10 Shocking Facts You Didn’t Know About Classic Movies
8. A Streetcar Named Desire - Vivien Leigh Refused To Smash Any Mirrors
It's not exactly breaking news to hear about an actor refusing to play ball on a movie set. If anything it's a little more surprising for a bunch of egos to all miraculously get along when bringing a feature to the big screen.
But in the case of Vivien Leigh straight-up refusing to do what Elia Kazan wanted during the creation of the iconic A Streetcar Name Desire, it's not too difficult to see where she was coming from.
Tasked with being in the vicinity of a mirror cracking off the ground as Blanche DuBois and Stanley Kowalski physically struggled together in the closing stages, the film legend understandably didn't want any part in genuinely smashing a mirror on set. Who wants to invite that sort of bad luck onto themselves, right?
With the incredibly superstitious performer not keen on the seven years of bad fortune, Kazan instead opted to have a prop man smash up the mirror a whopping 11 times to get the precise version of the take he so desired. So, for those keeping count, that poor soul walked away with a staggering 77 years bad luck in the end.
Rather them than me.