5 Things You Never Knew About the Original 1960 ‘Little Shop of Horrors’
It’s hard to believe now, but before it was a blockbuster musical, The Little Shop of Horrors was as a scrappy little B-movie that was nearly forgotten after it first came out in 1960. Filmed on a shoestring budget, it told the bizarre story of a hapless florist’s assistant who accidentally grows a bloodthirsty plant with a mind of its own.
At the time, no one expected it to become a cult classic or inspire a hit musical and a star-studded remake; however, over time, it grew a following that’s only gotten stronger with each generation. Here are a few surprising facts that might make you see it in a whole new light:
1 It was filmed very quickly
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Director Roger Corman was famous for working quickly, but this shoot was extreme even for him. To save money and beat an upcoming change in actor union rules, Corman decided to film Little Shop of Horrors over the course of just two days and one night at the end of 1959. He used sets lefto ver from his previous film A Bucket of Blood, and shot multiple angles at once with two cameras running simultaneously.
2 It was Jack Nicholson’s third movie role
Jack Nicholson was still a relative unknown when he appeared in Little Shop of Horrors as Wilbur Force, a dental patient who gets way too excited about having his teeth pulled. Nicholson later said, according to Dennis Winnert, “I went in to the shoot knowing I had to be very quirky because Roger originally hadn’t wanted me. In other words, I couldn’t play it straight. So I just did a lot of weird shit that I thought would make it funny.” Years later, when Nicholson became a major star, the film was re-released with his name front and center to draw in curious fans. This was only his third film credit … can you believe that?
3 Remember that random moon?
During the editing process, two scenes didn’t transition well and needed something to bridge the gap. The editor inserted a random shot of the moon, which solved the issue. Decades later, that simple shot was the subject of a serious magazine article analyzing its supposed symbolic meaning. Writer Charles B. Griffith found the whole thing hilarious, knowing it had only been added for practical reasons.
4 Dick Miller really ate flowers
Everett Collection
In one of the movie’s stranger running gags, Dick Miller plays a character who enjoys munching on flowers. Turns out, he actually ate them during filming. Miller, who had worked with Corman before, was originally offered the lead role of Seymour but opted for the flower-eating part instead. When asked in interviews if he really ate the blooms, Miller would often prove it by chomping down on a flower in front of stunned reporters.
5 They used a real corpse
Everett Collection
To keep the budget as low as possible, the production got creative. Griffith and actor Mel Welles paid local kids a nickel to run through subway tunnels. They even borrowed a hearse and coffin, complete with an actual corpse, from a nearby funeral home. This helped keep the budget under $30,000, which would be about $300,000 today.
Remind 
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