10 Movies That Did Crazy Things When They Ran Out Of Money
5. The Python Team Came Up With A Fourth Wall-Breaking Ending - Monty Python & The Holy Grail
Monty Python and the Holy Grail ends in hilariously surreal fashion as the army of knights prepares to assault the French soldiers, only for modern-day police to arrive out of nowhere, arrest King Arthur (Graham Chapman) and Bedevere (Terry Jones), and break the camera.
It truly feels like the film couldn't have ended any other way, and yet, the Python team have confirmed numerous times over the years that an original scripted climax involved the actual battle that was set up in those final moments.
Allegedly due to how much money had been spent on pyrotechnics for the Tim the Enchanter (John Cleese) scene, there wasn't enough money left to stage and shoot a battle in earnest, and so this fourth wall-breaking ending was dreamt up instead.
Co-star Michael Palin quite aptly called the ultimate ending both cheaper and funnier. This approach wouldn't work for more straight-laced movies, but something as wilfully farcical as Monty Python? Absolutely.