it was his nickname for his lover Ms. Davies' clitoris. Oh yes, his pet name for it, brandished about in a major picture about a megalomaniac newspaper tycoon... LOL

Welles was his own worst enemy in many ways, this tremendous urge to tweak authority's nose being one of the most obvious. He was also arrogant, dictatorial, and had mercurial mood shifts that left all but the most loyal breathless and often mortally insulted. His utter refusal to play along made him unwelcome in the game of Hollywood, of coursse, and that ended up ostracizing him and forcing him to do most of his work on shoestring budgets and on his own ticket. This made him take jobs for money, reducing his stature in acting, and so the slide was self-perpetuating.

The Superman curse hasn't thus far hurt either Dean Cain or Terry Hatcher, but then again, they're not exactly lighting up the Hollywood firmament, either, since their turns as Lois & Clark.

George Reeves was very possibly murdered, yes, and Christopher Brando was indeed indicted for murder. Not sure what happened in all that, though,which means they suppressed it fairly well.

Or that I pay less attention to Hollywood Babylon than others, perhaps.
 
Re: Various Replies

FraterLibre said:
Was the film at the Guggenheim about Carnival in Rio, shot in black and white? May well have been the voodoo-cursed film itself.
It was black and white, but I didn't see any carnival footage. TBH I didn't see more than a few seconds as I hadn't left myself enough time. What I do recall were shots of local architecture, churches, a bell tower, and two guys talking. That's about it I'm afraid. Total Philistine that I am. :p
 
Re: Hotel Erotique

FraterLibre said:
George Reeves was very possibly murdered, yes, and Christopher Brando was indeed indicted for murder. Not sure what happened in all that, though,which means they suppressed it fairly well.

Christian Brando served a few years in prison for the murder of his sister's boyfriend. Marlon made a heartfelt plea to the jury to go easy on him. After he was released, his sister killed herself. Some years later he had an affair with skank of skanks Bonny Lee Bakley, who wasn't sure if her pregnancy was the result of sex with Brando or Robert Blake. Paternity later show the child to be Blake's. Blake ended up marrying her, and the rest of the sleazy details we'll find out during the upcoming trial.
 
but, er, none of these films are actually 'haunted' are they? not like 'The Ring'. I did read somewhere that it was based on something, but i can't remember what, i think it was an updated version of an old Japanese legend...
 
The Ring?

Is THE RING based on The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi? It's 350 years old and is a treatise on confrontation as it applies to martial arts. Thus it can be extrapolated to apply to any and all interactions.

Musashi was a duelist and undefeated samurai, who took on all comers as he wandered post-Shogunate Japan.

In "The Earth Scroll" section of the book are nine suggestions. The ninth amuses me no end, when considered in terms of movie-making -- "Do not do anything useless."

Oh, my.
 
Re: The Ring?

FraterLibre said:
Is THE RING based on The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi?

In short...no.

In an extended version...no

quote taken from Ringworld

Released in early 1998 and made for a mere 1.2 million dollars, the Ring was the number 1 box office sensation of the year, smashing records in Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. It has been screened at international film festivals in the U.S. and abroad, winning awards in Brussels, Puchon, and New Zealand to name a few. As of this writing it remains commercially unavailable in the United States, though an American remake is in the final stages of post-production.

synopsis

Reporter Asakawa Reiko (played by actress Matsushima Nanako) is in the midst of investigating the latest urban myth-- a videotape that kills whomever watches it-- when her own niece dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances. Asakawa's quest to uncover the details behind her niece's death leads her straight to the videotape itself, which is as real as its awesome lethality. Now with only a week left before her life runs out, Asakawa must solve the riddle of the videotape and break its deadly curse... a curse made real by the destructive power of a girl named Sadako.

story behind the Ring

Ring, the first book of a trilogy by Japanese author Suzuki Koji, was originally adapted for the small screen in the lackluster Fuji TV Ring: Kanzen-ban ("The Complete Edition") in 1995. It has since spawned two sequels, a prequel, a radio drama, and two television series presenting alternate versions of Ring and its sequel Rasen, though none of these are quite in the same league as the 1998 release.

Go to the above website for the most complete information on the original series and all its offshoots.

Highly recommend the original films personally if you want a seriously effective ghost story and an effective mythology.
 
Sounds Excellent

Carnacki - thanks, the film sounds wonderful and I'll check into it.

Vaguely reminds me of the Monty Python segment about The Joke So Funny No One Could Hear It And Live.
 
Rocky and The Evil Dead

There was supposed to have been a ghost caught on film in one of the Rocky movies- the one when he fights in Russia i think? An image of a child is supposed to be seen reflecting of some windows or something? And at the beggining of the first Evil Dead movie you can see a man walking beside the bridge just before it nearly callapses under the weight of the car on the way to the remote cabin. There was not supposed to be anyone there! A crew member perhaps???
 
George reeves

From the evidence it seems like a fairly good chance Reeves was murdered..One oddity though.....Reeves ghost has been said to haunt his old house in Benedict Canyon....many of the people who've seen his ghost say that although dressed in the Superman costume...the costume was definately brown in color.

I always thought that was really rather odd and wondered why...and then ...about a month ago, when looking up something else for this particular thread, I ran across a Adventures of Superman type site which goes episode by episode..

Well to make a long story short..the writer explains that in the first black and white shows..the red and blue costume blended together and didnt stand out like it should...so...they used a brown and grey costume instead!

Note: A quick unrelated note on Orson Welles: there is a book out that tries to prove that Welles was responsible for the Black Dahlia Murder! (shrug) maybe he was cursed.:eek!!!!:
 
Welles Cut Short?

The book is Angel in Black by Max Allan Collins, the fellow who also wrote ROAD TO PERDITION by the way, the graphic novel's text and the movie. Angel in Black is a novel, and as fiction is not trying to prove anything. He's merely playing with the various elements back then, in order to come up with a rip-snorting good story.

And while it is a well-researched novel, it is nothing like James Ellroy's novel The Black Dahlia, for instance. Nor is it much like True Confessions by John Gregory Dunne, which uses the Dahlia killing as a background for a whole other story. Basically it's just an interesting alternative history who-done-itt, using his series character Heller, with a surprising answer, as in all his alternative history mysteries.

Recommended, and out in paperback now.
 
Blood From The Mummy's Tomb just might fit the bill of a cursed film. First Peter Cushing had to drop out of the heroic professor role of Prof. Julian Fuchs had to drop out of filming within days because his wife passed away, his part going to Andrew Keir. Then, with a week left for filming, director Seth Holt died and left no notes on how he expected the film to come together, so the producer had to finish the film for him.

Still a good film, but there was much human tragedy in it.
 
Bad Cholesterol

Sounds more a health than film curse, unless the events in the movie echo those of real life or something. I mean, to qualify as a cursed production I'd think there has to be some correlation between the movie, or the making of it, and the mysterious deaths and disasters surrounding or following it.

Sounds like a good movie, though -- did the producer come up with something good to end it all?

It's amazing they are ever allowed to start shooting without having the script and storyboards nailed down first. I mean, jeesh.
 
I addition to the the Rosemary's Baby/Roman Polanski/Sharon Tate/Charlie Manson/Dakota Building/Mark Chapman/John Lennon thing - The Lennon penned Beatles tune 'Dear Prudence' was written while visiting the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi's retreat in India - was written about another tenant at the retreat - Prudence Farrow, younger sister of Mia Farrow - star of Rosemary's Baby.

Pretty circular!

The aforementioned Chelsea Hotel wasn't used in the film, but was the placed whe Sid Vicious killed girlfriend Nancy Spungen.
 
Six Degrees

This is becoming a game of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon so I'll go ahead and ask -- can anyone fit Mr. Bacon into this?
 
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