Stories Behind Famous Movie Scenes

During the title number of Singin' in the Rain, Gene Kelly had a 103 degree fever.

Margaret Hamilton severely burned her face in the scene where the Witch disappears in The Wizard of Oz.

During the opening scene of The Godfather, the cat in Vito Corleone's lap was a stray that wandered into the scene.

Roy Scheider improvised the line "You're gonna need a bigger boat" in Jaws.

The shower stabbing scene in Psycho took seven days to shoot, using seventy different camera angles, but only lasts forty-five seconds in the movie. Chocolate syrup was used for blood, and a Casaba Melon used to mimic the sound of a knife entering flesh

In Raiders of the Lost Ark, Harrison Ford was meant to have an elaborate sword fight, but he was severely ill and asked director Steven Spielberg, “Why don’t we just shoot the sucker?” leading to the iconic moment.

Jimmy Stewart tapped into his own trauma and depression when George Bailey breaks down crying and praying in It’s a Wonderful Life. He spontaneously broke down as he became overwhelmed with the emotion of the scene.

In National Lampoon's Animal House, John Belushi's performance in the cafeteria scene was entirely improvised. When he began piling food on his tray, director John Landis urged the camera operator to "stay with him." The infamous "I'm a zit" gag was also improvised, and the reaction from the cast is completely genuine.

In Midnight Cowboy, a real taxi drove through the blockades and almost hit Dustin Hoffman. He pounded on the cab and improvised the line "Hey, I'm walkin' here!"