The Little Shop of Horrors
(R, 1:11:48, Released 1960)
| Genres: | Horror, Classics, Comedy, Cult Movies |
| Release Date: | Sep 14, 1960 |
| DVD Release Date: | Apr 30, 1998 |
| Starring: | Jonathan Haze, Jackie Joseph, Mel Welles, Dick Miller, Myrtle Vail, Laiola Wendorff, Jack Nicholson, Wally Campo, Marie Windsor, Ernst R. von Theumer |
| Directed by: | Roger Corman |
| Synopsis: | Perhaps the greatest movie ever shot in two days, Little Shop of Horrors was originally conceived as a followup to Roger Corman's black comedy A Bucket of Blood (1959). Jonathan Haze plays Seymour Krelboin, a schlemiel's schlemiel who works at the Skid Row flower shop of Mr. Mushnick (Mel Welles). Experimenting in his spare time, Seymour develops a new plant species that he hopes will lead him to fame and fortune. Unfortunately, the mutated plant -- named Audrey Junior, in honor of Seymour's girlfriend Audrey (Jackie Joseph) -- subsists on blood and human flesh. It also talks, or rather, commands: "Feed Me! FEEEEED ME!" Before long, the luckless Seymour has fed his plant the bodies of a railroad detective, a sadistic dentist, and a flashy trollop. Meanwhile, Mr. Mushnik, who has stumbled onto Seymour's secret, has inadvertently offered up a burglar (played by Charles Griffith, who also wrote the script and supplied the plant's voice) as a midnight snack for the voracious, ever-growing Audrey Junior. (When the plant blooms, the faces of its various victims are reproduced in its flowers.) Ignored on its initial release, Little Shop of Horrors began building up a cult following via repeated TV exposure in the 1960s. By the mid-1970s, it had attained classic status, spawning a big-budget Broadway musical (and followup feature film) in the 1980s and a Saturday morning cartoon series in the 1990s. Enhancing the original Little Shop's reputation was the brief appearance by star-in-the-making Jack Nicholson as a masochistic dental patient (Nicholson is often incorrectly referred to as the star of the film, though in fact he barely receives billing). Much as we love Nicholson, our vote for the most memorable Little Shop cast member goes to the ubiquitous Dick Miller ("No thanks, I'll eat it here"). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi |
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Other Top Reviews
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October 14, 2011
Like the seminal 1986 musical with a similar title, this 1960 film has some very sick dark humor, this shorter film actually very innovative and grotesque for the time it was set in. Much of the musical and the movie it is based of off are similar in some respects: the character of Audrey is bubble gum adorable but lovable, Seymour is down and out, and strangely the voice of the plant is still very deep and soulful. A bit less upbeat as the remake, Little Shop was filmed in only two days, which shows in the overhead tracking shots, and some scenes where the dialogue trips all over itself. Still, between the great scene involving Seymour feeding Audrey Jr. human appendages, and the hilarious humor this is certainly a classic. Besides that we get to watch a very young Jack Nicholson as a deranged dental patient, which Bill Murray would soundly emulate years later with the help of dentist Steve Martin. Yes, the ending is significantly different, playing out more like a morality tale than a science fiction/fantasy crossover, but with the nostalgia angle of a black and white picture that wasn't given all too much confidence, it was surprisingly good.
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June 24, 2011
Meek Seymour Krelboyne grows a weird and very hungry plant that brings fame to Mushnik's Flower Shop on Skid Row in this black horror comedy. Great comic supporting characters (including a young Jack Nicholson as a masochistic dental patient) and snappy dialogue are the reason it's considered the best movie ever shot in two days.
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May 15, 2011
Low budget, fun, and silly. It's obvious this was shot over 3 days, but it's much better than you would expect it to be. Yeah, it's campy and funny without meaning to be at times (despite being a dark comic tale), but it's way too enjoyable to be written off as mere B movie fodder. Hell, it even has Jack Nicholson in a bit part. :)
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November 21, 2010
This is the original Little Shop of Horrors movie! And no, Nicholson doesn't play a huge part, but he has a great scene. It's a low budget sci-fi horror that comes off as more of a comedy, and I really like it.
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March 10, 2010
saw the orignal now yay!! i liked it i think i preferred the remark but i did like this it was funny as well!!
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February 16, 2010
It's a great idea and I love Roger Corman but this was a poor follow up to Bucket of Blood. Dick Miller and Mel Welles are ace as always but again the poor quality and ridiculous editing let it down. Great ending though!
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January 10, 2010
How is Jack Nicholson in the first billed? He was in for six seconds... still it was pretty funny.
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December 22, 2009
This Movie reminds me of another Movie, but the Plant was not bloodthirsty, it was infact a very nice and helpful Plant and at the End there were baby plants.
Regarding this Movie If I am not mistaken not really a creepy Movie but nice classic. -
March 26, 2008
Jack Nicholson does not star in this! He's a minor character. I wish they'd quit plastering his face all over the marketing. Overall, a funny low-budget comedy with sci-fi horror elements. No songs in this one. It's like a school play in scale. There's no music to entertain. I prefer the colorized version, which enhances the cartoony feeling.
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July 4, 2007
nice movie. Some fine dark humor. Jack nicholson was very good
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November 10, 2006
This movie was made in a day and it shows. But I love it.
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February 8, 2011
This was in a cheap set of horror DVDs. Even though it was made by Roger Corman, so I probably shouldn't have been surprised, I was surprised by how much this movie goes straight for the laughs. It contains almost nothing that anyone would really consider to be part of the horror genre. The rock bottom budget is evident at every turn. The opening credits are sketched street scenes of skid row even though long shots on location in skid row are used a few times in the film. The dialog is pretty ridiculous and mostly consists of jokes about Yiddish stereotypes. The prat falls and humor derived from the brief scenes with the sadistic dentist and masochistic dental patient (Nicholson) are banal after the first instance of each. OK, the names of the cops, Detectives Fink and Stoolie gave me a laugh. So many strange coincidences lead Seymour to continue killing and the plant to continue growing. You can see all the starting points that became the more familiar musical, but I only thought this was funny in a bad way.
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January 7, 2012
Little Shop of Horrors was made largely on a bet that Roger Corman couldn't make a movie in two weeks before a condemned flower shop was to be demolished. He wrote the script in two days and filmed the movie in another two. The film is probably the earliest form of a dark comedy, people get eaten by the plant of course but we're never afraid as an audience nor do we feel a ton of remorse for the victims. A campy goofy fun little film that was unfortunately outdone by its musical remake largely due to the improved effects and characterization of the Audrey plant. The final act when the plant's flower buds begin to open is still a delightful surprise and campy horror gold.
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October 8, 2011
....This film is too cheesey for me, I'm sorry..
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fb208103125April 9, 2012Campy and strange as can be, "The Little Shop of Horrors" is one of the best films made in only two days of filming. While this fact shows in some scenes that look and sound clumsy and silly, isn't that the point of the film in it's entirety? This is a film that just has to be seen and digested and while the absurdity is at insane levels, the movie itself is a culmination of multiple genres and unlike most other films out there. This is the original film from Roger Corman who was famously cheap and enjoyed the cheesy feel and look of his work and he holds nothing back here. You will see what I mean when the plant starts talking and the many other outrageously campy scenes throughout the film. Make no mistake the mood and feel is the intention of Corman and his crew and once you get that and are able to grasp the silliness you will be able to turn your brain off and just enjoy it for the piece of campy fun it is.
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fb100000185301014March 16, 2012It's an actually pretty impressive film, shot in only 2 days. The film's black humour was just about right for my liking, it's also a treat to see Jack Nicholson too. One of the best low budget films ever.
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fb25827189July 21, 2009Jack Nicholson in one of his first roles, and he was as crazy and hilarious back then as he is now. The production was cheesy and goofball just the way I like it, and I really enjoyed the film, but it dragged a little bit in the middle and the ending left me feeling a little cheated, but it is the very definition of a cult classic, and is Roger Corman at his best.
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June 24, 2009
Not horrifying enough to be scary and not funny enough to be a comedy. Surprisingly, the remake is better - though still poor. This one doesn't have the songs (or Steve Martin overacting), and it also lacks the attention to detail that Oz bought to it. There is a great idea here, but it needs a director like Dante, Silberling or Burton to do it justice
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April 2, 2009
That giant plant gave me nightmares as a kid
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fb677587177March 3, 2012This is nowhere near as fun as the musical from many years later, but it is pretty entertaining in its own right. The plant is easily the funniest thing about this version, with Jack Nicholson's small role close behind. This is obviously low budget and outdated, but for its time, it's pretty good, in a hilariously awful kind of way.
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September 18, 2011
This sort of black comedy horror film is pretty hilarious and fantastic...considering Corman shot it over a matter of two days. I enjoy the cheapness of it all, the silliness of the plot, and the small part from a young Jack Nicholson. Don't go in expecting a well made film, but if you go in with the right attitude, it is plenty of fun.
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June 14, 2011
Good: Funny, creepy plot, good acting
Bad: Low Budget
Seymour Kebloin(Jonathan Haze) brings in a new kind of flower that he raised into Mushnik's flower shop in hopes that it will convince his boss, Gravis Mushnik(Mel Welles), to keep him employed. Seymour begs the plant to grow, but no matter what he feeds it, it won't. One day he accidentaly realizes what the plant has an insatiable lust for. The Little Shop of Horrors is a comedic horror movie, not a spoof like Scary Movies, but a comedy.These two genres are ones that are not commonly crossed together, making this a unique and memorable movie. It is not to be taken seriously at all, it is meant to be silly and fun. But no matter how silly it gets there is that undertone of horror underneath, a man that must decide between fame and the lives of innocent(or somewhat innocent) people, making it even more fun to watch. Most of the jokes in the movie did not make me laugh out loud, but they were still funny. Some parts of the movie are just so weird or ridiculous you can't help but laugh. Jack Nicholson was perfectly set for the character of Wilbur Force. He seemed to really be a insane masochist, making it one of the funniest scenes of the film. The deaths in the movie are one of the funniest parts, just because they're so goofy. The acting is good, all the parts were played how it seems they were supposed to be. Seymour is a man that doesn't seem to know what to do with himself, and even when he tries to fix the situation he ends up accidently messing it up again. It is amazing that they could have put this whole movie together in 3 days, I have seen movies that are much worse than this filmed in double that time. The film should not be rated R, there is almost nothing inapropriate about it during the whole film, with the exception of one small scene. The ending was actually surprisingly sad and something I did not expect to occur, but it was still a good ending to the story. -
June 3, 2011
I guess it was ok being that they only had two days to work with it. I liked the 80's one way better though no question about it. The Seymour in this movie was way cuter than Rick Moranis I find though lol. Mr. Mushnik in this movie looked like a magician more than a florist. No singing in this movie and we meet Mrs. Shiva. Considering it was a low budget movie it was okay I guess.
I liked this quote from the 1960's Little Shop of horrors-
Leonora Clyde:" What's the matter? Don't you like me?"
Seymour Krelboin: "Too bony."
Leonora Clyde: "Too bony? Nobody's ever told me that before."
Seymour Krelboin: "Beef is better than veal." -
February 24, 2011
For some reason I hate quasi-musical that become cult classics. But if that's your thing, then you should rent this and Rocky Horror Picture Show and have an evening. Don't invite me though.
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August 8, 2010
This Roger Corman masterpiece was filmed in Two Days and had a budget of Ten Grand. Proof positive that you don't need a lot of money to make a cult classic. Jonathan Haze is Seymore Krelborne, an inept flower shop employee who manages to develop a man eating plant. (One that TALKS yet!) Mel Wells as the most unforgettable character in the cast plays Gravis Mushnik, Owner of the shop, with a Eastern European accent that Welles uses masterfully to butcher the English language.(Shaddap from the back!) Jackie Joseph as Audrey. the ditzy co-worker whom the plant is named after, Dick Miller who considers the entire shop as a buffet, and a Great performance by Jack Nicholson as Wilbur Force, the skid row mortician with a love for pain that only a dentist can administer. (Now remember, no novicane, it dulls the senses!) 'Little Shop' is drop dead hilarious and is easily one of my favorites.The poor production quality only ads to it's charm!
