Top 10 Movies That Left Out the Real Horrific Ending

“My Left Foot” (1989)
Christy Brown was a man who endured many hardships in his life. While the biopic “My Left Foot” doesn’t shy away from that fact, it did leave out a dark chapter of his story: his relationship with his wife Mary Carr. The film depicts Christy meeting Carr at a charity event, and the film ends with them celebrating with a bottle of champagne. Unfortunately, their happily-ever-after may not have been so happy after all. When Christy Brown died at the age of forty-nine, a postmortem analysis showed bruising on his body. Many suspected the bruises were from neglect or someone physically harming him. A biography was also eventually published that depicted Carr as being unfaithful.

“Unbroken” (2014)
“Unbroken” tells the riveting true story of Louis Zamperini, an American soldier who survived a bomber crash over the Pacific, and endured a series of POW camps before the end of WWII. Sadly, as is the case with many veterans, Zamperini was plagued with post-traumatic stress disorder in the years following his return home. He had nightmares of confronting his captors that were so intense that he once attacked his wife at night, before regaining his senses. When Zamperini turned to alcohol as a way to sleep better, he only further damaged his psyche. Thankfully, Zamperini found closure with his ordeal and did improve. But his postwar life certainly was not the picnic the ending of the film suggests it was.

“The Sound of Music” (1965)
When you’re singing along to the happy “Sound of Music” track, you’re probably not thinking about Nazis living in the hills. But that’s the sad reality. Some time after the von Trapp family vacated their Salzburg home in 1938, the house was seized and used as a headquarters for Nazi operations. It specifically served as the summer home for Heinrich Himmler, who was a major architect of many war crimes. The von Trapp home was even visited by Adolf Hitler himself. Thankfully, the estate was turned back over to missionaries after WWII. We’re not surprised the von Trapps left out a song about the house’s regrettable history.

“The Aviator” (2004)
While Martin Scorsese’s “The Aviator” gave us a pretty solid preview of what Howard Hughes’s life would ultimately become, it didn’t portray every detail. The movie depicted how he would sequester himself from the outside world for months on end. In real life, his isolationist tendencies only continued. His germaphobia also prevented him from seeing his own wife for several years before they divorced. By the time that Hughes died in 1976, he was so unkempt that his body was almost unrecognizable. Although Hughes had a stature of 6’4”, he weighed a paltry ninety pounds by the end of his life. The ending of the film is a fairy tale compared to the sad truth.

“The Greatest Showman” (2017)
Most audiences knew that “The Greatest Showman” wasn’t entirely factually accurate, especially since P. T. Barnum had a notorious history. But it turns out the movie was omitting more than just the uglier parts of his story. Lettie Lutz, the bearded lady, was based on Annie Jones. She was surrendered to his custody when she was still an infant. Not one to despair, Jones was an advocate for the rights of so-called “freaks”' and even broke away from Barnum to promote her cause. But her dire financial straits forced her to return to work with him. Jones would succumb to tuberculosis at just thirty-seven years of age. It’s definitely not the “big happy family” ending the movie implied.

“Remember the Titans” (2000)
“Remember the Titans” is an inspiring true tale of uniting in the face of cultural and racial divides. But not every person involved was infallible. Eight years after leading T. C. Williams’s first racially integrated football team to a state championship, Coach Herman Boone was fired. The main reason he lost his position was because he was accused of harming his own players. Although the firing was something of a shock to the city of Alexandria, three assistant coaches had threatened to walk if Boone was not relieved of his duties. Ironically, a movie called “Remember the Titans” forgot to talk about the unceremonious end to Coach Boone’s career.

“Titanic” (1997)
This epic drama definitely got the biggest aspect of the tragedy right. After the RMS Titanic sank, over 1,500 people lost their lives. However, it left out an egregious human error that occurred in the aftermath. One of the bodies recovered was Jock Hume, a violinist who valiantly played amongst his compatriots as the ship sank. But his brave final actions were dishonored. The company that employed Hume had the audacity to bill his father for the damage done to the uniform Hume was renting. And how did it get damaged? We have a feeling it had something to do with the tragic sinking of the Titanic. Thankfully, Hume’s father chose not to pay the bill.

“Pocahontas” (1995)
This animated Disney movie is notorious for its factual inaccuracies, especially when it comes to the ending. Although the film concludes with John Smith’s departure from the Americas, it doesn’t show that the real Pocahontas was subjected to a number of atrocities. She was captured by the English and used as a pawn in negotiations with her father, the Chief of the Powhatans, for a full year. In 1614, she got married to tobacco planter John Rolfe. But it's unknown whether Pocahontas had a choice in their union. She was subsequently taken to England and used primarily as a propaganda symbol. Unfortunately, she passed away from an unconfirmed illness at just twenty-one years of age.

“Erin Brockovich” (2000)
While the real Erin Brockovich deemed the film to be about “98% accurate,” this fascinating people’s interest story doesn’t exactly address what happened after David slayed Goliath. Brokovich’s class-action lawsuit was indeed successful, in that the business PG&E was mandated to compensate the families affected by the company’s tainted water a whopping $333 million. In real life, many found that their cut was less than they expected. The law firm took roughly 40% of that cut. From there, the town of Hinkley, California turned into a proverbial ghost town. The fears of the water’s furthered contamination drove away many residents.

“12 Years a Slave” (2013)
Solomon Northup was a free black man living in New York when he was kidnapped in 1841 and sold into slavery in the Southern United States. As the title suggests, he endured twelve grueling years before eventually regaining his freedom and reuniting with his family. Afterwards he wrote the memoir of the same name and became an abolitionist. But four years after returning home, he disappeared again without a trace. It’s possible he was resold into slavery or that someone took his life. But his final fate is a sad mystery. Although the film acknowledges the uncertainty regarding his death, it omits just how bleak the end of his life might have been.