Movie Deaths On-Set, Sorted by Gross in 2023 Dollars
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1. Across the Border (1914)
Short, Western
Curley Smith, a lieutenant of the Texas Rangers, while patrolling the international line became suspicious of a load of hay which he saw going southward. Leaving a note telling of his ... See full summary »
Director: Otis Thayer | Stars: Edmund Cobb, Grace McHugh, Ted Hardcastle, Arthur Lewis
A boat that cast member Grace McHugh was on capsized while crossing the Arkansas River. Camera operator Owen Carter jumped in to save her, but both drowned.
2. The Captive (1915)
50 min | Drama, Romance, War
With her brother killed Sonya is given Turkish captive Mahmud to do the hard work on the farm. After they become fond of each other he strikes a Turkish officer. When peace arrives, his ... See full summary »
Director: Cecil B. DeMille | Stars: Blanche Sweet, House Peters, Gerald Ward, Page Peters
Votes: 160 | Gross: $0.06M
One extra shot in the head when a gun was thought to contain blanks, but was using live ammunition.
3. The Valley of the Giants (1919)
50 min | Drama, Romance
Rival logging companies battle for the Valley of the Giants (redwood trees) when a young engineer returns home to help his father by building a new rail line to transport the logs to the ... See full summary »
Director: James Cruze | Stars: Wallace Reid, Grace Darmond, William Brunton, Charles Ogle
Votes: 44
Actor Walter Reid was badly injured in a train crash. The studio freely supplied morphine for the pain, and Reid eventually died of substance abuse disorder four years later.
4. The Skywayman (1920)
50 min | Drama
Captain Norman Craig returns from the Lafayette Escadrille as a shell-shocked veteran suffering from amnesia. With the help of Dr. Wayne Leveridge, his girlfriend Virginia devises a plan to help him restore his memory.
Director: James P. Hogan | Stars: Ormer Locklear, Louise Lovely, Sam De Grasse, Ted McCann
Votes: 18
Pilots Milton Elliot and Ormer Locklear were killed when their plane crashed at DeMille Airport while filming night-scenes.
5. Around the World in Eighteen Days (1923)
Passed | Adventure
The adventures of Phineas Fogg the 3rd, grandson of the famous globe trotter of Jules Verne fame, in his effort to go around the world in 18 days to get proxies from widely scattered ... See full summary »
Directors: B. Reeves Eason, Robert F. Hill | Stars: William Desmond, Laura La Plante, William De Vaull, Wade Boteler
Votes: 20
Stunt pilot Jean Perkins was climbing a rope ladder on the side of a plane, and fell to his death.
6. Souls for Sale (1923)
Passed | 90 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A young woman hits Hollywood, determined to become a star.
Director: Rupert Hughes | Stars: Eleanor Boardman, Mae Busch, Barbara La Marr, Richard Dix
Votes: 1,106
Actress Barbara La Marr injured her ankle during filming, and was prescribed cocaine and morphine for the pain. She died of substance abuse disorder three years later.
7. The Great Circus Mystery (1925)
Adventure, Action
Director: Jay Marchant | Stars: Joe Bonomo, Louise Lorraine, Robert Graves, Robert Seiter
Votes: 26
Stuntmen Frank Tully and Tony Brack were killed in a car crash (footage of which was left in the movie).
8. Percy (1925)
60 min | Comedy
Percy Rogeen's father fears his son will never be a man, but only a mama's boy. When a friend of Mr. Rogeen promises to help the boy shape up, the father is delighted. But the help comes in... See full summary »
Director: Roy William Neill | Stars: Charles Ray, Louise Dresser, Joseph Kilgour, Clyde McAtee
Stunt swimmer William Harbaugh drowned in the Colorado River near Laguna Dam.
(My search was unclear, but this is either aka The Desert Fiddler, or simply based on the same source material as a 1924 movie named The Desert Fiddler, where Harbaugh died during filming.)
9. The King of Wild Horses (1924)
50 min | Drama, Western
A stallion known as "The Black" is the leader of a band of wild horses. A cowboy is determined to capture and break him.
Director: Fred Jackman | Stars: Charley Chase, Rex, Edna Murphy, Sidney De Gray
Votes: 49
A horse fell on C.P. "Chip" Morgan right after filming was complete, and he died on the way to the hospital.
(Aka Rex, the King of the Wild Horses)
10. Raffles: The Amateur Cracksman (1925)
56 min | Adventure, Crime, Drama
A.J. Raffles and his friend Bunny travel aboard a luxury liner where a necklace is stolen. The Amateur Cracksman is believed to have done it. This unusual jewel thief returns the pieces ... See full summary »
Director: King Baggot | Stars: House Peters, Miss DuPont, Hedda Hopper, Fred Esmelton
Votes: 63
Actor Kate Lester was killed by a space heater explosion in her dressing room.
11. The Warrens of Virginia (1924)
70 min | Drama, Romance
As the Civil War begins Ned Burton leaves his Southern love Agatha Warren and joins the Union army. He is later protected and saved from death by Agatha in spite of her loyalty to the South.
Director: Elmer Clifton | Stars: George Backus, Rosemary Hill, Martha Mansfield, Robert Andrews
Votes: 20
Actress Martha Mansfield was killed after her dress caught fire.
12. Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
Not Rated | 143 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A Jewish prince seeks to find his family and revenge himself upon his childhood friend who had him wrongly imprisoned.
Directors: Fred Niblo, Charles Brabin, Christy Cabanne, J.J. Cohn, Rex Ingram | Stars: Ramon Novarro, Francis X. Bushman, May McAvoy, Betty Bronson
Votes: 7,975 | Gross: $12.45M
A stunt performer was killed when one wheel of their chariot broke, and they were thrown 30 feet into the air to land on a pile of lumber. They died of their injuries.
Three Italian extras possibly drowned as well, but that is unconfirmed. And around 100 horses died in the film, either during the chariot race, or by being shot due to there being no veterinarian care on-set.
After the casualties on the chariot race outdoor set was found unusable, the entire race was reshot on an indoor soundstage. Even then, five horses were killed.
13. The King of the Jungle (1927)
Passed | 200 min | Action, Adventure
Director: Webster Cullison | Stars: Elmo Lincoln, Sally Long, George Kotsonaros, Gordon Standing
Votes: 23
Gordon Stanley was mauled and killed by a lion.
14. Noah's Ark (1928)
Passed | 135 min | Drama, War
The Biblical story of Noah and the Great Flood, with a parallel story of soldiers in the First World War.
Directors: Michael Curtiz, Darryl F. Zanuck | Stars: Dolores Costello, George O'Brien, Noah Beery, Louise Fazenda
Votes: 917 | Gross: $1.37M
Three people died in the filming of "the great flood".
15. The Trail of '98 (1928)
Passed | 87 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Fortune hunters from all over the country rush to the Klondike in 1897 to seek their fortunes in the gold are tested by hardships of the journey.
Director: Clarence Brown | Stars: Dolores Del Río, Ralph Forbes, Karl Dane, Harry Carey
Votes: 446
Stunt men Howard Daughters, Jerome Bautin, and Red Thompson were killed on Abercrombie Rapids in Alaska
16. The Aviator (1929)
Passed | 75 min | Comedy, Romance
Misadventures of a bogus flyer.
Director: Roy Del Ruth | Stars: Edward Everett Horton, Patsy Ruth Miller, Johnny Arthur, Lee Moran
Votes: 24
Cameraman Alvin Knechtel and actor and stunt pilot William Hauber were killed in a plane crash while scouting for locations.
17. Thunder (1929)
Passed | 86 min | Action, Drama, Romance
"Grumpy" Anderson is an old railroad engineer that is obsessed with keeping his train on schedule, no matter the cost. His two sons are also rail men, but don't share his single mindedness,... See full summary »
Director: William Nigh | Stars: Lon Chaney, Phyllis Haver, James Murray, Tom Keene
Votes: 48
Lon Chaney got artificial snow lodged in his throat, which caused a serious infection, pnemonia, and throat cancer. Chaney died in 1930.
18. Hell's Angels (1930)
Passed | 127 min | Drama, War
Brothers Monte and Ray leave Oxford to join the Royal Flying Corps. Ray loves Helen; Helen enjoys an affair with Monte; before they leave on their mission over Germany they find her in still another man's arms.
Directors: Howard Hughes, Edmund Goulding, James Whale | Stars: Ben Lyon, James Hall, Jean Harlow, John Darrow
Votes: 5,969 | Gross: $5.45M
Three pilots were killed while filming: Phil Jones (mechanic), Al Johnson, and Clement Philips
19. Such Men Are Dangerous (1930)
83 min | Drama
A wealthy and powerful industrialist changes his identity to avenge himself on the wife that spurned him on their wedding night.
Director: Kenneth Hawks | Stars: Warner Baxter, Catherine Dale Owen, Hedda Hopper, Claud Allister
Votes: 105
Ten men were killed when two camera planes collided over the ocean. Only five bodies were recovered.
20. The Viking (1931)
Passed | 75 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
Luke, a young sailor and fisherman, who thinks he is jinx-ridden, has to be persuaded, and taunted,before he will join a sealing-expedition in the Artic; first by his sweetheart, so he can ... See full summary »
Directors: Varick Frissell, George Melford | Stars: Charles Starrett, Louise Huntington, Arthur Vinton, Bob Bartlett
Votes: 186
After primary filming was complete, co-director Varick Frissell wanted more shots of ice floes. After the actual ship The Viking set forth to collect those shots, the ship became stuck in ice, and dynamite aboard accidentally detonated. Twenty-seven men were killed.
21. The Crusades (1935)
Passed | 125 min | Adventure, Drama, History
King Richard and the Third Crusade (1190-1192) are given the DeMille treatment with more spectacle than history.
Director: Cecil B. DeMille | Stars: Loretta Young, Henry Wilcoxon, Ian Keith, C. Aubrey Smith
Votes: 1,291
Four horses were severely injured and later euthanized after a stunt had riders fall into a moat. The riders were also seriously injured but were not euthanized.
22. The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936)
Approved | 115 min | Action, Adventure, Romance
A major countermands orders and attacks to avenge a previous massacre of men, women, and children.
Director: Michael Curtiz | Stars: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Patric Knowles, Henry Stephenson
Votes: 5,480
A stuntman was killed after falling off a horse, and falling onto a sword angled straight up. Dozens of horses were also killed during filming.
23. Jesse James (1939)
GP | 106 min | Western
After railroad agents forcibly evict the James family from their family farm, Jesse and Frank turn to banditry for revenge.
Directors: Henry King, Irving Cummings | Stars: Tyrone Power, Henry Fonda, Nancy Kelly, Randolph Scott
Votes: 4,947
A horse was killed while being ridden off a cliff and into a river. This finally led to the American Humane Society opening a Hollywood office to monitor film productions.
24. Mein Leben für Irland (1941)
90 min | Drama
"My Life for Ireland" is a Nazi-made anti-British propaganda film about a group of Dublin schoolboys who unwittingly become pawns of the British and seek redemption by avenging their fallen IRA fathers in the Irish War of Independence.
Director: Max W. Kimmich | Stars: Anna Dammann, René Deltgen, Paul Wegener, Werner Hinz
Votes: 79
Note: This is a Fascist knot C propaganda film. Several extras were killed by a live landmine.
25. They Died with Their Boots On (1941)
Approved | 140 min | War, Western
A highly fictionalized account of the life of George Armstrong Custer from his arrival at West Point in 1857 to his death at the battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876.
Director: Raoul Walsh | Stars: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Arthur Kennedy, Charley Grapewin
Votes: 6,909
Three horsemen died during filming of the calvary charge. Two of them assumably died with their boots on, one (Jack Budlong, who was impaled upon their own sword when their horse tripped), died in the hospital hours later.
26. Lost Canyon (1942)
Passed | 61 min | Western
Johnny is accused of robbing and bank and runs off into the hills. Hoppy tries to prove his innocence and get the real bad guys.
Director: Lesley Selander | Stars: William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Jay Kirby, Lola Lane
Votes: 174
Charles B. Murphy was mortally injured when a wagon overturned, and later died in the hospital.
27. The Royal Mounted Rides Again (1945)
Passed | 221 min | Action, Western
Mine owner Jackson Decker orders his manager to obtain Tom Bailey's milling machinery no matter what the cost. When Bailey is found murdered, suspicion naturally falls upon the mine owner ... See full summary »
Directors: Lewis D. Collins, Ray Taylor | Stars: George Dolenz, Bill Kennedy, Daun Kennedy, Paul E. Burns
Votes: 51
Addison "Jack" Randall was riding his horse full-speed, and died while attempting to grab his hat which had fallen off his head. Jack struck and was mortally wounded by a tree he was passing.
28. The Conqueror (1956)
Approved | 111 min | Adventure, Biography, History
Mongol chief Temujin battles against Tartar armies and for the love of the Tartar princess Bortai. Temujin becomes the emperor Genghis Khan.
Director: Dick Powell | Stars: John Wayne, Susan Hayward, Pedro Armendáriz, Agnes Moorehead
Votes: 3,865 | Gross: $4.50M
This movie is notorious for causing cancer due to it being filmed in Utah, but 137 miles downwind from Nevadan nuclear test sites. Ninety-one out of 220 crew members had developed some kind of cancer over the decades, but it's not known if this was higher than average rates.
29. The Horse Soldiers (1959)
Approved | 120 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
In 1863, a Union outfit is sent behind Confederate lines in Mississippi to destroy enemy railroads but a captive southern belle and the unit's doctor cause frictions within ranks.
Director: John Ford | Stars: John Wayne, William Holden, Constance Towers, Judson Pratt
Votes: 11,650 | Gross: $1.75M
Stuntman Fred Kennedy was killed in a horse fall.
30. Flower on the Stone (1962)
71 min | Drama
Set in a mining town in the Donets Basin, it centers on a clash between the political establishment and a religious cult which infiltrates the community.
Director: Sergei Parajanov | Stars: Inna Burduchenko, Lyudmila Cherepanova, Boris Dmokhovsky, Dmitri Franko
Votes: 152
Actress Inna Burduchenko died 2 weeks following severe 3rd-degree burns.
31. The War Lover (1962)
Approved | 105 min | Adventure, Drama, War
In 1943, while stationed in Britain, arrogant Captain Buzz Rickson is in command of a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber, but his recklessness is endangering everyone around him.
Director: Philip Leacock | Stars: Steve McQueen, Robert Wagner, Shirley Anne Field, Gary Cockrell
Votes: 2,120
Stunt parachutist Mike Reilly drowned in the English Channel while jumping from a B-17 bomber.
32. Zhivyot takoy paren (1964)
101 min | Comedy, Romance
The story of an Altai truck driver, a kind and outgoing person, who loves life. But it turns out that he can also be a hero, when he prevents the explosion of a gasoline truck by risking his life.
Director: Vasiliy Shukshin | Stars: Leonid Kuravlyov, Lidiya Chashchina, Larisa Burkova, Renita Grigoryeva
Votes: 558
Actor Boris Balakin, suffering from a fever, died of a heart attack on-set.
33. The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)
Approved | 142 min | Adventure, Drama
After an oil company plane crashes in the Sahara, the survivors are buoyed with hope by one of the passengers, an airplane designer who plans for them to build a flyable plane from the wreckage.
Director: Robert Aldrich | Stars: James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Peter Finch, Hardy Krüger
Votes: 22,410
Pilot Paul Mantz crashed their plane and was killed during a low pass.
34. Lt. Robin Crusoe, U.S.N. (1966)
G | 110 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
A Navy pilot is marooned on an island with a headhunter's daughter and outcast tribal women.
Director: Byron Paul | Stars: Dick Van Dyke, Nancy Kwan, Akim Tamiroff, Arthur Malet
Votes: 1,564 | Gross: $22.57M
Cameraman Robert King Baggot was killed during filming when a large wave hit his boat and washed him overboard, where he drowned.
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