Sometimes, when passions run hot, people are pushed to their limit. Granted, Hollywood may seem like the land of false camaraderie, but the film industry has had more than its fair share of dramatic moments behind the scenes.

One such event occurred during the production of the 1953 film, The War of the Worlds. The film was produced by George Pal, whose passion for the project frequently put him at odds with production chief Don Hartman.

“He didn’t understand it,” Pal said of Hartman during an interview with Cinefantastique Magazine. “I had a big disagreement with him on The War of the Worlds, and I almost lost the project entirely. We simply didn’t see eye to eye.”

According to Pal, Hartman called the film treatment, written by Barré Lyndon, “a piece of crap” and threw it into the garbage. Pal flew into a rage, and the two men quickly had to be physically separated.

Luckily, studio head Y. Frank Freeman happened upon the tense moment while he was visiting the studio. As the voice of reason, Freeman heard both men’s side of the story before ultimately siding with Pal.

“Go ahead and make your film, do anything you want,” Freeman told Pal.