The Swiss Family Robinson Mistake
That wasn’t the only disaster that happened on set, as Actor James MacArthur who played Fritz almost drowned while filming the scene with the giant anaconda. Luckily crew members were able to dive in and rescue him in time.
Walt originally wanted to film Swiss Family Robinson in England, but the laws there wouldn’t allow Kevin Corcoran to work due to his young age. Disney had almost gotten a member of their staff arrested when they filmed with Bobby Driscoll in England previously as he was under age for labor laws. They also ruled out filming in Burbank because it would take too many special effects to make it look believable.
From an interview with Bill Anderson by Bob Thomas in 1973:
“I nearly got fired because of that picture. Walt was pretty mad at me because up to that time it cost more money than any picture we had ever made. He felt that I had spent more money than I should on the picture. And regardless of the reasons, it didn’t make any difference. I would say that it was the closest to the demise of Anderson at Disney. Walt, again, showing you he was a hell of a businessman, felt that picture could be made for a certain kind of a price. I cheated that price by almost a million dollars… He forgave me, because the picture was a real success. But he always had his eye on me and I don’t think I ever threw any money away. He never would let me forget it. He always would needle me, “Well, we’re not going to throw a lot of money away on this one, are we?” But he let me go on making pictures. He was very sweet, a very sweet man.”
Note: The footage shown here is a combination of the treehouses from Disneyland (Anaheim), Disneyland Paris, and Walt Disney World in the Magic Kingdom.
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