Unfinished films
by penchofifteenpolls | created - 07 Sep 2014 | updated - 15 Sep 2014 | PublicThis list of films were never unfinished by their directors for different reasons. In some cases we know versions edited by someone else from the original material, in others just parts of the movie that got to be recorded.
If the original director had had the chance to finnish his film as he visioned it, which one do you think would have been the greatest film?
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1. Que Viva Mexico (1979)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary, Drama, Western
Eisenstein shows us Mexico in this movie, its history and its culture. He believes, that Mexico can become a modern state.
Director: Sergei Eisenstein | Stars: Sergey Bondarchuk, Grigoriy Aleksandrov
Votes: 1,881
Director Sergei Einsenstein wasn't allowed into the United States to edit his film, and the producers could never send him the negatives into the USSR. The director considered the film to be his most important work and always regreted being unable to finnish it. There are several versions of the film today, the most famous from 1979 based on the notes left by Einsenstein.
2. El Sur (1983)
Not Rated | 95 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A woman reflects on her childhood relationship with her father, attempting to understand the depths of his despair and the truth of his myths.
Director: Víctor Erice | Stars: Omero Antonutti, Sonsoles Aranguren, Icíar Bollaín, Lola Cardona
Votes: 6,125
Lack of money forced director Víctor Erice to finnish production before shooting the last part of the film. The producer found the version with an open ending very powerful and decided to release it like that. Erice, annoyed left movies for several years before directing again.
3. Crossroads of Laredo (1995)
30 min | Short, Western
Tex is a gunslinger who murders a cowboy and steals his money. Lem is an honest man who wants nothing more than to marry Barbara. When Tex marries Barbara and treats her badly, Lem decides to settle the score.
Director: Edward D. Wood Jr. | Stars: Edward D. Wood Jr., Duke Moore, Don Nagel, Ruth McCabe
Votes: 195
The first known work by Ed Wood was left unfinished by the director. The original negatives were rescued by Dolores Fuller and other producers, and after editing them and adding narration, were released in 1995
4. I, Claudius (1937)
Drama
The life and times of the Roman Emperor Claudius (10 B.C. to 54 A.D.).
Director: Josef von Sternberg | Stars: Charles Laughton, Merle Oberon, Emlyn Williams, Flora Robson
The production of the film that was going to be directed by Josef von Stenberg was stopped after star Merle Oberon suffered an accident. The story of the film is shown in the documentary The Epic that Never Was. The novel that inspired this film was later used to create the acclaimed BBC series of the same name.
5. Something's Got to Give (1962)
37 min | Short, Comedy | Announced
Remake of "My Favorite Wife," unfinished because of star Marilyn Monroe's firing, rehiring, and sudden August 1962 death.
Director: George Cukor | Stars: Marilyn Monroe, Dean Martin, Cyd Charisse, Tom Tryon
The film was never finished after the death of the female lead Marilyn Monroe
6. The Thief and the Cobbler (1993)
G | 99 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A lonely princess and a poor cobbler fall in love while trying to retrieve three magical orbs that were stolen by a bumbling thief, all while outwitting a powerful sorcerer as adventure and comedic pop culture references abound.
Director: Richard Williams | Stars: Vincent Price, Matthew Broderick, Jennifer Beals, Bobbi Page
Votes: 4,609 | Gross: $0.67M
The film was considered by its director Richard Williams, to be his masterpiece, and he worked on it for over 28 years. After a deal with Warner Brothers fell down, a completion guarantee took control of the film from Williams, and it was completed Fred Calvert who re-edited the film, left out many scenes and added songs tha completely changed the original form of the film.
Italian film that was going to become the first animation from Italy and the first film adaptation of Pinnochio. Today it is considered lost, as only a few frames survive.
8. Creation (1931)
6 min | Short
A lost submarine discovers a secret island where dinosaurs still live.
Directors: Harry O. Hoyt, Willis H. O'Brien | Star: Ralf Harolde
Votes: 93
It was a project of stop-motion animation by Willis O'Brien about men encountering dinosaurs. 20 minutes of film were shot but the production was canceled because it was considered boring. The stop-motion techniques of this film were later used to create King Kong.
9. The Deep (1970)
111 min | Drama, Thriller
A couple's honeymoon trip aboard a yacht leads to a claustrophobic drama when another vessel runs into their voyage, apparently drifting.
Director: Orson Welles | Stars: Michael Bryant, Oja Kodar, Laurence Harvey, Jeanne Moreau
Votes: 285
Film directed by Orson Welles trying to make a less personal and more commercially viable project. After working for several weeks in Yugoslavia, production was stopped by lack of money. And despite several attempts to continue, it became definitively unfinished when star Laurence Harvey died.
10. I Loved a Soldier (1936)
Director: Henry Hathaway | Stars: Charles Boyer, Walter Catlett, Marlene Dietrich, Lionel Stander
Votes: 47
Film starring Charles Boyer and Marlene Dietrich, it was intended to be a remake of Hotel Imperial (1927). The production was stopped after several conflicts between Dietrich and director Henry Hathaway and it was eventually filmed again under a different name and with a different cast.
11. It's All True: Based on an Unfinished Film by Orson Welles (1993)
G | 87 min | Documentary
"It's All True: Based on an Unfinished Film by Orson Welles" is a 1993 documentary feature about Orson Welles's ill-fated Pan-American anthology film "It's All True," shot in 1941-42 but never completed.
Directors: Bill Krohn, Myron Meisel, Orson Welles, Richard Wilson | Stars: Manuel 'Jacare' Olimpio Meira, Jeronimo André De Souza, Raimundo 'Tata' Correia Lima, Manuel 'Preto' Pereira da Silva
Votes: 864
It was supposed to be the third film of Orson Welles for RKO. It was left unfinished after RKO ended its contract with the director. Welles tried to finnish the film with another company but he was unable to do it.
12. Great Day (1930)
Musical
Directors: Harry Beaumont, Harry A. Pollard | Stars: Joan Crawford, Johnny Mack Brown, John Miljan, Anita Page
Votes: 184
Musical film by MGM based on a Vincent Youmans Broadway show. After eight weeks of filming the production stopped because star Joan Crawford was unhappy with her role. And while there were talks to rewrite the script and continue prodcution this never came to be.
13. The Magic 7 (TV Movie)
Animation, Adventure, Family
The six archenemies of Earth are challenged by two kids and a five-toed dragon.
Director: Roger Holzberg | Stars: Jason Aaron Baca, Kevin Bacon, Judy Collins, Ted Danson
Animated movie whose production started in 1990. Several actors recorded their voices since that decade, but after several delays there has been no work on the film since 2009.
Unfinished film by Orson Welles, an edited version of the existing footage was released by the Munich Film Museum
15. Doomsday Machine (1976)
Not Rated | 83 min | Sci-Fi
Spies discover that the Red Chinese have built a "doomsday machine" capable of destroying the surface of the Earth, and that they plan to use it within a matter of days.
Directors: Harry Hope, Lee Sholem, Herbert J. Leder | Stars: Bobby Van, Ruta Lee, Mala Powers, James Craig
Votes: 1,375
The production of the film began in 1967, but was interrupted by lack of money. The rights of the film was purchased and the movie was completed without the original cast or sets.
16. Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno (2009)
Not Rated | 100 min | Documentary
Henri-Georges Clouzot's unfinished masterpiece, Inferno (1964), is reconstructed in this film which is part drama and part documentary.
Directors: Serge Bromberg, Ruxandra Medrea | Stars: Romy Schneider, Bérénice Bejo, Serge Reggiani, Jacques Gamblin
Votes: 1,999 | Gross: $0.02M
The film by Clouzot had a production full of problems including high temperatures, illnes of the main actor and a heart attack suffered by the director. After three weeks of filming it was abandoned. The existing footage was released in 2009 as a semi-documentary.
17. Game of Death (1978)
R | 100 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A martial arts movie star must fake his death to find the people who are trying to kill him.
Directors: Robert Clouse, Bruce Lee | Stars: Bruce Lee, Gig Young, Dean Jagger, Hugh O'Brian
Votes: 22,337 | Gross: $10.00M
The film was unfinished after the unexpected death of its lead actor, Bruce Lee
18. 1 P.M. (1971)
90 min | Documentary
Impressions of resistance and revolution in America, as shot on both coasts by visiting director Godard in the pivotal year of 1968, but not completed and not shown, after being taken over ... See full summary »
Directors: Jean-Luc Godard, Richard Leacock, D.A. Pennebaker | Stars: Marty Balin, Amiri Baraka, Carol Bellamy, Eldridge Cleaver
Votes: 222
Film originally called One American Movie, which was an unfinished project by Jean-Luc Godard. Cinematographer D.A. Pennebaker edited and released the existing footage as a documentary.
19. Number 13 (1922)
Comedy
The story was about low-income residents of a building, financed by The Peabody Trust, founded by American banker-philanthropist George Foster Peabody, to offer affordable housing to needy Londoners.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Clare Greet, Ernest Thesiger
One of Alfred Hitchcok's first films, which was pulled from production after the budget fell out. The handful of scenes that were shot are now considered lost.
20. Notes Towards an African Orestes (1970)
65 min | Documentary
The director presents takes and scenes filmed on location in Africa for a film-that-never-was, a black Oresteia.
Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini | Stars: Gato Barbieri, Donald F. Moye, Marcello Melis, Yvonne Murray
Votes: 545
Oresteia film project by Pier Paolo Passolini which would be an version of Orestes set in Africa, the film was never shot as Passolini himself decided to abandon the idea. The preparation of the work is shown in this documentary.
21. The March of Time (1930)
Musical
A musical revue scheduled for release in September 1930 but shelved midway through production when musicals fell out of favor at the box office. In the years since, film aficionados have ... See full summary »
Director: Charles Reisner | Stars: Albertina Rasch Dancers, Betty Brown, William Collier Jr., William Collier Sr.
MGM musical originally called Hollywood Revue of 1930. After filming most of the musical numbers MGM considered it to be unmarketable and shelved the project. Many of the musical numbers filmed were later released as shorts.
22. Don Quixote (1992)
Not Rated | 116 min | Comedy, Drama
The story of a Spanish gentlemen gone mad and his dim-witted squire Sancho Panza, who set forth on a journey to right wrongs and accomplish good deeds in the name of chivalry.
Director: Orson Welles | Stars: Francisco Reiguera, Akim Tamiroff, Pepe Mediavilla, Juan Carlos Ordóñez
Votes: 905
Orson Welles version of Don Quixote, which was left unfinished because Welles kept working on the script and getting new ideas. All the work done was stored and misslabelled to prevent anyone besides Welles from editing it. Despite this spanish producer Jesús Franco found the footage and made a version of the film.
23. The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018)
Not Rated | 132 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Toby, a disillusioned film director, is pulled into a world of time-jumping fantasy when a Spanish cobbler believes himself to be Sancho Panza. He gradually becomes unable to tell dreams from reality.
Director: Terry Gilliam | Stars: José Luis Ferrer, Ismael Fritschi, Juan López-Tagle, Adam Driver
Votes: 22,149 | Gross: $0.39M
Film project by Terry Gillian based on spanish novel Don Quixote. The film started pre-production in 1998, but several problems have caused the project to be cancelled several times. As today Gillian has not abandoned the idea of completing the film.
24. Legion Condor (1939)
Drama, War
Presents Luftwaffe's fight against the enemy of the world. In a glorifying way, the use of the "Legion Condor" and others during the bombing of the city of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War is shown.
Director: Karl Ritter | Stars: Paul Hartmann, Albert Hehn, Fritz Kampers, Josef Dahmen
Votes: 17
Film about the Nazi airforce that helped Franco defeat the Spanish republic in the Spanish Civil War. After the sign of a Nazi-Soviet pact in 1939, the production of the film was halted to avoid offending the russians who had supported the legal goverment of Spain.
25. I cavalieri del deserto (1942)
Adventure
Directors: Gino Talamo, Osvaldo Valenti | Stars: Osvaldo Valenti, Luisa Ferida, Luigi Pavese, Guido Celano
Votes: 32
Italina war film that was going to be directed by Federico Fellini and Vittorio Mussolini. The film was left unfinished after the defeat of the Italian army in North Africa meant the plot could be an embarassment for Mussolini's goverment.
Bengali film based on a novel by Mani Shankar Mukherjee, which was almost completed except for one scene which was abandoned due to financial problems, the seven existing reels of films were later restored.
27. The Other Side of the Wind (2018)
R | 122 min | Drama
At a media-swamped party to celebrate his 70th birthday and screen his avant-garde film-in-progress, a legendary but jaded Hollywood director is faced both with voracious fans and unsettling questions about what became of his lead actor.
Director: Orson Welles | Stars: John Huston, Oja Kodar, Peter Bogdanovich, Susan Strasberg
Votes: 8,033
Orson Welles project starring John HUston and Peter Bogdanovich, the director worked on and off in the project between 1969 and 1976 before definitively abandoning it. The existing scenes have been screened.
28. The Professor (1919)
7 min | Comedy, Short
Professor Bosco, a poor flea trainer, rents a bed in a flophouse. Before going to bed, he rallies his troops and once he has made sure his beloved fleas are settled for the night, the ... See full summary »
Director: Charles Chaplin | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Albert Austin, Henry Bergman, Loyal Underwood
Votes: 743
Film starring Charles Chaplin abandoned after filming only one scene.
Documentary about sculptor Ramkinkar Baij, the film was about to be completed when the death of the artist prevented the filming of the last scenes.
30. Slipstream (1967)
Short
Short story about group of people addicted to drug,fans of rock group Slipstream.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tony Bill, James Coleman, Roger Ernest, Peter Maffia
Votes: 155
One of the first efforts by a young Steven Spielberg, the film about a bicycle racers was left unfinished when the budget ran out. It was going to be Spielberg's first collaboration with cinematographer Allen Daviau (E.T., Empire of the Sun)
31. The Story of William Tell (1953)
Short, Adventure, Drama
A short that follows the legend of Wilhelm Gorkeit of Tellikon (William Tell), the legendary archer and hero from Switzerland.
Director: Jack Cardiff | Stars: Errol Flynn, Antonella Lualdi, Massimo Serato, Bruce Cabot
Adventure film about Swiss national hero, William Tell, that would have starred Erroll Flynn
32. Witch's Cradle (1944)
12 min | Short, Fantasy, Mystery
The surrealist film shows repetitive imagery involving a string fashioned in a bizarre, almost spiderweb-like pattern over the hands of several individuals, most notably an unnamed young woman and an elderly gentleman.
Director: Maya Deren | Stars: Marcel Duchamp, Pajorita Matta
Votes: 877
Unfinished surrealist short silent film starring artist Marcel Duchamp.
33. On the Silver Globe (1988)
Unrated | 166 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
A team of astronauts land on an inhabitable planet and form a society. Many years later, a single astronaut is sent to the planet and becomes a messiah.
Director: Andrzej Zulawski | Stars: Andrzej Seweryn, Jerzy Trela, Grazyna Dylag, Waldemar Kownacki
Votes: 4,554
Production was stopped for ten years, so the final version of the film was released with voice-over narration covering the missing scenes.
34. Passenger (1963)
62 min | Drama, War
While aboard a transatlantic passenger ship, a German woman, Liza, notices someone who looks like Marta, a former inmate at Auschwitz, where Liza used to be a guard.
Directors: Andrzej Munk, Witold Lesiewicz | Stars: Aleksandra Slaska, Anna Ciepielewska, Jan Kreczmar, Marek Walczewski
Votes: 2,125
The final film by Andrzej Munk, it was left unfinished when the director was killed in a plane crash while working on the movie.
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