Follow us on Google News
Get the latest updates directly in your Google News feed
Walt Disney’s Disneyland is surely the happiest place on earth, and it has been the setting of a couple of Hollywood films. In fact, famous director Alfred Hitchcock once dreamed of shooting one of his movies inside the amusement park.
Unfortunately, Hitchcock was banned from entering the premises of the theme park due to a number of reasons. Apart from Walt Disney hating the filmPsycho, why would a murder scene happen inside Disneyland? On top of that, Hitchcock was a known abusive director.
“I gave up”: Alfred Hitchcock, Who Harassed Dakota Johnson’s Grandmother for Years, Got His Lesson in Humility After Trying to Control Cats in His Movie
Here’s The Lowdown On Why Walt Disney Forbid Alfred Hitchcock From Entering Disneyland
According to John Russell Tyler’s bookHitch: The Life and Times of Alfred Hitchcock, the director was approached by writer Ernest Lehman for a unique story that he wanted to bring to the big screen. The concept would run like this:
“A man blind from birth who is given sight by some sort of eye transplant only to discover that the donor, supposedly killed in an accident, was really murdered and has transmitted to him through his eyes a visual memory of the murderer.”
Disneyland has just opened its gates to the world in Anaheim, California in 1955. Lehman thought of taking advantage of the attraction’s popularity and set the film inside its premises.
“Perhaps while visiting Disneyland the hero (call him Jimmy Stewart for the sake of argument) finds himself ‘recognizing’ someone he could never have seen, then have a recollection set off by the fake gunfight. Perhaps the whole movie could be made in Disneyland. Hitchcock in Disneyland!”
While it sounded like a really thrilling concept, especially for its time,Walt Disneydecided to rain onAlfred Hitchcock’s parade and forbid him from setting foot inside Disneyland.
“Hitch and Lehman began working on the idea as they had worked on North by Northwest, and for a while, everything went swimmingly. Then something appeared in the trade papers about the project, Walt Disney read it, and promptly made a statement that in no circumstances would Hitchcock, maker of that disgusting movie Psycho, be allowed to shoot a foot of film in Disneyland.”
In the end,The Blind Maneventually appeared as a BBC radio drama where Mark Gatiss finished the uncompleted script of Hitchcock and Lehman.
“40 years to understand why he’d used the S word”: Alfred Hitchcock Sent A Writer Down A Rabbit Hole For 4 Decades Using Just One Word
Alfred Hitchcock Was Accused Of S*xual Harassment By One Of His Film’s Lead Stars
Apart from Walt Disney’s hatred of Alfred Hitchcock’sPsycho, he also did not want to involve himself in the controversy that the filmmaker got himself into.Tippi Hedrenstarred in the 1963 filmThe Birdswhich she claimed she experienced a lot of s*xual harassment and cruelty. In her memoir, excerpts shared by theNew York Post, she wrote:
“It was an awful, awful moment. Sexual harassment and stalking were terms that didn’t exist. Which one of us was more valuable to the studio, him or me?”
She referred to the time Hitchcock allegedly threw himself on top of her and kissed her in the back of his limousine. He has also become possessive of her to the point that he would tell her male cast mates not to socialize with the actress.
In another instance, the director showed up in Hedren’s dressing room and “put his hands on me. It was s*xual, it was perverse. The harder I fought him, the more aggressive he became.”
“Stop! Stop! My God!”: Alfred Hitchcock Sent a Studio Exec With His Tail Tucked Between His Legs Despite Blatantly Breaking Laws in 1960’s Psycho
The actress also revealed in her book how Hitchcock lied to her when he said they would use mechanical creatures to attack her character inThe Birds. She later claimed they used real animals. Hedren was left so injured and severely traumatized that she started having nightmares about it. When the doctor recommended she should take a week off to recover, Hitchcock refused.
“I’ve made it my mission ever since to see to it that while Hitchcock may have ruined my career, I never gave him the power to ruin my life.”
One may say that Walt Disney made the right decision not to engage with Hitchcock when the latter wanted to use his property as a location for yet another horror thriller movie. The business tycoon might have put his image and company at risk had he sealed deals with an alleged abuser.
Ariane Cruz
Senior Writer
Articles Published :3532
Ariane Cruz is a Senior Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows with over 3,000 articles published. Her love for pop culture and the creative arts fuels her passion to deliver engaging and informative stories. Her daily consumption of films, shows, and books keeps her energized for the day, along with her mission to serve as the bridge between fans and their favorite franchises.
More from Ariane Cruz
Fallout Season 2 Release Date Confirmed: 5 Post-Apocalyptic Shows to Watch While You Wait For Peak Cinema
‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ Box Office: Scarlett Johansson Fails to Beat Chris Pratt in 1 Key Area
Game of Thrones: Every Main Villain From Each Season Ranked From Least to Most Impactful
Recommended
‘Blue Beetle’ Turns Two: James Gunn’s DCU Has Forgotten Him But These 4 DC Shows Did Him Proud
Transformers Star Is Absolutely Right on Why He Rejected ‘The Penguin’
How Many Episodes Are Left in One Piece Egghead Arc? Explained
The Summer I Turned Pretty Theory Proves Jenny Han’s Name Game Ruins Season 3 Finale
Brad Pitt Hits Maximum Paranoia: Real Reason He Wants to Turn $12 Million Home Into a “Fortress” (Report)
How Did Mila Kunis Prepare for Black Swan? Harsh 12 Hours Routine Details
alfred hitchcockTippi HedrenWalt Disney
