Making a movie is a fascinating endeavor. It can be a compelling and invigorating exercise in creative output, but it can also be a long, exhausting, and sometimes, dramatic, process. It's not surprising that audiences often want to know what goes on behind the scenes, particularly when it's a movie they love (and even more so when there's rumored drama on set). Thanks to photo archives, we also get a sense of how movie-making has changed throughout the years—for better and for worse. If you're curious, keep reading to discover the coolest and most revealing behind-the-scenes movie photos.
'Passage to Marseilles'
Michèle Morgan (originally considered for the female lead in Casablanca) and Humphrey Bogart sit quietly between filming Passage to Marseilles. Fun fact: This is one of only a few films to use a nesting dolls narrative structure, with a flashback taking place within another flashback, which takes place inside another flashback.
Unnamed Film With David Niven
It's not totally clear which movie this is for (David Niven had roles in a variety of winter movies, including The Pink Panther) but this goofing off is pretty in keeping with Niven's debonair and saucy persona (both on set and off, he admitted later).
Unnamed Movie, 1927
Per the original, very funny photo caption, "MGM director Edmund Goulding (back left), helping William Twiddy (left), and Bill Easton, kiss on set." Goulding was known for popular movies like The Razor's Edge and Nightmare Alley, as well as Grand Hotel and Dark Victory.
'The Madwoman of Chaillot'
Katharine Hepburn and Yul Brenner sit and talk while shooting The Madwoman of Chaillot. The movie was a satire and didn't perform particularly well, but it did give us this shot of two iconic actors (Hepburn plays the Madwoman and Brenner the Chairman).
‘A Dandy in Aspic’
Mia Farrow and Laurence Harvey sit and chat in a cafe in Piccadilly, London, in between takes for A Dandy in Aspic (a British film starring Harvey as a double agent and Farrow as a wealthy socialite). Famed director Anthony Mann died from a heart attack before he finished the movie.
'If You Give a Dance, You Gotta Pay the Band'
I forgot that Laurence Fishburne (left) was a child actor! This is a still from the TV movie If You Give a Dance, You Gotta Pay the Band. He was 11 when the film came out (it was his first role), and he got impressive acclaim. Fun fact: Fishburne would immediately go on to act in the soap opera One Life to Live.
'The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll'
Dawn Addams, Paul Massie (who plays the titular Jekyyl/Hyde), and Christopher Lee (whom you would later see in the Lord of the Rings movies) sit and laugh in between takes. The movie's a pretty standard horror film—and it's always fun to see how relaxed the mood can be when the cameras aren't rolling.
'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner'
Katharine Hepburn and director Stanley Kramer sit and talk on the set of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, a film that was ahead of its time to depict interracial marriage. This was Hepburn's last film with partner Spencer Tracy before he died; her niece, Katharine Houghton, played her daughter. The film was a huge success, and Hepburn won an Oscar.
'Memoirs of a Geisha'
Here, we capture a glimpse behind the scenes as Ziyi Zhang poses during Memoirs of a Geisha (directed by Rob Marshall). Because modern-day Japan would have been too difficult to film for a historical drama, most of the filming was done on soundstages and in California.
'Red Heat'
Arnold Schwarzenegger and director Walter Hill stand and chat while on the set of Red Heat. In case you're unfamiliar, the movie is a genre action movie with Schwarzenegger playing a Soviet policeman (hence the uniform)—the subject matter might have turned audiences off at the time; the movie was not a roaring success.
'Gentleman Jim'
Errol Flynn (who played the original on-screen Robin Hood) is relaxing in between shooting scenes for Gentleman Jim about a 19th century boxer. Per the original photo caption, "A cool shower helps out on a hot day, discovers Errol Flynn, who dons [an] old-fashioned bathing suit."
'A Bridge Too Far'
While on set at the Richard Attenborough movie A Bridge Too Far in the Netherlands (near where many of the actual wartime events took place), Gene Hackman waits before filming. There was some impressive staging for this movie, including a series of real air drops.
'The Lady From Shanghai'
Rita Hayworth chats with then-husband Orson Welles on the set of The Lady From Shanghai. Welles actually directed and produced the movie. Supposedly, he forced her to cut and dye her hair blonde for the production (I believe he's holding her shorn hair in his hand?). The two divorced not long after the film was released.
'Clash by Night'
While making this 1952 film noir drama, per the original photo caption, "Director Fritz Lang plays Marilyn Monroe's character in demonstrating to Keith Andes how he wants him to strangle Monroe's neck in a scene." Now that is impressive commitment to the bit!
'Stage Fright'
Marlene Dietrich and Jane Wyman, both on the right, discuss the film Stage Fright with Alfred Hitchcock. The director was on the rise, and while this isn't often listed among his best movies, it's a fun noir about a woman (Wyman) who tries to shield her crush from accusations that he killed the husband of his lover (Dietrich).
'Ben Hur'
Stephen Boyd and Charlton Heston goof off during the set of Ben Hur at Cinecitta Studios in Rome. The reason that is particularly fun is that Boyd and Heston play childhood friends turned mortal enemies in the movie, an enmity that was clearly not carried over into real life. (This is a promotional shot, but still!)
'Revolution'
This is a still from the movie Revolution, which stars Al Pacino (left) as a fur trapper during the Revolutionary War. Interesting fact: After this movie bombed, commercially and critically, Pacino blamed a rushed production and took four years off from making movies.
'The Rocky Horror Picture Show'
Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick (who play the young engaged couple who stumble upon Dr. Frank N. Furter) chat before filming a scene for The Rocky Horror Picture Show—which, if you're unfamiliar, became a massive cult classic after some pretty terrible reviews.
'The Towering Inferno'
Paul Newman prepares for filming on the set of The Towering Inferno. If you've never heard of it, it's a disaster movie right in the middle of Newman's career apex that took itself more seriously than a lot of the films of its genre—and it was nominated for a bunch of Academy Awards.
'Dune'
On location in London for the filming of Dune, David Lynch stands against some impressive architecture. That film's production was legendarily difficult (the book is notoriously hard to adapt, given its length and scale), and Lynch would later disown the movie.
'Alien: Resurrection'
While the fourth film in the franchise, Alien: Resurrection, wasn't really a commercial success, the actors look to be enjoying themselves behind the scenes—Sigourney Weaver balances a basketball while Ron Perlman looks on. Sigourney had practiced for a month to make a tricky shot through a hoop backwards, and nailed it on the first take.
'The House of the Spirits'
While you may not be as familiar with this '90s period drama about a Chilean family (it flopped at the box office and was criticized for not casting more Latinx actors), we were still blessed with a few photos of iconic actors—including a young Winona Ryder!—relaxing in between takes.
'The House of the Spirits'
From a still of that same movie, Meryl Streep is in costume next to a camera, quietly waiting and watching. Her character, Clara del Valle, is a woman from a wealthy family whose romantic entanglements—and family legacy—help drive the plot.
'Cleopatra'
Here, Elizabeth Taylor leans against a prop (with a variety of "artifacts" in the background) during shooting of the movie Cleopatra. The movie went over budget, the director resigned, and Taylor started having an affair with her costar Richard Burton—but at least it looks like she's enjoying herself!
'The Untouchables'
Here, Sean Connery, Kevin Costner, and director Brian De Palma talk on the set of The Untouchables. There was an impressive amount of staging for the film, which helped it feel more grandiose—leading to its numerous Oscar nominations (and a win for Connery).
'Jaws'
This is a small slice of history: on the right, Steven Spielberg prepares to film a shot from Jaws. The production was historically difficult, in part because it was shot on the water instead of on a set—and also because the mechanical shark kept malfunctioning.
'Chinatown'
Posing for a continuity Polaroid, Faye Dunaway looks (understandably) exhausted. The production was long and arduous, and reportedly Dunaway and director Roman Polanski were quite at odds with each other (Polanski at one point pulled a hair out of her head because it was interfering with a shot, apparently).
'Taxi Driver'
A young Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro! The director had been making films for a number of years, but Taxi Driver was the movie that would define the rest of his career (the movie won the Palme d'Or at Cannes). It had an extremely small budget and a chunk of filming took place in condemned New York buildings.
'The Age of Innocence'
Martin Scorsese didn't do a ton of historical dramas, but when he did, they were characteristically epic. The Age of Innocence is considered one of his more underrated films; here, he speaks with Michelle Pfeiffer, who makes up one third of the love triangle.
'The Shining'
The production of the horror film The Shining was apparently long and arduous, but Jack Nicholson and director and producer Stanley Kubrick have a moment to laugh while they're on the hotel set (you can see the infamous red doors in the background).
'The Great Gatsby'
What's particularly fun about this photo is that it shows Jay Gatsby (Robert Redford) and Tom Buchanan (Bruce Dern)—who play intense romantic rivals for the same woman in the movie The Great Gatsby—having a chance to chat and relax while the cameras aren't rolling.
'A Streetcar Named Desire'
No big deal, just Marlon Brando and director Elia Kazan on the set of the movie A Streetcar Named Desire, which might be one of the most iconic films ever made. Fun fact: Brando was a virtual unknown when this role rocketed him to stardom and an Oscar nomination.
