Cinema history is filled with difficult productions, but the making of the 1981 film Roar stands alone as a catalog of catastrophe. Marketing materials described the movie as a comedy, yet the behind-the-scenes reality was a horror story. The production did not use visual effects or stunt doubles for the dangerous scenes. Instead, the director and crew worked with over 100 untrained lions, tigers, leopards, and jaguars. This reckless approach resulted in verified injuries to 72 different cast and crew members.
A Cast of Untamed Predators Director
Noel Marshall and his wife, actress Tippi Hedren, conceived the project. They moved their family to a ranch north of Los Angeles to film the story of a naturalist living with wild cats. The cast included Marshall, Hedren, and their real-life children, including a young Melanie Griffith. The animals on set were not circus performers. They were wild beasts with no professional training. The plan was to capture natural interactions, but the result was uncontrolled aggression.
Carnage on the Set
The injuries sustained during filming were horrific and life-threatening. The film’s cinematographer, Jan de Bont, was scalped by a lion during a shoot. He required 120 stitches to reattach his scalp. Melanie Griffith suffered a severe mauling by a lioness that left her with facial trauma requiring 50 stitches and reconstructive surgery. Tippi Hedren endured a fractured leg after a five-ton elephant named Tembo stepped on her. This injury led to gangrene. She was also bitten on the head by a lion, with the animal’s teeth scraping against her skull.
Director in the Line of Fire
Noel Marshall suffered perhaps the most physical punishment of anyone on set. He was bitten so frequently that he eventually developed gangrene. In one specific incident, a curious lion inflicted eight puncture wounds on his leg. The director refused to stop filming despite the constant bloodshed. The production was further plagued by a massive flood from a nearby dam that destroyed sets and equipment.
A Financial and Physical Disaster
The film took eleven years to complete. The budget ballooned to $17 million as delays and hospitalizations mounted. When Roar finally opened, it was a box office failure that grossed only $2 million. The movie remains a document of extreme peril. Every look of terror on the actors’ faces is genuine. The 72 recorded injuries prove that this production pushed the boundaries of safety further than any other movie before or since.
The 1981 film "Roar" is widely considered the most dangerous movie ever made.
It featured 100 untrained lions and tigers.
The production resulted in confirmed injuries to 72 cast and crew members.
These were not stunt accidents.
They were attacks by wild animals…🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/KttMlpyvbm
— Fascinating True Stories (@FascinatingTrue) January 3, 2026