The Most Infamous Cursed Movies of All Time By Randolph  [72 more lists]

A seemingly surprising number of principals involved in the making of the John Wayne film ""The Conqueror"" succumbed to cancer in the years following the film's release. Director Dick Powell died of cancer less than 7 years after the movie's 1956 debut. Actor Pedro Armendáriz was diagnosed with terminal cancer in the early 1960s, filmed one last movie (the James Bond thriller ""From Russia With Love"") to leave his family with some funds, and then took his own life in 1963. Actress Agnes Moorehead died of cancer a decade later in 1974. Thereafter, BOTH principal stars - John Wayne and Susan Hayward - were diagnosed with the disease and died within 4 years of one another.

Combine this with the knowledge that above-ground atomic tests were run at Nevada's Yucca Flats - very near the area where the movie was shot, in Utah's Snow Canyon State Park - and it seems obvious what happened. The cast and crew were exposed to radiation while making the movie (a rather ridiculous take on the Genghis Khan story) and then proceeded to die from the disease. This theory has largely been dismissed as an urban legend in later years, as the deaths could likely be traced to either the unhealthy lifestyles of some of the afflicted or just to the typical proportion of people who eventually contract cancer during the course of their lives.

"The Omen" is a film about a couple raising a child that may in fact be the son of the Devil. (Shades of "Rosemary's Baby"!) So it's only natural that there would be some superstitious rumblings around the production to begin with. But the making of "The Omen" really was surrounded on all sides by tragedy.

Two months before filming was due to begin on the film, star Gregory Peck's son committed suicide. Later that year, when Peck was flying to London to make the movie, his plane was struck by lightening. As if that weren't enough? A few weeks later, executive producer Mace Neufeld was flying to London and his plane was ALSO struck by lightening. (I thought that wasn't supposed to strike twice!)

Neufeld's hotel was later bombed by the IRA, as was a restaurant where a number of the cast and crew were planning to dine. A tiger handler on the site was killed in a freak accident. Another plane hired to do aerial work on the film ended up crashing while working on another production, killing everyone on board.

Even after the film was finished, strange troubles and tragedies seemed to abound. Eight months after working on the film, special effects consultant and designer John Richardson suffered injuries in a head-on car collision in Holland that killed his assistant, Liz Moore. A road sign by the crash read: Ommen, 66.6 km. Richardson was in Holland working on the war film "A Bridge Too Far," along with a colleague from the set of "The Omen," stuntman Alf Joint. While performing a standard stunt on "A Bridge Too Far," jumping off of a rooftop into a large inflatable cushion below, Joint slipped awkwardly and was badly hurt. He later told friends he felt like he had been pushed.

Rumors of the curse of the "Omen" have abounded for years, and director Richard Donner, Neufeld and others associated with the film eventually spoke in interviews about the superstitions. Actor Harvey Stevens - who played young Damien in the movie - and Gregory Peck both refused to speak about the curse for the remainder of their careers.

Mel Gibson's retelling of the Biblical story of Christ's death faced numerous challenges while filming, and they weren't even related to the infamous director's run-ins with the law.

Star Jim Caviezel, who starred in the film as Jesus, suffered numerous injuries during the production, including being struck by lightning during filming (witnesses reported seeing actual smoke rising from his head), dislocating his shoulder while carrying the crucifix, and having a portion of his flesh ripped off accidentally while being fake-whipped.

The film's assistant director, Jan Michelini, was also struck by lightning - TWICE - on the movie's set. John Debney, who wrote the score for the film, has referred to the job as the most difficult assignment of his life, and claims that he closely felt the presence of Satan in his studio while working on the film.

The film's release also brought with it a slew of tragedies. On the movie's opening day, actor Carl Anderson - who played Judas in the film "Jesus Christ Superstar" - died following a prolonged fight with leukemia. As well, Kansas advertising sales manager Peggy Scott, died after suffering heart failure during the film's brutal crucifixion scene.

"The Crow" starred Brandon Lee, son of the legendary martial arts star Bruce Lee, as an anti-hero who was murdered by gang members and then rose from the grave to seek revenge. Only 8 days before the film was scheduled to wrap production, Lee was killed after being accidentally shot in the abdomen. A metal tip from a dummy bullet had become lodged in a prop gun that was then fired at Lee, who died from his injury at 28.

The incident takes on creepy overtones when you consider the pedigree of Lee's father, Bruce, who died at the age of 32 from an acute cerebral edema due to a reaction to compounds present in the drug Equagesic. Bruce had also been filming a movie when he died, 1973's "Game of Death."

A variety of supernatural causes have been offered for the early demise of both father and son. Many of these legends are tied to an early recollection of Bruce's, which he describes as seeing a ghost - looking like a black shadow - which held him down and would refuse to release him. It's said that, when Bruce Lee's father died at the age of 64, Bruce himself had a premonition that he would only live to half his dad's age, 32 years. Some have also speculated that Bruce, and possibly even his son, may have been a target of organized crime. (Brandon himself had allegedly believed that there was a "curse" on his family, which may have related to an incident when his grandfather became a target for shady Chinese businessmen.)

"Rebel Without a Cause" introduced the world to a variety of young actors, many of whom would meet grim fates in the years following the film's release.

Most famously, the film's iconic star, James Dean, was killed while racing his Porsche 550 Spyder before the film’s release, at the age of 24. He would become one of the most recognizable and beloved actors of his generation, despite only ever making 3 films.

Dean’s co-star Natalie Wood, drowned amidst unusual circumstances in November of 1981. She and her husband, actor Robert Wagner, and their friend, the actor Christopher Walken, had gone to Catalina Island for a weekend, and were staying on the Wagners' yacht (The Splendour). Sometime during the night, it's thought that Wood awoke and attempted to get off of the boat, causing her to slip and fall, and eventually drown. (Her body was found floating face down nearby, wearing a jacket, nightgown and socks.) A witness from another yacht later recalled hearing Wood calling for help, only to be ignored by someone else on the boat. The death was deemed an accidental drowning, but suspicions of foul play have always surrounded the case, and Wood's sister Lana has made attempts to get the LA County Sheriff's Department to reopen the investigation.

Another "Rebel" actor, Sal Mineo, died five years before Wood, after being stabbed to death in an alley in West Hollywood, California. He was 37.

Finally, in a last bizarre twist on the "Rebel" curse story, Beverly Hills orthopedic surgeon Troy McHenry fitted his own car with parts from the Porsche Spyder in which James Dean had died. A year later, he too was killed, when his Porsche Spyder hit a tree.