It may be hard to believe, but there have been quite a few movies which where filming was begun, but never finished. In the movie business, this is just like burning money and no producer ever wants to see this happen. There is another category which is shelving a completed movie which I will discuss. One movie was going to star Richard Pryor the comedian. The director was Penelope Spheeris. Pryor was also backing the film financially. A rough cut of the film was made and titled, “Uncle Tom’s Fairy Tales: The Movie for Homosexuals.” Pryor’s wife was not happy with the amount of money he was spending on the movie and it is said they got into a heated argument over the film and in a fit of rage Pryor destroyed it. Here is an even stranger part to this story. Spheeris somehow was able to splice a part of the film back together. The film didn’t run very well and was only about 40 minutes long and Spheeris donated it to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and was promptly sued by Pryor’s widow.

Abel Cain was supposed to be released between 2011 and 2012 but never made it. It was to be the sequel to El Topo. The financial backer of the film was Parallel Media. The director, Alejandro Jodorowsky said the film had dragged on too long and it contained no big stars. The lead in the film was Alejandro Jodorowsky’s son Axel Jodorowsky. The son had previously starred in the 1989 film Santa Sangre. A twist saw it released in comic book form. In 2016 Jodorowsky announced he was still going to release the film when he found financial backing.

You wouldn’t think animated films could run into problems, but the “Dreaming Machine”, a Japanese anime film did. The film was being created by Satoshi Kon, but he died part way through production. A company named Madhouse decided to use Kon’s tapes and notes to continue the project. Eventually Madhouse announced the film had been halted, because the company didn’t have the funds to complete it. It was said 1,500 shots would be needed for the film, but only 600 had been finished. Madhouse claims they are still going to finish the film and it is anime so aging is not a problem.

In 2010 a film project began named “Into the Darkness.” It had no relation to the documentary of the same name. A trailer was finished in 2009. Previously I thought trailers were only made from scenes of finished movies, I never thought one would be made first. Live and learn. When this film is looked up it is listed as in development on some sites, but most people think this is in error since the project is already 7 years old.

Disney doesn’t always finish their project either. “The Shadow King” was a movie financed by Disney. It was to be a 3D fantasy thriller and was to be written and directed by Henry Selick. After spending 50 million dollars on the project, Disney said enough and dropped out. Selick still had faith in his vision for the movie but needed cash to finish it. It wasn’t clear how much money would be needed. The film had begun pre-production in 2011. Selick stated something very interesting in 2016 and its meaning is not clear, he said the film is in turnaround again. So far, no film has been released and it seems the film has not been finished.

One unfinished film had a very interesting history. The film was called “Dark Blood.” The star of the film was River Phoenix and directed by George Sluizer and written by Jim Barton. What makes this incomplete film noteworthy was when River Phoenix died in the middle of filming the director was so broken up he decided to release what was shot and narrates many spots in the film which are frames which Phoenix hadn’t finished. Many believe the film should have been shelved and never released and to add to the film being unfinished, the director had a thick accent so his narration is not so easy to understand.

In the 1990s Terry Gilliam proposed making a movie titled “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.” It was supposed to be a fantasy comedy. The idea was to make a movie using some of the points in the novel Don Quixote and to make them funny. For eighteen years Gilliam tried to make this movie but was unsuccessful. He started pre-production in 1998. The movie was to star Jean Rochefort and Johnny Depp. Flooding ruined sets, Rochefort became ill and insurance problems arose. Over the years Gilliam tried to make the movie with different stars. Seventeen years later it was reported Gilliam said he had finished filming the movie and yet it was announced in March 2017 filming had started. Will we ever see this film? It is amazing to me how someone can hold onto a project so long.

Even the great Charlie Chaplin made at least one unfinished move. The title of it was “The Freak”. This bears no relation to the animated film of the same name. The Freak was going to be about a girl who develops wings and is captured and put on display while telling people she is an angel. Chaplin began this project in 1969 and it was to star his daughter Victoria, but she had just gotten married and she was too old for the part. It was decided the film should not be completed.

It is amazing how many movies are started and never finished. The loss in money is astounding and this probably contributes to the high-ticket prices at the box office. When companies like Disney stop financing a movie after spending 50 million dollars or more, that money is just gone. I guess they must believe there is no sense in throwing more money at a movie project which will not make a profit. I imagine an experienced movie company has an idea of what a movie is worth before they finance it.