Movie scenes made gruesome by real events

Movies are supposed to be the great escape, the path to the fantastic where the mundane and boring are left behind. We love movies for the lies they tell us and cherish the memories they help us create.

Sometimes, however, reality comes along and breaks the spell. A real-life event occurs that makes the film unbearable to watch, shattering the illusion. Let’s dive in!

All Dogs Go to Heaven: Burt Reynolds Says Goodbye to Murdered Child Actress

All dogs go to heaven was an animated film released in 1989 that told the story of a streetwise German Shepherd named Charlie (voiced by Burt Reynolds), who is murdered but escapes from heaven to seek revenge. Keep in mind that this is a children’s film.

Charlie has spurned eternal bliss and meets a young orphan girl named Anne-Marie. The two eventually become friends. In the film’s climactic scene, the ever-selfish and cynical Charlie sacrifices his life to save the girl, knowing he is going to hell.

Again, it’s a children’s movie.

However, his noble act gains him a reprieve and Charlie is allowed to return to heaven. He returns in ghost form to say his final goodbyes, asking Anne-Marie in a tear-jerking scene to take care of herself and promising that they will meet again.

As sad as that scene is, it is made even sadder by the horrific truth we now know: the child actress who voiced Anne Marie was the victim of horrific abuse and was brutally murdered a month before the film was released.

Judith Eva Barsi was a talented child actress and by the age of 10 she had already made her mark on Hollywood, regularly landing major roles on television and even landing a role in Jaws: The Revenge. Don Bluth, the creator of All dogs go to heaven cast Judith as Ducky in Land before time and was so pleased with her performance that he cast her again in his next film.

Behind the scenes, however, a drama was unfolding. Judith’s father, an alcoholic with violent tendencies and anger issues, had been physically abusive for years and regularly beat his daughter and wife. This led to Judith having a breakdown in front of her agent and being sent to a child psychologist, who in turn was forced to contact Child Protective Services. The authorities relented after Judith’s mother promised to divorce and leave her husband, but unfortunately, she eventually changed her mind. On July 28, 1988, the abusive father shot his wife and daughter to death and then turned the gun on himself.

Goodfellas: Fictional Mafia Enforcer Turns Out to Be Real Mafia Enforcer

Good guysMartin Scorsese’s gangster crime drama is considered one of the greatest films ever made, praised for its realistic portrayal of the Mafia. The film follows the rise and fall of Henry Hill (played by Ray Liotta) as he rises through the ranks of organized crime.

The film is filled with terrifying characters, killers and criminal enforcers, but none are scarier than real-life mob enforcer Louis Eppolito. Eppolito appears briefly in a scene where the narrator introduces the criminal gang as Fat Andy. Eppolito got the role after befriending Joe Pesci at a bar.

Eppolito was a police officer long believed to have ties to the notorious Gambino crime family. In 2006, he was convicted of eight counts of murder, racketeering, extortion, and obstruction of justice. He was sentenced to life plus 100 years in prison and died in prison in 2019.

Wizard of Oz: Judy Garland Went Through Hell During Production

Wizard of Oz is the pinnacle of the Hollywood Golden Era: the story of a young girl who is transported to a magical world, sets out on a fairytale adventure to discover herself, and returns wiser and more determined than ever. It’s an inspiring story, if you don’t learn anything about what happened behind the scenes. Because that’s the stuff of nightmares.

The lead actress, Judy Garland, was an up-and-coming studio star, but fame came at a high price: she had been addicted to pills since she was 10, prescribed to control her weight and keep her alert during the long hours of filming. Garland was fed a steady diet of sleeping pills and “pep” pills, chicken soup and black coffee, and was reportedly forced to smoke 80 cigarettes a day just to have no appetite.

She was also physically abused, with one of the producers repeatedly punching her in the face when she kept ruining scenes for laughing. It turns out that when you pump people full of pills, they can’t control their emotions. Who would have thought?

Finally, Garland, then 17, was routinely sexually abused by the actors playing the Munchkins, who teased her and even put their hands up her skirt.

And that’s without even mentioning the terrible safety conditions. The cast was at one point covered in artificial asbestos snow, given toxic makeup and suffered injuries that would mark them for life.