1928 Hollywood flooded a giant Noah’s Ark set with 600,000 gallons of water and hundreds of extras because the director wanted “realism.” At least 3 people died, one lost a leg, and the lead actress developed pneumonia.

What makes Noah’s Ark so infamous is that Warner Bros. treated it as a massive prestige epic, but its pursuit of spectacle came at an extraordinary human cost.

During the flood sequence, director Michael Curtiz reportedly unleashed roughly 600,000 gallons of water onto a packed set of extras, then, according to cinematographer Byron Haskin, escalated the chaos further by throwing two-by-fours into the torrent because people were not reacting violently enough.

At least three extras died, one performer’s leg was amputated, lead actress Dolores Costello developed pneumonia, and lead actor George O’Brien reportedly suffered temporary blindness from heavy makeup while also losing toenails during production.

Rather than just being remembered as a biblical blockbuster, the film has become one of the clearest examples of how dangerously unregulated early Hollywood filmmaking could be.

Sources: