Shock Treatment (1981)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Jim Sharman

Writers:

Richard O'Brien (writer) and
Jim Sharman (writer)

Release Date:

30 October 1981 (West Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Tagline:

The Home of Happiness

Plot:

Janet and Brad become contestants on a game show... but wind up as captives instead.

Plot Keywords:

TV Station | Nurse | Sequel | Surrealism | Soap Opera

Cast

Jessica Harper	...	Janet Majors
Cliff De Young	...	Brad Majors / Farley Flavors
Richard O'Brien	...	Cosmo McKinley
Patricia Quinn	...	Nation McKinley
Charles Gray	...	Judge Oliver Wright
Ruby Wax	...	Betty Hapschatt
Nell Campbell	...	Nurse Ansalong
Rik Mayall	...	'Rest Home' Ricky
Barry Humphries	...	Bert Schnick
Darlene Johnson	...	Emily Weiss
Manning Redwood	...	Harry Weiss
Wendy Raebeck	...	Macy Struthers
Jeremy Newson	...	Ralph Hapschatt
Betsy Brantley	...	Neely Pritt
Perry Bedden	...	Neely's Crew
Rufus Collins	...	Neely's Crew
Christopher Malcolm	...	Vance Parker (as Chris Malcolm)
Ray Charleson	...	Floor Manager
Eugene Lipinski	...	Kirk
Barry Dennen	...	Irwin Lapsey
Imogen Claire	...	Wardrobe Mistress
Gary Shail	...	Oscar Drill
Donald Waugh	...	Glish Davidson
David John	...	'Bit' drummer
Claire Toeman	...	Brenda Drill
Gary Martin	...	'Bit' guitarist
Sinitta Renay	...	Frankie (as Sinitta Renet)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sal Piro	...	Guy on payphone (uncredited)

Directed by
Jim Sharman

Writing credits
Richard O'Brien		(writer) and
Jim Sharman		(writer)

Produced by
Lou Adler	....	executive producer
John Goldstone	....	producer
Michael White	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Richard Hartley
Richard O'Brien

Cinematography by
Mike Molloy

Film Editing by
Richard Bedford

Casting by
Debbie McWilliams

Production Design by
Brian Thomson

Art Direction by
Andrew Sanders

Set Decoration by
Ken Wheatley

Costume Design by
Sue Blane

Makeup Department
Carol Devine	....	makeup artist
Sandra Exelby	....	makeup artist
Pat Hay	....	key makeup artist
Joan Hills	....	makeup artist
Mike Lockey	....	hair stylist
Chris Taylor	....	hair stylist

Production Management
John Comfort	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Chris Brock	....	third assistant director
Michael Murray	....	second assistant director
Roger Simons	....	first assistant director

Art Department
John Beard	....	assistant art director
Peter Collins	....	drapes master
Norman Hart	....	art department
Len Huntingford	....	art department
John Leuenberger	....	property master
Darryl Paterson	....	stand-by prop
Bryn Siddall	....	art department

Sound Department
John Chandler	....	sound assistant
Ian Fuller	....	dubbing editor
Anthony Sloman	....	additional sound editor
Hugh Strain	....	sound re-recording mixer
Bruce White	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Kenneth Atherfold	....	camera department
Chuck Finch	....	gaffer
Tommy Finch	....	gaffer
Laurie Frost	....	camera department
Brian King	....	video operator
Reg Parsons	....	best boy
Roy Rodhouse	....	gaffer
Bob Smith	....	camera operator

Casting Department
Ellen Chenoweth	....	casting: USA

Music Department
Hugh Burns	....	musician
Mark Griffiths	....	musician
Richard Hartley	....	music arranger
Richard Hartley	....	musical director
Richard Hartley	....	musician
Les Morgan	....	musician
Michael Weaver	....	musician
Dave Wintour	....	musician

Other crew
Andy Birmingham	....	production accountant
Marilyn Clarke	....	production assistant
Gillian Gregory	....	choreographer
Brian Thomson	....	additional ideas
Graham Chapman	....	advisor (uncredited)
David Sherlock	....	advisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Shochiku CBS/Fox Video (SCF) (????) (Japan) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Other Companies

• Animation City  animation and end titles
• Lee Lighting  lighting

Also Known As:

The Brad and Janet Show (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

94 min | UK:88 min (PAL DVD version) | UK:88 min (DVD version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) | Ireland:15 (cut DVD version) | UK:PG (cut DVD version) | Iceland:L | Ireland:15 (DVD version) | UK:PG (DVD version) | Australia:M | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Lee International Studios, Wembley, London, England, UK

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The original script took place in natural locations around the town of Denton (Brad and Janet's house, Cosmo and Nation's "Hospital," etc.), and was set to be filmed in the real-life town of Denton, Texas, but the 1979-1980 Screen Actors Guild strike meant that no American actors would be available for the shoot, as no American actor would be allowed to act, at any location. This left the UK as the only filming option. The idea to have the entire film take place inside the Denton television studio was conceived by director Jim Sharman because no locations could be found in England to pass for an American suburb.

Goofs:

Continuity: During "Little Black Dress," the champagne in Cosmo's hand switches from his left to his right, then back, without him moving it.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: Once upon a time, there lived a real fast guy. His life was fast. His friends were fast. Heh - even his food was fast. But he was still not satisfied. He wanted to share his fast philosophy with someone else, a beautiful girl. Trouble was, she was in the arms of... another man.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Rocky Horror Treatment (1981) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Lullaby

woefully underrated

As people have said, this film got a horribly bad rap, and made very little money. The reason, as people have also said, is that it was expected to be in the same vein as RHPS, which it simply was not. Sure, it had Richard O'Brien's trademark musical style and whimsy, but it wasn't the campy kitsch people were expecting. It was, in fact, an intellectual movie with a serious message, a brilliant satire of life in the late 20th century. O'Brien takes jabs at the hallmarks of the decline of modern Western civilisation; conformity, machismo, brainwashing, and the absurdity of the "American Dream".

The plot can be a little hard to discern on the first viewing, but, as with many great intellectual films, more nuances of what O'Brien is trying to say are picked up with each subsequent viewing. The film is certainly surreal, to say the least; and I would suspect psychedelics were somehow involved in the writing of the script. Denton, the picaresque happy U.S. everytown, is actually just a television studio; and all the residents are characters on television shows or are in the audience. Enter Brad and Janet, who, after experiencing the "horrors" of RHPS, are having marital difficulties. This works perfectly into the plan of a mysterious fast food magnate, who intends to steal Janet away from her husband and use her to promote his business. He conspires to have Brad locked up in the local mental hospital/soap opera, while promoting Janet as a new bombshell sensation, and taking the whole town under his thumb.

In short, if you're looking for more of RHPS, you will be sorely disappointed. But if you want a thought-provoking yet whimsical, tongue-in-cheek attack on all that is mind-numbing and soul crushing in our modern world, definately check this film out. Jonathan Swift would be proud.