[The Myth and Reality of Cursed Movie Productions]-[Selects: Can movies be cursed?]

Stuff You Should Know · B2 · 2026-05-09

📋 Summary

The Illusion of the 'Cursed' Movie

In this episode of Stuff You Should Know, hosts Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant explore the persistent cultural fascination with the concept of the "cursed" movie. The primary thesis, heavily supported by their source material, is that movie curses are largely a narrative construct—a way for audiences and marketers to sensationalize tragic events that occur on film sets. As the hosts emphasize, many of these "curses" are simply the result of dangerous working conditions, poor safety standards in early cinema, or the statistical inevitability of tragedy when dealing with large crews over extended periods.

The Deadly Realities of Early Filmmaking

The hosts point out that many "cursed" sets were actually just sites of gross negligence. For instance, the 1928 film Noah’s Ark resulted in three extras drowning during a flood sequence, while the 1941 film They Died with Their Boots On saw extras killed in a cavalry charge. These incidents were not supernatural; they were the consequence of a lack of safety protocols. The hosts highlight that when one ignores the context of the era and selectively highlights isolated tragedies, it becomes easy to manufacture a narrative of a "curse."

Case Studies in Manufactured Curses

Poltergeist: Often cited due to the untimely deaths of actors like Dominique Dunne (murdered) and Heather O'Rourke (complications from intestinal blockage), the hosts argue these are textbook tragedies that, while heartbreaking, do not constitute a supernatural occurrence. They note that even actors like Will Sampson and Julian Beck died of documented health issues, yet their deaths are frequently shoehorned into the "curse" mythology.
The Wizard of Oz: This production was notoriously dangerous. Buddy Ebsen (the original Tin Man) suffered severe lung irritation from aluminum powder, and Margaret Hamilton (the Wicked Witch) suffered burns from pyrotechnics. The hosts debunk the urban legend of a "hanged munchkin," explaining that it is merely a misidentified bird silhouette in the background.
The Omen: This film is frequently labeled as cursed due to a series of "close calls," such as planes carrying the producer and Gregory Peck being struck by lightning. However, the hosts provide a skeptical perspective, noting that these incidents, while alarming, are often exaggerated or lack concrete evidence—such as the elusive street sign pointing to the town of "Omen" at a distance of 66.6 kilometers, which has never been photographed.
The Conqueror: This is perhaps the most grounded example of a "curse." The film was shot in Utah, less than 150 miles from a nuclear test site. A significant number of the cast and crew, including John Wayne, developed cancer. While the hosts acknowledge the high statistical rate of cancer (roughly three times the expected rate), they also note that many of these individuals were heavy smokers, suggesting that while the radiation was likely a contributing factor, the "curse" label obscures the complex environmental and health realities of that era.
Superman: The "curse" of this role is attributed to the tragic lives of George Reeves and Christopher Reeve. George Reeves struggled with typecasting and depression, while Christopher Reeve suffered a paralyzing horse-riding accident. The hosts treat these not as supernatural events, but as the sad reality of human fragility and the pressures of Hollywood fame.

Unproduced Films and Statistical Anomalies

The hosts conclude by discussing projects like A Confederacy of Dunces and Atuk, which are said to be cursed because multiple actors slated to star in them (John Belushi, John Candy, Chris Farley) died prematurely. The hosts frame this as a dark statistical anomaly rather than a curse, noting that these were all "big dudes" working in a high-stress industry. They argue that the human tendency to find patterns in chaos is what drives the "cursed movie" mythos, distracting us from the more mundane, yet often more tragic, explanations behind these events.

🎯Key Sentences

Those people are starving for banter.

try to make sense of how we survived it.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

I just totally yeah, mowed over, that's all right.

I hate it when they talk to you and expect you to talk back.

Expand All

📝Key Phrases

starving for banter

unpack what went down

make sense of

mowed over

didn't care for

Expand All

📖 Transcript

This is an I Heart podcast.

Guaranteed human.

Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy.

Not quite.

On Humor Me with Robert Smigel and Friends.

Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

Uh, superman uh, the name of the show that i watched was called adventures of superman and that was straight up from the 1950s and still in reruns in the mid 70s at least, Because that's where I watched it and that was the one starring George Reeves as the not even very muscular and slightly tubby Superman.

And it was the town of Omen, O-M-N-E-N, at a distance of 66.6 miles. kilometers bam now is that true there's no way it's true because i looked up on the internet that sign trying to find any picture of that sign if that sign existed there would be so many pictures from tourists taking taking photos of it on the internet there's not a single one you think from back then those pictures would still be around The sign would probably still be around.

Or study on the web version →