[citation needed] A single-take or one-take occurs when the entire scene is shot satisfactorily the first time, whether by necessity (as with certain expensive special effects) or by some combination of luck and skill.
Charlie Chaplin, both director and star of The Gold Rush, did 63 separate takes of a scene where his character eats a boot—in reality, a prop made of licorice—and ended up being taken to the hospital for insulin shock due to the high sugar intake.
[2] Director Bryan Singer tried for a full day to get his desired shots of the cast of The Usual Suspects behaving sullenly in a police lineup, but the actors could not remain serious and kept spoiling the takes by laughing and making faces.
[citation needed] During the filming of Some Like It Hot, director Billy Wilder was notoriously frustrated by the retakes required by Marilyn Monroe's inability to remember her lines.
Notable examples of releases of alternate takes include The Beatles Anthology box set, Johnny Cash's Bear Family box sets and Johnny Cash:The Outtakes and a series of alternate takes of recordings by Elvis Presley released by RCA Victor beginning in 1974 with Elvis: A Legendary Performer Volume 1.
A fine example of the musical implications of multiple recorded performances and how they differ can be found on the posthumous 1969 LP compilation "To Know a Man" (Blue Horizon 7-66230) which comprises the complete last two early 1960s sessions by legendary slide guitarist Elmore James with backing musicians.