The director who used witchcraft to kill Marlon Brando

Trying to detail everything that went wrong with this doomed film would take too long, but a brief history of its problems includes numerous cast changes, inclement weather at a rainforest filming location, a leading star who alienated everyone on set while he was going through a divorce; and another star who refused to learn her lines and at one point also went AWOL, secluded on her private island. The last one was obviously Brando.

When Stanley was fired from New Line Cinema just three days later and replaced by John Frankenheimer, he must have felt like his dream had turned into a nightmare. After all, he spent so much time and effort getting the film off the ground, even going to extraordinary lengths to ensure Brando’s participation.

IN Lost SoulsThe eccentric director admitted he was so desperate to land legendary Godfather star involved in him supernaturally stacking the deck in his favor. He said: “Knowing that the odds were stacked against me, I resorted to witchcraft.”

Stanley enlisted the help of his friend Skip, an English sorcerer who could fix things and do what Stanley called “invisible repairs.” They devised a plan that involved meeting in Hollywood and casting a blood magic spell at the same time. At the same time that Stanley met with Brando and studio executives to entice him to sign the contract, Skip and the coven performed a ritual to “save the film.”

To Stanley’s delight, the spell worked. Brando agreed to star in the film, and everything seemed to be in place for the director to bring his vision to life. However, three days into production, everything was in tatters. Stanley left, Frankenheimer threw out most of his script, and Brando took on his penchant for strange, difficult behavior to extremes he had never reached before.

Oddly enough, the ritual seemed to backfire on the people who performed it. Not only was Stanley’s career ruined, but Skip quickly became infected with a flesh-eating virus and Stanley’s mother was struck by lightning.

Over the years, many people have suggested that the production was cursed, and perhaps this was because dark magic was used before it began. Indeed, in addition to production problems, there was also a tragedy associated with the film. Brando didn’t just retreat to his private island because he was embarrassed; he did this after his daughter Cheyenne committed suicide in Tahiti.

It can never be confirmed whether the film was actually cursed or not, but in 2007, when Stanley was asked why Brando agreed to join the film, he seemed to make it clear that there was no love lost between them.

He mused cryptically: “There were a lot of strange machinations going on behind the scenes that I really couldn’t understand. The entire period of time… with Cheyenne, the entire period is filled with paranoia and fraud. What Brando’s motives were, I honestly cannot say.”

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