Long before Russell Crowe was growling his way through the latest biblical big screen epic, directed by the certifiably bonkers Darren Aronofsky, Michael Curtiz made 1928's Noah's Ark, a romantic melodrama/disaster movie, a part-talkie released on the cusp of the talkie era with huge scale. Unfortunately that scope meant that the climactic flood scene proved fatal: as The Great Flood washed over a cavalcade of extras - including John Wayne - the volume of water proved too vast and over-whelming and three extras drowned, a number suffered broken bones and other serious injuries, and one had to have a leg amputated. During the filming of the climactic flood scene, the great volume of water used was so overwhelming that three extras drowned, one was so badly injured that his leg needed to be amputated, and a number suffered broken limbs and other serious injuries, which led to implementation of stunt safety regulations the following year. So harrowing was the experience that the deaths led directly to the introduction of strict film safety regulations the following year.
