After the original release of the film, the location of the house used in the movie has changed. Today, the site is an open field, leaving no trace of former filming. It is believed that the original house has been relocated, later becoming an eatery in Kingsland, Texas. In this article, you will learn more trivia and facts surrounding this cult classic, including information on the actor who played Leatherface.
There is a misconception that the film was based on a true story , untrue.
This classic horror movie was filmed with only a budget of $60,000.
The amount of fake blood used to soak Marilyn Burn’s costume was so great that by the last shoot of the day, it was nearly solid. Ironically, her character is chased through foliage. During the scene, she actually cut herself on the branches , so much so , a great deal of the blood on her body and clothes were authentic.
Because of the low budget allotted to the movie, Gunnar Hansen was given only one shirt to wear when playing Leatherface. The shirt was dyed and could not be washed. Hansen wore the same shirt for four straight weeks of filming. To make matters worse, they were filming in the middles of a Texas summer.
Towards the end of filming, Hansen ate lunch alone because no one wanted to sit next to him , his costume smelled horrible.
When cutting costs for the movie, production used a real human skeleton towards the end of filming because at the time, a human skeleton from India cost less than one made out of plastic.
During filming of the movie, Gunner Hansen (Leatherface) wore three-inch heels so that he would appear taller than the rest of his cast mates. Because of this, he had to duck down when entering and exiting the doorways of the slaughterhouse.
At the start of filming, the shooting schedule was slated for two weeks, but in the end, it took four weeks to finish up the movie.
The first Texas Chainsaw movie was filmed in cities in Texas, such as Austin and Round Rock. The scenes involving the gas station and the BBQ shack took place in Bastrop Texas, while the cemetery scenes were filmed at the Bagdad Cemetery on Bagdad Road in Leander, Texas.
The opening narration of the film was the handiwork of John Larroquette (from ‘Night Court’ fame). He claims that his payment for doing the narration was a marijuana joint. He would later reprise the position in the 2003 remake of the movie.
The director was born in Austin, Texas. His other film productions include “Poltergeist” and “Salem’s Lot” (for television). Interestingly, he directed a music video for Billy Idol , the infamous “Dancing With Myself.”
In 1986, the sequel to the movie was released, featuring Dennis Hopper as a former Texas Marshall, who is on the hunt for the cannibalistic family. In this film, Leatherface is played by Bill Johnson, who later made a name doing voice work for video games.
In 1990, Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III was released with Viggo Mortensen playing the character of Tex. The movie was banned at one point in countries, including Iceland and Finland.