That Snow You See in Older Movies May Have Been Asbestos
Looking at it now, knowing the death and disease that asbestos causes, you may cringe at the sight of actors and actresses performing on sets with asbestos fibers raining down on them. But for a time, given how cheap and available asbestos was for a time, it shouldn’t come as a surprise. Some of these movies are Christmas classics, but the health risks you see on the screen shouldn’t leave you feeling merry.
In the early glory days of movies, filmmakers used what they could find as special effects, according to Movieweb. Many films were shot in studios in warm and sunny Hollywood, California, so there was no snow to be found. As long as something was white and fluffy enough, it could be used as snow, including the following:
- Salt
- Sugar
- Flour
- Soap flakes
- Cornflakes painted white
- Marble dust and
- Asbestos
Asbestos, the naturally occurring, fibrous mineral used in thousands of products over centuries, causes many fatal medical conditions, including lung cancer and mesothelioma. Though the asbestos industry was aware of asbestos’ dangers, they weren’t widely known when these movies were made.
Here are some movies that featured asbestos in some of their scenes.
1. White Christmas
This holiday musical starring Bing Crosby was released in 1954. It features a scene with the top-selling musical single of all time, which shares the same title as the movie. The film has the classic Hollywood sugar coating of a plot: the Broadway star Bob (Crosby), an aspiring performer named Phil, and the sister act of Betty and Judy try to save an old inn. The movie features music written by Irving Berlin.
Not so sweet was using chrysolite asbestos as snow in the scenes calling for frosty white stuff on the screen. The actors and those on the set didn’t enjoy a peaceful snowfall. It was clouds of asbestos fibers. It may have poisoned an unknown number of those working on the set, but it didn’t melt.
2. Holiday Inn
This musical, also starring Crosby and featuring the song “White Christmas,” was released in 1942. The film’s central character, Jim Hardy (Crosby), is a heartbroken singer who turns his farm into the Holiday Inn, a Christmas-only entertainment venue.
Chrysotile asbestos is featured in the movie’s many snowy scenes. That “White Christmas” Crosby sings about during Holiday Inn gets that color from cancer-causing asbestos.
3. Citizen Kane
Considered one of the best movies of all time, this 1941 drama stars Orson Welles in his first feature film. Citizen Kane is about reporters seeking to discover the meaning of publishing mogul Charles Foster Kane’s last word before his death (“Rosebud”). At the movie’s end, it’s revealed that was the name of Kane’s childhood sled. The film features asbestos “snow” (including a scene with a child actor).
4. It’s A Wonderful Life
It’s another asbestos-containing Christmas classic. It’s A Wonderful Life is about George Bailey (James Stewart), who considers suicide on Christmas Eve but is convinced otherwise by George, his guardian angel.
It was shot with chrysotile asbestos on the set to create a snowy background, but it wasn’t sprinkled on the actors to recreate snowfall. The snow falling in the movie is a mixture of Foamite (a substance in fire extinguishers), sugar, soap, and water.
5. Wizard of Oz
This was the first major color film, becoming part of American culture. It’s the basis of the widely popular book and play Wicked, which has been made into two major movies.
This 1939 fantasy musical follows Dorothy Gale as she travels with the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion to find the Wizard of Oz so she can return home to Kansas. Along the way, they battle the Wicked Witch of the West and her nightmare-inducing flying monkeys as they cross the land of Oz.
In addition to little sleep, heavy costumes, being set on fire, and sprayed in the face with aluminum-based makeup, the cast was exposed to pure asbestos fibers. In one scene, Dorothy and friends wake up in a poppy field covered in what looks like snow. Behind the scene, asbestos fibers were dumped on them.
6. Goldfinger
This more recent movie, the third of 27 James Bond films, was released in 1964. The movie had no carcinogenic snow (it’s set in Hong Kong), but asbestos-containing special effects boards were used, and asbestos covered pipes lined the set. A painter who worked on the film died of asbestos-related cancer, according to Asbestos Surveys. In 2007, his widow sued the studio because of his death.
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All these movies are fictional, but it’s a fact that asbestos fibers can injure and kill those exposed to them. If you have an asbestos-related disease, you may be entitled to compensation.
To discuss your situation and how Satterley & Kelley, PLLC can help, call our Louisville office toll-free at 855-385-9532 or complete our contact form to schedule a free initial consultation.