The Little Shop of Horrors

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This is about the 1960 Roger Corman film. For other uses, see Little Shop (disambiguation). Separate articles cover the 1982 musical, the 1986 film of the same title, as well as the later animated TV series.

The Little Shop of Horrors
Theatrical release poster.
Directed by	Roger Corman
Produced by	Roger Corman
Written by	Charles B. Griffith
Starring	Jonathan Haze Jackie Joseph Mel Welles Dick Miller
Music by	Fred Katz Ronald Stein
Cinematography	Archie R. Dalzell Vilis Lapenieks
Editing by	Marshall Neilan Jr.
Distributed by	The Filmgroup Inc.
Release date(s)	September 14, 1960
Running time	70 min.
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	$30,000
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Little Shop of Horrors is a 1960 black comedy film directed by Roger Corman. It tells the story of Seymour Krelboyne, a nerdy young florist's assistant who cultivates a plant that feeds on human blood and flesh. The film is famous for reputedly having been shot in two days.^[1]

The film is also noteworthy for featuring a young Jack Nicholson in a small role as Wilbur Force, the dentist's masochistic patient.^[1] Although Nicholson played only a small part, after he became famous many video releases showed him as the star, sometimes holding the plant on the front of the box, even though in the movie he never encounters it. Among some who haven't seen the movie, this has led to some confusion, causing them to believe that Nicholson played Seymour.

Although the film didn't get very much attention when it was originally released, it has since grown to cult classic status, thanks to its low budget and original style of humor. The film inspired a 1982 stage musical, and a 1986 feature film based on the musical. Today, The Little Shop of Horrors is in the public domain, and is widely available in copies of varying quality.

Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Production 3 Reception 4 Home video availability 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Plot summary

On Los Angeles' skid row, penny-pinching Gravis Mushnick (Mel Welles) owns a florist shop and employs sweet but simple Audrey Fulquard (Jackie Joseph) and clumsy Seymour Krelboyne (Jonathan Haze). Although the rundown shop gets little business, there are some repeat customers; for instance, Mrs. Siddie Shiva (Leola Wendorff) shops almost daily for flower arrangements for her many relatives' funerals. Another regular customer is Burson Fouch (Dick Miller), who eats the plants he buys for lunch.

When Seymour fouls up dentist Dr. Farb's arrangement, Mushnick fires him. Hoping Mushnick will change his mind, Seymour tells him about a special plant that he cross-bred from a butterwort and a Venus Flytrap. Bashfully, Seymour admits that he named the plant "Audrey II," a revelation that delights the real Audrey. From the apartment he shares with his hypochondriac mother, Winifred (Myrtle Vail), Seymour fetches his odd-looking, potted plant, but Mushnick is unimpressed by its sickly, drooping look. However, when Fouch suggests that Audrey II's uniqueness might attract people from all over the world to see it, Mushnick gives Seymour one week to revive it.

Seymour has already discovered that the usual kinds of plant food do not nourish his strange hybrid and that every night at sunset the plant's leaves open up. When Seymour accidentally pricks his finger on another thorny plant, Audrey II opens wider, eventually causing Seymour to discover that the plant craves blood. After that, each night Seymour nurses his creation with blood from his fingers, and although he feels increasingly listless, Audrey II begins to grow.

When the shop's revenues increase due to the curious customers who are lured in to see Audrey Jr., Mushnick gives Seymour a raise and unofficially adopts him. Impressed by Audrey Jr., teenaged girls decorating a float for the Rose Parade ask their committee for permission to buy $2,000 worth of flowers from Mushnick's shop. As Mushnick dreams about building a greenhouse for Seymour to breed plants and owning a shop in Beverly Hills, Audrey Jr. wilts.

The now anemic Seymour stays up all night feeding the plant his blood, but the plant (voiced by writer Charles B. Griffith), which has begun to talk at night, demands, "Feed me more!" Not knowing what to feed the plant, Seymour takes a walk along a railroad track. When he carelessly throws a rock to vent his frustration, he inadvertently knocks out a man, who falls on the track and is run over by a train.

Miserably guilt-ridden, but resourceful, Seymour collects the body parts and feeds them to Audrey Jr. Meanwhile, at a restaurant, Mushnick discovers he has no money with him, and when he returns to the shop to get some cash, he secretly observes Seymour feeding the plant. Although Mushnick intends to tell the police, the next day, when he sees the line of people waiting to spend money at his shop, he procrastinates. When Seymour later arrives that morning, suffering a toothache, Mushnick confronts him about the plant's "food." Seymour claims that, based on information he read about the plants he cross-bred, Audrey Jr. should require no more feedings.

Placated, Mushnick sends Seymour to Dr. Farb for his toothache, but at the office, Seymour sees other patients suffering and realizes the dentist is sadistic. He tries to flee, but Farb prevents him from leaving and tries to remove several of his teeth. Grabbing a sharp tool, Seymour fights back and accidentally stabs and kills Farb. Just then, a masochistic patient, Wilbur Force (Jack Nicholson), mistakes Seymour for the dentist and insists that Seymour treat his "three or four abscesses, nine or ten cavities" and other dental problems, and that he not use an anesthetic. Seymour gallantly does his best and Wilbur later leaves happily missing several teeth.

Seymour is disturbed that he has now murdered twice, but nevertheless feeds Farb to Audrey Jr. At the police homicide division, Sgt. Joe Fink and his assistant Frank Stoolie (take-offs of Dragnet characters Joe Friday and Frank Smith played by Wally Campo and Jack Warford^[1]) discover that Farb and the man at the railroad tracks have disappeared. They question Mushnick, who acts suspiciously nervous, but conclude that he knows nothing. Audrey Jr., which has grown several feet tall, is beginning to bud, as is the relationship between Seymour and Audrey whom Seymour invites on a date.

When a representative of the Society of Silent Flower Observers of Southern California comes to the shop to check out the plant, she announces that Seymour will soon receive a trophy from them and that she will return when the plant's buds open. Unwilling to risk that the plant will eat more people, Mushnick decides to stay at the shop all night to watch it. When Audrey Jr. begins to call out for food, Mushnick refuses to feed it. Because he has no money, Seymour takes Audrey home for dinner. Winifred has prepared a first course of cod liver soup garnished with sulfur powder. While eating chow mein flavored with Chinese herbs and Epsom salts, she tries to discourage Seymour and Audrey from marrying until he buys her the iron lung he has promised her.

When an armed burglar breaks into the shop, Mushnick hides in the refrigerator case, but is soon found by the burglar to whom he offers the contents of his cash register. When the burglar holds a gun to his head and demands more money, Mushnick directs him to look inside the open plant, and when the burglar climbs, he is eaten. The next day, Mushnick tells Seymour that they must destroy the plant after he receives the trophy and orders him to stand guard that night.

Because Seymour must work at the shop that night, Audrey suggests that they have a picnic there, and while they are eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Audrey Jr. interrupts by yelling, "Feed me!" Unaware that the plant can talk, Audrey assumes Seymour is being rude and leaves in tears. Seymour chases after her, trying to explain, but she will not listen to him. Angry, Seymour returns to Audrey Jr. and vows never to feed it again, but the plant hypnotizes Seymour to go out in search of "food."

In a trance, Seymour walks through the streets, past beckoning prostitutes, looking for food for the "master." When another prostitute approaches Seymour, he thinks she is "volunteering," knocks her on the head with a rock and carries her to the shop. Still lacking clues about the mysterious disappearances of the two men, Fink and Stoolie attend a special sunset celebration at the shop during which Seymour is to be presented with the trophy and Audrey, Jr.'s buds are expected to open.

As the attendees look on, four buds open. Inside each flower is the face of one of the plant's meals: the man at the railroad tracks, Farb, the burglar and the prostitute. Seymour panics and runs through the streets, and police lose his trail later when he takes refuge in a yard filled with sinks and commodes. Seymour eventually makes his way back to Mushnick's shop, where Audrey Jr. is yelling for food. Ignoring the plant's demands, Seymour blames it for ruining his life. He takes a knife and climbs into the plant, in a poorly thought-out attempt to stop it. Later, when Audrey, Winifred, Mushnick and the police return to the shop after searching for Seymour, another bud on Audrey, Jr. opens, revealing the face of Seymour, who whines "I didn't mean it!"

[edit] Production

The Little Shop of Horrors gained notoriety as the fastest film ever shot. According to Corman, he made the film because he temporarily had access to sets left standing from another film, and he decided to use the sets in a film made in the last two days before the sets were torn down. The fastest film Corman had shot previously was A Bucket of Blood, which was shot in five days.^[1] Other sources suggest that Corman had to complete a film before new industry rules were to go into effect which would prevent producers from "buying out" an actor's performance in perpetuity. After January 1, 1960, all actors were to be paid residuals for all future releases of their work. This meant that Corman's B-movie business model would be permanently changed and he would not be able to produce low-budget movies in the same way.^[2][3]

According to screenwriter Charles B. Griffith "After Bucket, we went out on the town and started throwing our ideas around. [...] Roger and I talked over a bunch of ideas, including gluttony. The hero would be a salad chef in a restaurant who would wind up cooking customers and stuff like that, you know? We couldn't do that though because of the code at the time. So I said, 'How about a man-eating plant?', and Roger said, 'Okay.' By that time, we were both drunk."^[4]

The film was cast with stock actors that Corman had used in previous films. They rehearsed for three days before filming began.^[5] Principal photography of The Little Shop of Horrors was shot in two days and one night by Corman,^[6] with other material shot over two successive weekends. He used three cameras at once and shot every scene with only one take.^[2][3] As a result, some scenes run continuously for two or three minutes. According to Corman, the total budget for the production was $30,000.^[7] Other sources estimate the budget to be between $22,000 and $100,000.^[1]

[edit] Reception

The film was shown out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 1960.^[1] Film website Rotten Tomatoes, which compiles reviews from a wide range of critics, gives the film a score of 89%.^[5] A softcore pornographic spoof of the movie was released in 1973 as Please Don't Eat My Mother. Interest in the original movie was rekindled when a stage musical called Little Shop of Horrors was produced in 1982. It closely followed the original film and was itself adapted to cinema as Little Shop of Horrors, in 1986. This in turn spawned an animated TV series Little Shop.

[edit] Home video availability

Because of its public domain status, the film is widely available in copies of varying quality. The film was colorized twice, the first time in 1987.^[8] This version was poorly received. The film was colorized again by Legend Films, who released their color version as well as a restored black and white version of the film on DVD in 2006.^[9][10]

Legend Films' colorized version was well-received,^[11][12] and was also given a theatrical premiere at the Coney Island Museum on May 27th, 2006.^[13] The DVD included an audio commentary track by comedian Michael J. Nelson of Mystery Science Theater 3000 fame.

In November, 2006, the film was issued by Buena Vista Home Entertainment in a double feature with The Cry Baby Killer (billed as a Jack Nicholson double feature) as part of the Roger Corman Classics series. However, the DVD contained only the 1987 colorized version of The Little Shop of Horrors, and not the original black and white version.^[14]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• The Little Shop of Horrors at the Internet Movie Database
• The Little Shop of Horrors at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Little Shop of Horrors at Google Video
• Trailer at YouTube