10 Debunked Movie Myths You Totally Believe

Don't believe everything you read on the Internet...

By Aidan Whatman /

We all love a good movie urban legend, don't we? Watching a film and pointing out some obscure and often insane behind the scenes fact can make for a great conversation starter and cause you to wonder what it takes to make some of our favourite films. Often, they change the very way fans watch films in the future, having been given a new perspective on the movie playing out.

Advertisement

But how many of these brilliant and weird stories we've come to accept as fact are actually true?

Well, as this list will show, not many. Yes, it's true that Francis Ford Coppola put a horse head in John Marley's bed in the infamous intimidation scene, and yes, it's true that The Exorcist went through some weird on-set happenings during filming. However, many of your favourite movie legends aren't legends at all, but overblown myths spread around by the Internet so much they've been adopted as common knowledge.

Whether a clever improvisation, a morbid background set piece, or a widely believed character detail, here are 10 debunked movie myths you probably believe.

10. There's A Ghost In The Window - Three Men And A Baby

Three Men and a Baby is one of the 80s most enjoyable comedies. A silly premise with great stars, including Tom Selleck and Ted Danson, the film was a mega-hit upon release. The last thing anyone was expecting from the film was to see a ghost boy scattered throughout the house where the movie was shot.

Advertisement

For a long while, it was believed that the boy was the ghost of a young murder victim, and the house where the film was set was not just a real-life house, but the centre of tragedy.

This rumour persisted for years, increasing DVD sales and becoming a brilliant conversation piece for people interested in the supernatural appearing on film.

In 2017, though, Tom Selleck appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where he decided to put the whole thing to rest. He said that there was (obviously) no ghost, but that the figure seen in the film is actually a cardboard cut-out of Ted Danson, whose character in the film is an actor who happens to keep life-sized cut-outs of himself around the house.

Advertisement