10 Films That Switched Directors During Production

Widely considered one of the greatest films ever made, the beloved classic actually holds the record for the most director changes a film has ever had.

This film changed hands not once, not twice, but five different times for a total of six different directors. When the film originally began pre-production in July of 1938, MGM announced that the Oscar-winning Norman Taurogwas set to direct. Until about two months later, when the studio suddenly announced Richard Thorpe would be taking things over instead.

Thorpe went on to get a full twelve days of filming under his belt before being fired by MGM, who felt his directing was stilted and ill-suited to the musical genre. In came George Cuckor, an MGM house-favorite for helming musicals and dance sequences. However, Cuckor had prior commitments to another project, resulting in him simply overseeing things for a week while MGM scurried to find a replacement.

They managed to convince Victor Fleming, one of the hottest directors of the time, to come on and finish the film and he is the one who stayed on the longest and got the official credit. However, he wasn't the last. Towards the end of production, Fleming had to leave due to prior commitments to making Gone With the Wind, leaving King Vidor to film the Kansas-set opening, alongside producer Mervyn LeRoy who served as director for a few days in-between.

It is an absolute miracle this thing turned out even watchable, much less a cinematic classic.