Difficulties on sets are a longtime fault in the Hollywood system. Historically, there hasn't been a human resources department the way there might be in more corporate settings. We'll always have lots of work to do to make things acceptable for everyone, and it's important to acknowledge that the ball is rolling towards progress. However, it's also important to look back on how bad things have been in the past, so that we can appreciate the comfort and freedom many of us have in the workplace now.

When it comes to unacceptable behavior, Dracula couldn't hold a torch to one of the real-life stars of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Director Charles Barton spoke candidly in the book It's Alive!: The Classic Cinema Saga of Frankenstein, about an unruly actor making things more difficult than they needed to be. Luckily, he was spared most of the misbehavior.

"We had a great relationship. You hear a lot of things about little Lou [Costello]— and he was a little terror! He was a very hot-headed little Italian, and he'd have tantrums you wouldn't believe— really wouldn't believe."

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So, with such personalities as this in the mix, how did Barton keep the movie afloat? As it turns out, being a director might be 50% filmmaking and 50% people management skills. Barton was more than adept at both.

"A lot of people showed fear, and that's what he loved, so he'd walk all over them. But for some reason, with me, and I don't know why in the hell it was, we got along even better than brothers. Things that I'd like him to do in a picture, he would at least try— something he wouldn't do with many other directors— and that showed that he had confidence in me. We became very good friends. We were close."

So, while there were monsters all around the studio, both in makeup and out, Charles Barton was able to remain level-headed, leaning on his expertise to gain the trust of everyone around him.