10 Directors Who Quit Movies During Filming

1962's Mutiny on the Bounty went into production with the legendary Carol Reed (The Third Man) directing. But three months into the shoot, Reed left the set and flew home due to what the studio described as an "undisclosed ailment."

In actuality, Reed was fed up with difficult star Marlon Brando as well as meddling from both the film's producers and studio MGM, and walked away from filming.

Though there was a period where MGM attempted to coax Reed back to the shoot, they couldn't agree on terms and so Reed was let go.

Oscar-winning director Lewis Milestone (All Quiet on the Western Front) was then brought in to replace him, who claimed that Reed had only been able to shoot a single seven-minute scene to completion during his time on the film.

Milestone didn't fare much better, suffering through a tyrannical Brando, inclement weather on the Tahitian set, and script issues, all of which collectively bloated the budget out by an additional $10 million.

The film's subsequent critical and commercial failure, combined with the diva-like rep it granted Brando, severly tarnished Brando's standing in Hollywood for an entire decade before The Godfather revived it.