10 Times There Were Fistfights On Movie Sets

The swashbuckling Errol Flynn was renowned not only for his acting abilities but for his lifestyle of hard drinking, drug abuse and constant smoking.

One of Flynn's lesser-known hobbies was that he was a lifelong horse rider, which then played a vital role in his fight with director Michael Cruz... and also ended up having a huge impact on Hollywood right up to the present day.

While filming The Charge of the Light Brigade in 1936, Curtiz shot the famous charge scene where he utilised tripwire to make the 125 fall over on cue. A sadly common but brutal filming technique that showed little regard for the health or well-being of the animals involved, the end result was 25 of these horses had to be put down.

His leading man Errol Flynn was incensed by both the scene and by Curtiz's apparent lack of care. Furious, he attacked his director and did his level best to inflict damage on him before the two were pulled apart.

This very scene was cited in the legal case that eventually banned the use of tripwire in filming a few years after the fact.

Verdict: Errol Flynn (and better treatment of animals in film-making)