The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
Who will survive and what will be left of them?
Country
Production
Genre
Budget
$83 532
Box office
$30 896 376
Director
Actors
Scenario
Producer
Tobe Hooper, Jay Parsley
Camera operator
Daniel Pearl
Composer
Artist
Audition
Editing
J. Larry Carroll, Sallye Richardson
Whole Team (13)
Whole Team (13)
Short description
Five friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.
What's left behind the scenes
- During the famous chase scene, Gunnar Hansen, the actor playing Leatherface, was instructed to portray anger and frustration. He realized that stomping his feet wouldn't convey the necessary emotions, and began swinging the chainsaw.
- The film was shot in chronological order and took 32 days to film.
- Most of the actors had never met Gunnar Hansen before, let alone seen him in costume for the role, until filming their first scene with him (which was also his last).
- After spending some time in the makeup chair, John Duggan, who played the grandfather, decided he didn't want to undergo the makeup process again. This meant that all of his scenes had to be filmed in a single production day before his makeup was removed. The entire filming process took 36 hours (including 5 hours for makeup application), all taking place during a summer heatwave when outdoor temperatures approached or even exceeded 40 degrees Celsius. A significant amount of time was spent filming the dinner scene, where Duggan's character was, so to speak, 'dressed to the nines,' while being in a room filled with animal carcasses and spoiled food (without air conditioning or fans). During filming, some members of the crew became physically ill from the stench.
- The film features a Poulan 306A chainsaw, but the label with the company name was removed from the product just in case to avoid lawsuits.
- According to Edwin Neal (who played the hitchhiker), representatives of the Texas Highway Patrol thanked him for an 18% decrease in crime, as viewers had clearly taken to heart the film's main message: that one should not pick up hitchhikers voting on the roadside.
- One of the least gory horror films in cinematic history. This is because the director, writer, and producer Tobe Hooper planned to make a PG-rated film (parental guidance suggested), avoiding an emphasis on violence and strong language, completely excluding nudity, and suggesting the horrors rather than showing them in close-up on screen. All of this actually made the film even scarier, and it was given an 'X' rating (persons under 17 not admitted). Hooper subsequently encountered similar problems with the sequel.
- For the character of Leatherface, played by Gunnar Hansen, the script contained complete nonsense in place of lines. Tobe Hooper had to explain in detail to the actor exactly what his character meant in any given situation, and the actor had to figure out how to convey that without using words.
- The final shot featured Leatherface sawing his own leg with a chainsaw. The actor's leg was protected by a metal plate, over which a piece of meat and a bag of fake blood were secured. The actor genuinely screamed in pain because the plate quickly heated up from contact with the chainsaw and began to burn his leg.
- Due to the brutality of the script, Gunnar Hansen initially refused the role of Leatherface. He was persuaded to accept it by Marilyn Burns, the actress playing Sally, who was his girlfriend at the time.
- The film's budget was so small that Gunnar Hansen, who played Leatherface, had only one shirt. He wore it for four weeks straight – in the middle of a scorching Texas summer. By the end of filming, the smell emanating from the shirt was so strong that the rest of the crew couldn't be near Hansen (or eat near him during breaks).
- According to Gunnar Hansen, he did not get along with Paul A. Partain, who played Franklin, during filming. A few years later they crossed paths again, and Hansen realized that during the filming of 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,' Partain had simply stayed in character, even when he wasn't on camera. They became friends then and remained so until Partain's death.
- According to Tobe Hooper himself, the idea for the film came to him while visiting a hardware store.
- Due to the brutality of the script, Gunnar Hansen initially refused the role of Leatherface. He was persuaded to agree by Marilyn Burns, the actress who played Sally and his girlfriend at the time.
- The film's budget was so small that Gunnar Hansen, who played Leatherface, had only one shirt. Hansen wore it for four consecutive weeks in the middle of a hot Texas summer. By the end of filming, the smell emanating from the shirt was so strong that other members of the production crew could not stand near Hansen (or eat snacks near him during breaks).
- Tobe Hooper heightened the atmosphere and added tension to what was happening on screen, in particular by shortening scenes immediately preceding violent ones by a few frames, or by abruptly shifting the shot to Leatherface on the right when something was happening on the left side of the frame. Cinematographer Daniel Pearl spoke about this later.
- The script for the character of Leatherface, played by Gunnar Hansen, was written with complete nonsense as dialogue, and Tobe Hooper had to explain to the actor in detail what his character meant in each case, while the actor had to figure out how to convey it without using words.
- Once, Marilyn Burns took the clothes she wore on set home to wash them. Upon returning to the washing machine where she had loaded the clothes, the actress discovered that the shirts had been stolen. Fortunately, the store where the shirts were originally purchased had one more for sale—though it was one size too large. With no other options, the actress bought the shirt and wore it for the remainder of the filming period. Soon, the shirt became so saturated with fake blood that it simply hardened.
- The painting's original title was "Headcheese".
- Serial killer and necrophile Ed Gein (who, to some extent, served as the prototype for Leatherface) wasn't entirely a serial killer, as he killed only two women. He was primarily a grave robber. He stole body parts – exclusively female – from various graves. He kept some parts at home in the refrigerator, and made clothing from the skin of one corpse, which he then wore.
- Leatherface's mask severely limited his vision, and during filming, Gunnar Hansen regularly bumped his head on door frames, etc., due to his height (around two meters) and heels (another 7 cm).
- The Sawyer family was modeled after serial killer Ed Gein.
- Once, Marilyn Burns took clothing from the set to launder. Returning to the washing machine where she had loaded the clothes, the actress discovered that the shirts had been stolen. Fortunately, another shirt was found for sale at the store where they were purchased – though it was a size larger. There were no other options, so the actress bought the shirt and wore it for the remainder of filming. Soon, the shirt became so saturated with fake blood that it simply hardened.
- Leatherface's pursuit of actress Marilyn Burns became genuinely bloody: while fleeing, the actress was severely scratched by tree branches, meaning the blood on her clothes was real.
- As a sound backdrop, the director used a recording of the screams of livestock being sent to the slaughterhouse.
- In the scene where Sally tries to give her grandfather blood, the actress's finger was simply cut, as the fake blood was thickening quickly, and it was already the end of a 27-hour workday.
- Leatherface's mask significantly limited his vision, and during filming, Gunnar Hansen regularly hit his head on doorframes and other obstacles due to his height (about two meters) and heels (an additional 7 cm).
- One of the least gory horror films in the history of cinema. This was because the director, screenwriter, and producer Tobe Hooper planned to make a "PG" rated film (parental guidance suggested), without emphasizing violence and corresponding language, completely excluding nudity and, rather, hinting at horrors than showing them on screen in close-up. All this made the film even more frightening, and it received an "X" rating (persons under the age of 17 are not admitted to screenings). Hooper later encountered similar problems with the sequel.
- After spending some time in the makeup chair, John Dugan, who was cast as Grandpa, decided he didn't want to be made up anymore, which meant all the scenes with him had to be shot in one day while he still had his makeup on. The entire filming process took 36 hours (including 5 hours for makeup application), and it all happened in the heat of summer, when the temperature outside approached 40 degrees Celsius (and sometimes exceeded it). A significant amount of time was spent filming the dinner scene, where Dugan's character was, so to speak, 'dressed to the nines' while being in a room with animal carcasses and spoiled food (without air conditioning or fans). During filming, some members of the crew felt sick from the stench.
- The chase of Marilyn Burns by Leatherface turned out to be genuinely bloody: during the escape, the actress was badly cut by tree branches, so the blood on her clothes is real.
- Tobe Hooper built the atmosphere and added tension to the on-screen events in specific ways: he would cut scenes immediately preceding a violent act by a few frames, or, when something happened on the left side of the frame, he would abruptly shift the shot to Leatherface on the right. This was later recounted by cinematographer Daniel Perl.
- According to Gunnar Hansen, he didn't get along with Paul A. Partain, who played Franklin, during filming. Several years later, they met again, and Hansen realized that Partain had simply stayed in character even when not on camera during the filming of 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'. They became friends then and remained friends until Partain's death.
- During the famous scene of Sally's escape, Gunnar Hansen, the actor playing Leatherface, was told to portray anger and frustration. Realizing that stomping his feet would not convey the necessary emotions, he began waving the chainsaw.
- Most of the actors had never met Gunnar Hansen, let alone seen him in costume for the role, until they filmed their first scene together (which also happened to be their last).
- According to Edwin Neal (who played the hitchhiker), representatives of the Texas Highway Patrol thanked him for an 18% decrease in crime, as viewers had clearly absorbed the film's main message, which was not to pick up hitchhikers on the side of the road.
- During filming, the entire Sawyer family posed for a photo in front of the house, but a German reporter stole the shot from the set. He took the photo home, and it was later used to print posters for the film's initial release in West Germany.
- When the film was first released, it was so scary that many viewers didn't even make it to the end of the preview screening.
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