Beyond sickness and technical rewrites, the set of The Blue Bird was wracked by interpersonal paranoia and cross‑cultural breakdowns. Director George Cukor later complained that linguistic barriers were so bad he often had to resort to sign language to direct scenes, and tensions with certain cast members became openly accusatory: Cukor accused Cicely Tyson of attempting to jinx the production by casting voodoo spells on set — an allegation that speaks to the extraordinary strain of the shoot as much as to personality clashes. Jane Fonda is reported to have relaxed after initial sternness, but the cumulative delays — including a monthlong halt — convinced 20th Century Fox to remove Edward Lewis as producer. He was replaced by Paul Maslansky, a U.S. producer with prior Soviet experience on The Red Tent and Russian language skills. The episode captures how a mix of cultural mistrust, superstition‑tinged accusations, and poor communication can escalate into the ouster of an original producer and lasting reputational embarrassment for an otherwise prestigious international cooperation.
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AI concept artworkArchive Record · 1970s
Accusations of Voodoo, Communication Breakdowns and a Producer Ousted: George Cukor’s Fraught Soviet Shoot
George Cukor / The Blue Bird (1976 film) / 1970s
Beyond sickness and technical rewrites, the set of The Blue Bird was wracked by interpersonal paranoia and cross‑cultural breakdowns. Director George Cukor later complained that linguistic barriers were so bad he often had to resort to sign language to direct scenes, and tensions with certain cast members became openly accusatory: Cukor accused Cicely Tyson of attempting to jinx the production by casting voodoo spells on set — an allegation that speaks to the extraordinary strain of the shoot as much as to personality clashes. Jane Fonda is reported to have relaxed after initial sternness, but the cumulative delays — including a monthlong halt — convinced 20th Century Fox to remove Edward Lewis as producer. He was replaced by Paul Maslansky, a U.S. producer with prior Soviet experience on The Red Tent and Russian language skills. The episode captures how a mix of cultural mistrust, superstition‑tinged accusations, and poor communication can escalate into the ouster of an original producer and lasting reputational embarrassment for an otherwise prestigious international cooperation.
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