Movie scenes made horrific by real events

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

Sometimes though, reality steps in and breaks the spell. A real-life event comes out that makes the movie unbearable to watch, shattering the illusion. Let’s dive in!

All Dogs Go To Heaven: Burt Reynolds bids farewell to a murdered child actress

All Dogs Go To Heaven was an animated movie that came out in 1989 and told the story of a street-smart German shepherd named Charlie (voiced by Burt Reynolds), who gets murdered but escapes Heaven to exact revenge. Keep in mind, that this is a children’s movie.

Having scorned eternal bliss, Charlie meets a young orphan girl named Anne-Marie and the two of them end up friends. In the movie’s climactic scene, the always self-serving and cynical Charlie sacrifices his life to save the girl, knowing fully well he is heading for Hell.

Again, it is a children’s movie.

His noble act though grants him a reprieve and Charlie is allowed back to Heaven. He returns in ghost form to say his final goodbye and in a tear-jerker of a scene asks Anne-Marie to take care of herself and promises they will meet again.

As sad as that scene is though, it is made infinitely sadder given the horrifying truth we know now: the child actress voicing Anne Marie was the victim of horrendous abuse and was brutally murdered one month before the movie was released.

Judith Eva Barsi was a gifted child actress and by the age of 10 she had already made her mark in Hollywood, regularly getting high-profile roles in TV, 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 happy with her performance that he cast her again in his next movie.

Behind the scenes though a drama was unfolding. Judith’s father, an alcoholic with violent tendencies and anger issues, had been physically abusive for years, regularly beating his daughter and wife. This led to Judith having a breakdown before her agent and being sent to a child psychologist, who in turn was forced to contact child protective services. The authorities backed down after Judith’s mom promised to get a divorce and leave her husband but unfortunately changed her mind in the end. On July 28, 1988, the abusive father shot and killed his wife and daughter and then turned the gun on himself.

Goodfellas: Fictional Mafia enforcer turns out to be actual Mafia enforcer

Goodfellas, Martin Scorsese’s gangster crime drama is considered to be one of the best movies ever made, praised for its realistic portrayal of the Mafia. The movie follows the rise and fall of Henry Hill (played by Ray Liotta) as he makes his way through the ranks of organised crime.

The movie is filled with terrifying characters, murderers, and crime enforcers, but none of them scarier than real-life Mafia enforcer Louis Eppolito. Eppolito appears briefly in a scene, where the narrator introduces the criminal crew, as Fat Andy. Eppolito got the part after befriending Joe Pesci at a bar.

Eppolito was a police officer who was long believed to have ties to the infamous Gambino crime family. In 2006 he was convicted on eight counts of murder, racketeering, extortion and obstruction of justice. He was sentenced to life imprisonment plus 100 years 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 transported to a magical world, going on a fairytale adventure to discover herself and return wiser and more determined than ever. It is an inspiring story if you make sure to not learn about anything that happened behind the scenes. Because that’s the stuff of nightmares.

The lead, Judy Garland, was a rising studio star but fame came at a steep cost: she was addicted to pills since age 10, given to her to monitor her weight and ensure that she was alert during the long hours of filming. Garland was kept on a steady diet of sleeping pills and so-called “pep” pills, chicken soup, and black coffee and was reportedly made to smoke 80 cigarettes per day, just so she didn’t have an appetite.

She was also physically abused, with one of the producers slapping her repeatedly across the face when she kept messing up scenes because she was laughing. Turns out, if you pump people full of pills they can’t control their emotions. Who knew?

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

This not to mention the horrible safety conditions, as the cast was at one point showered with artificial snow made from asbestos, enduring toxic make-up and suffering injuries that would scar them for life.