'70 People Were Mauled': Inside the Most Dangerous Movie Ever Made in Hollywood

It is 1976 on a sun-scorched ranch in Acton, California. A veteran cinematographer leans into his camera viewfinder to frame a shot. Within seconds, an adult African lion pounces, sinking its teeth into his head and ripping his entire scalp clean off his skull.

He survives, receiving 220 stitches, and somehow returns to work a few weeks later.

Read nextIndie Director’s $500 Camera Refusal Sparks Fierce Debate Over Gear Elitism

Welcome to the set of *Roar*, universally regarded as the most chaotic, terrifying, and dangerous movie production in Hollywood history.

The mind-boggling story begins in the late 1960s. Hollywood power couple Noel Marshall and Tippi Hedren visit Africa and fall in love with big cats. Inspired by an abandoned house taken over by lions, they decide to make a movie promoting wildlife preservation.

When professional animal trainers tell them that putting dozens of untamed predators together in close quarters with humans is impossible, the couple makes a fatal decision: they decide to do it anyway.

Over the next decade, Marshall and Hedren turn their private California ranch into an untamed feline sanctuary, housing over 132 lions, tigers, leopards, and cougars. They invite their teenage children—including future star Melanie Griffith—to live on set alongside the predators.

What follows is absolute anarchy captured on 35mm film.

Because the animals are entirely un-trained, scenes quickly devolve into actual human struggle. Every scream in the movie is real. Every look of sheer terror across the actors' faces is completely authentic.

Marshall himself is bitten repeatedly, suffering from chronic blood poisoning and severe gangrene that nearly costs him his arm. Hedren fractures her skull when tossed by an elephant and requires dozens of stitches after a lioness bites her head. Griffith is mauled so badly across her face that she requires emergency reconstructive surgery.

Disaster does not stop at feline violence. In 1978, a sudden flood destroys the entire set, kills several animals, wipes out expensive gear, and sets the production back millions of dollars. To keep filming, the couple sells off their homes, land, and personal belongings.

By the time *Roar* finally reaches theaters in 1981, it grosses less than $2 million against a staggering $17 million budget. The film destroys their marriage, bankrupts their estate, and leaves behind a trail of blood and broken bones.

Today, modern film enthusiasts remain completely fixated on this legendary disaster. One commenter notes that watching the movie feels less like viewing a narrative feature and more like watching a terrifying snuff film where everyone miraculously survived. Another argued that despite the appalling safety record, the raw, unscripted intensity of the animal footage will never be matched in the age of green screens and computer graphics.

Was it an eco-masterpiece born from pure passion, or the ultimate monument to Hollywood ego and sheer negligence?

The show's hosts dig into this incredible story on the latest episode of the podcast.