Unfinished Business

Jean Harlow


Date of Death: 7th June 1937 (26)
Cause: Uremic Poisoning
Fate of the Project?: With the film about 90% completed, Harlow collapsed on the set and died about a week later. Her remaining scenes were shot with double Mary Dees being filmed only from behind. Paula Winslowe supplied the voice.

James Dean


Date of Death: 30th September 1955 (24)
Cause: Road Accident
Fate of the Project?: After his death late in production, Nick Adams provided Rink's voice for a few lines. The film spent an entire year in the editing room.

Marilyn Monroe


Date of Death: 5th August 1962 (36)
Cause: Drug Overdose
Fate of the Project?: Incomplete. The production was cancelled and its footage shelved in the studio vaults, where it would remain unseen for years.

Bruce Lee


Date of Death: 20th July 1973 (32)
Cause: Cerebral Edema
Fate of the Project?: Lee had filmed over 30 minutes of fight scenes for this film when work was suspended to allow Lee to work on Enter the Dragon. However, he died before he could return.

Six years later, director Robert Clouse fleshed out a feature around the original footage with a new cast, including two stand-ins for Lee, who faces are hidden by dark sunglasses and shadows. Close-ups and stills of Lee's face (including a cardboard cut-out) were also used.

Natalie Wood


Date of Death: 29th November 1981 (43)
Cause: Drowned
Fate of the Project?: Wood died before filming was complete, thus the ending had to be constructed from scenes shot earlier, body doubles and soundalikes. The film was dedicated to her memory.

Vic Morrow


Date of Death: 23rd July 1982 (53)
Cause: Helicopter accident on set
Fate of the Project?: The project was ultimately finished. The helicopter scene, when the tragic accident happened, was cut completely out of the final production making the segment shorter.

There were various legal battles as a result of this incident, lasting over a decade. The footage can be viewed on youtube.

River Phoenix


Date of Death: 31st October 1993 (23)
Cause: Drug-induced Heart Failure
Fate of the Project?: Incomplete. The crew was 11 days shy of completing production.

Brandon Lee


Date of Death: 31st March 1993 (28)
Cause: While filming during the last weeks of production, Lee was killed when a dummy bullet, which had become lodged in one of the guns, was shot into his abdomen.
Fate of the Project?: The remaining scenes were played by stunt double Chad Stahelski with Lee's face digitally composited onto the double.

John Candy


Date of Death: 4th March 1994 (43)
Cause: Heart Attack
Fate of the Project?: His few remaining scenes were either not filmed, or were filmed using a stand-in, then re-written not to involve him. His second bar sequence re-uses footage from his earlier bar sequence. The films ends with a dedication to him.

Oliver Reed


Date of Death: 2 May 1999 (61)
Cause: Heart Attack
Fate of the Project?: The remainder of his sequences had to be re-edited and a double, photographed in the shadows and with a 3D CGI mask of Reed's face, was used as a stand-in. The film is dedicated to his memory.

Heath Ledger


Date of Death: 22nd January 2008 (28)
Cause: Accidental overdose of perscription drugs
Fate of the Project?: Production was shut down for a few months. Then it was re-started when Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell agreed to complete Ledger's role. The film's fantasy premise, and some clever rewrites, let the actors play a man whose appearance changes as he travels between imaginary worlds.