Stuff You Should Know – “Roar: The Most Dangerous Movie Ever Made?”

Podcast: Stuff You Should Know
Hosts: Josh Clark & Charles (Chuck) Bryant
Date: April 7, 2026

Episode Overview

In this movie edition episode, Josh and Chuck dive into the wild, infamous story behind Roar (1981)—a film known as “the most dangerous movie ever made.” Instead of just recounting the film's plot, they explore its jaw-dropping behind-the-scenes chaos: wild animal mishaps, insane production decisions, a remarkable lack of safety, and the long-term impact on its cast, crew, and animal welfare. They discuss how the movie went from a passion project for Tippi Hedren and Noel Marshall to a notorious cautionary tale in film history.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origins of Roar: A Dangerous Dream

• The idea for Roar was born after Hollywood couple Tippi Hedren (star of Hitchcock’s The Birds) and Noel Marshall (producer of The Exorcist) visited Africa in 1969. Witnessing a pride of lions living in an abandoned house and learning about poaching inspired them to make a movie to generate goodwill between humans and wild animals.
  • [05:30] Chuck: “She had an activist heart… They saw an abandoned house that had a pride of 30 lions living in it… what an interesting concept… to be put on film.”
• Influences included popular “Africa adventure” media of the era, notably the TV show Daktari (spun off from the film Clarence the Cross-Eyed Lion). The couple wanted to ride this trend but “with real wild animals.”

2. From Hollywood Home to Wild Animal Compound

• Hedren and Marshall began by raising a lion cub named Neil in their Sherman Oaks home, along with their children (including a young Melanie Griffith). As media attention grew and city authorities intervened, the family moved to a ranch in Acton, north of Los Angeles, and expanded their menagerie.
  • [10:40] Josh: “Tippi Hedren later wrote that she realized that this was stupid beyond belief to keep a 400 pound male lion in the house around her family.”
• The Acton ranch was designed as a film set meant to simulate Africa, with custom landscaping and even a manmade pond.
  • [12:05] Chuck: “Everything was kind of built as a movie set… They landscaped it… mimicked Southern Africa…”

3. Making the Film: Chaos, Injury, and Catastrophe

• Roar aimed to use unscripted big cat behavior, but the animals had no formal training. The “plot” and shots were reverse-engineered around whatever the animals happened to do, requiring non-stop filming with multiple cameras (costly on film stock).
  • [22:19] Josh: “The reason why they were just running all the time is because the cats had zero training… they would reverse engineer it and wrote the plot around the stuff the cats were doing.”
• Famous crew and cast injuries:
  • Cinematographer Jan de Bont (later director of Speed and Twister) was scalped and required 220 stitches—he stayed on to finish the film.
    [26:19] Josh: “He got it bad where a lion essentially… scalped him from the back half of his head backward.”
  • Melanie Griffith, who had expressed fears of injury, was clawed near her eye, needed 50 stitches, and underwent reconstructive surgery.
    [28:07] Josh: “She got clawed by her eye… needed 50 stitches… had to undergo cosmetic surgery… that made it into the movie.”
  • Noel Marshall and Tippi Hedren both suffered animal bites resulting in gangrene. Two crew members lost digits.
    [28:48] Chuck: “There were two cases of gangrene from, you know, getting bitten by infected cat mouths.”
• The shoot lasted five years and suffered major setbacks: flooding, wildfires, animal disease outbreaks, and escape attempts (during one, deputies shot three lions).
  • [31:12] Josh: “That flood was so destructive… Had to replant… wait for it to grow back… kept getting set back and set back.”

4. Financial Disaster and Failure to Launch

• The film cost about $17 million (late 1970s money), nearly on par with Raiders of the Lost Ark. After endless reshoots and calamities, nobody would distribute it in the US—neither because of its infamy nor its quality.
  • [33:52] Chuck: “No release in the US. It was a non union production… it was just a really bad movie and nobody wanted to release it.”
• Worldwide, it grossed only $2 million, ensuring massive financial loss.
  • [34:41] Josh: “They lost $15 million just out of the gate… That was it.”
• Despite its failures, Roar developed cult status after a 2015 Drafthouse Films rerelease, which branded it as “the most dangerous film ever made.”

5. Plot & Message of 'Roar'

• The loose plot: An eccentric American scientist (played by Noel Marshall) lives in Tanzania with big cats; his family arrives and chaos ensues. The movie tries to say wild animals are benevolent if treated with kindness—repeatedly undermined onscreen by actual animal attacks.
  • [39:23] Josh: “The overall message… is, if you treat wild animals in a friendly manner, they’re going to be friendly… contradicted time after time… people are being friendly… animals are… attacking them.”
• The film suffers from “genre confusion,” with comedic, terrifying, and documentary-like moments blending incoherently.
  • [40:30] Chuck: “Parts of it seem like home movies, parts of it seem like comedy… completely rudderless.”

6. Aftermath: Animal Welfare, Family Fallout, and Cultural Legacy

• Despite chaos, the couple kept their animal welfare focus. Their Acton ranch became the Shambala Preserve, and the Roar Foundation still exists to promote big cat welfare.
  • [42:21] Josh: “They turned their compound into a place called the Cats of Shambala… home of the Roar Foundation, which is also still around today…”
• The family unraveled: Hedren and Marshall divorced a year post-release; Marshall’s volatility and disregard for safety (he ignored cast “safe words”) soured his reputation.
  • [43:05] Chuck: “He's known for being an executive producer, investor on The Exorcist, and he's known for Roar. And he will always be known for Roar…”
• Notable reviews after 2015 rerelease solidified its status as a unique disaster.
  • [45:21] Chuck (quoting Under the Radar): “1981’s Roar is the Citizen Kane of films where actors were mauled by lions.”
  • [45:34] Josh (quoting Drew McWeeny): “It feels like Walt Disney decided to make a snuff version of Swiss Family Robinson.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [04:55] Chuck: “The actors were purposefully put in peril because of just the whole idea of the film… The most dangerous film ever made.”
• [10:40] Josh: “In retrospect, Tippi Hedren later wrote that she realized that this was stupid beyond belief to keep a 400 pound male lion in the house…”
• [28:07] Josh: “Melanie Griffith… came very close to that [coming out with half a face]… had to undergo cosmetic surgery… made it into the movie.”
• [40:30] Chuck (referencing The New Yorker): “Marshall doesn't quite seem aware of the forms he's using. So it was just a big mess.”
• [45:21] Chuck (quoting Under the Radar): “Roar is the Citizen Kane of films where actors were mauled by lions.”
• [45:34] Josh (quoting Drew McWeeny): “It feels like Walt Disney decided to make a snuff version of Swiss Family Robinson.”

Important Timestamps

• [02:56] — Introduction of Roar as "the most dangerous film ever made"
• [05:30] — Origins with Tippi Hedren & Noel Marshall’s African trip
• [09:22] — Raising lions in a suburban LA home; Melanie Griffith’s involvement
• [13:00] — Transition from home to Acton ranch/film set
• [16:05] — Expansion of animal cast and film’s unwieldy logistics
• [22:19] — Lack of training, reverse-engineering plot from animal antics
• [25:49] — Cast & crew injuries; Alamo Drafthouse “injury roster” trailer
• [26:19] — Jan de Bont’s infamous lion attack injury
• [28:07] — Melanie Griffith’s facial injury
• [31:12] — Disasters during production: flood, animal escapes, disease
• [33:52] — "No release in the US," $15 million loss
• [39:23] — The confused themes and messages of Roar
• [43:05] — Legacy: animal welfare and lasting notoriety

Tone and Style

The hosts maintain their usual accessible, conversational tone—breezy, irreverent, but respectful of the genuinely dangerous and dark aspects of the story. They balance gallows humor with concern, especially for the cast, crew, and animals.

For Further Exploration

• Parts of Roar and the Alamo Drafthouse trailer are viewable online, but the full film remains rare.
• The Shambala Preserve and Roar Foundation continue to advocate for big cat welfare: shambala.org.

In Summary

This episode of Stuff You Should Know provides both a wild ride through a unique chapter of film history and a reflection on hubris, risk, and animal welfare. Roar remains a legendary lesson in what happens when good intentions, naivete, and ego combine in Hollywood—and how sometimes, the stories behind the camera are far more compelling (and terrifying) than what’s on the screen.