The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Roger Corman

Writer:

Charles B. Griffith (screenplay)

Release Date:

14 September 1960 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror

Tagline:

The flowers that kill in the Spring TRA-LA

Plot:

A clumsy young man nurtures a plant and discovers that it's a bloodthirsty plant, forcing him to kill to feed it.

Plot Keywords:

Plant | Black Comedy | Carnivorous Plant | Flower | Dismemberment

Cast

Jonathan Haze	...	Seymour Krelboin
Jackie Joseph	...	Audrey Fulquard
Mel Welles	...	Gravis Mushnik
Dick Miller	...	Burson Fouch
Myrtle Vail	...	Winifred Krelboin
Karyn Kupcinet	...	Teenage Girl (as Tammy Windsor)
Toby Michaels	...	Teenage Girl
Leola Wendorff	...	Siddie Shiva
Lynn Storey	...	Mrs. Hortense Feuchtwanger (Society of Silent Flower Observers of Southern California)
Wally Campo	...	Det. Sgt .Joe Fink / Narrator
Jack Warford	...	Det. Frank Stoolie
Meri Welles	...	Leonora Clyde (as Merri Welles)
John Herman Shaner	...	Dr. Phoebus Farb (as John Shaner)
Jack Nicholson	...	Wilbur Force
Dodie Drake	...	Waitress

Also Known As:

The Passionate People Eater (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

70 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:S (1998) | UK:A (theatrical rating) (1973) | Finland:K-11 (DVD rating) (2007) | Ireland:PG | Argentina:16 | Australia:PG | UK:PG | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Chaplin Studios - 1416 N. La Brea Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Santa Clara Productions

Trivia:

Although the film is legendary for having been shot in only two days, Jonathan Haze recalled in "The Little Shop of Horrors Book" that he was called back several weeks later for re-shoots.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Winifred begins sipping her Dr. Slurp's high-octane 'cough medicine' in the bedroom, the bottle is almost full; a moment later when she walks into the living room, the bottle is half empty even though she doesn't drink again until Seymour is leaving.

Quotes:

Burson Fouch: I remember in one flower shop there was a whole wall covered with poison ivy and people came from miles around to look at that wall and they stayed to buy.
Gravis Mushnik: And the owner got rich?
Burson Fouch: No, he scratched himself to death in an insane asylum.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Silent Hill (1999) (VG)

Charming little movie to watch over and over again

If there is ONE movie that made Roger Corman THE king of low-budget quickies, it's The Little Shop of Horrors!! Practically no budget and shot in two days this movie still looks very decent now, almost 45 years later. That's quite an effort if you ask me and it's good to see that this movie finally received the status of immortal cult movie.

This is a very charming little movie, to say the least. The story is simple but it keeps you alert all the time ( originally, it was meant to be a sequel to Bucket of Blood ) but it's the characters that steal the show. Every character that walks through the screen is exceptional and hilarious. We've got a guy who feeds on flowers, an old lady who loses a family member every day, a mother with a fetish for diseases, a masochistic undertaker who visits the dentist and almost has an orgasm ( legendary appearance by Jack Nicholson in one of his first roles ) and a whole bunch of others...Too much to list, actually. Jonathan Haze is brilliant as the dumb florist assistant in love. He created a new type of plant and that causes a whole lot of trouble...and comedy.

Watch Little Shop of Horrors for it's value in cult cinema, maybe. Or because Roger Corman is an interesting director who deserves to be checked out. Or you could watch it to see where Jack Nicholson started his impressive career a long time ago. But - most of all - watch it because it's an adorable little movie with very funny sequences and a lot of low-budget charm. The 80's musical version by Frank Oz is also worth a look but it doesn't come close to this original version.