8 Props That Were Originally Designed For Other Movies
4. Cleopatra's "Human Duck" Costume Was Made For Lon Chaney In West Of Zanzibar - Freaks
Tod Browning's infamous but really quite brilliant 1932 horror film Freaks is packed with unforgettable, eye-opening sights, such as its gnarly end sequence in which the villainous Cleopatra (Olga Baklanova) has her arms deformed and legs cut off in order to resemble a "human duck."
As tailor-made as the duck costume might seem, Browning actually had it made for a movie he made four years prior - the Lon Chaney-starring drama West of Zanzibar.
Chaney's protagonist Phroso was filmed wearing the costume as part of a "duckman" sideshow act, but Browning ultimately decided to cut the scene, resulting in it becoming lost.
But Browning kept hold of the costume and found a fittingly grim place for it in Freaks' satisfyingly screwed-up finale.