13 Movie Hoaxes That Completely Fooled Everyone

6. Ben-Hur Features Real Death In Its Chariot Race Sequence

William Wyler's classic 1959 biblical epic is fondly remembered for its mind-bogglingly complex chariot race sequence, which without the benefit of modern optical effects was executed practically at a cost of $1 million, taking five weeks to shoot after over a year of preparation.

The brilliance of the staggeringly brutal scene speaks for itself, and its violence is still so believable today that a myth has persisted that one of the chariot-driving stuntmen was actually killed while shooting the race.

Stuntman Nosher Powell is widely credited with circulating the rumour, claiming in his autobiography that, "We had a stuntman killed in the third week, and it happened right in front of me. You saw it, too, because the cameras kept turning and it's in the movie."

There's no substantial evidence to bolster Powell's claim, and it was directly refuted by Charlton Heston in his own autobiography. Given Powell's vested interest in drawing attention to his book, it's easy to believe he pulled this out of thin air for business reasons.