Everyone knows about the stuntman who was killed when his chariot malfunctioned on the set of Ben-Hur. It is one of the few on-set fatalities that we can think of when faced with the morbid topic. What is really disturbing is that the footage was still salvaged, though heavily and carefully edited to ensure the young mans death cannot be seen. Which is more than I can say about all of the animals, namely horses, who were slaughtered for the benefit of the second most expensive silent film ever made (2011s The Artist has taken the top spot thanks to inflation).