Review: The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)

Director: Roger Corman | 73 minutes | horror, comedy | Actors: Jonathan Haze, Jackie Joseph, Mel Welles, Dick Miller, Myrtle Vail, Tammy Windsor, Toby Michaels. Leola Wendorf, Lynn Storey, Jack Warford c, Meri Welles, John Herman Shaner, Jack Nicholson, Dodie Drake

From 1960, in black and white, after the script of Charles B. Griffith, a low-budget film, shot in two days and proclaimed cult status, this hilarious film!

The simple story sets the stage for witty characters and events. Jack Nicholson made his debut here and plays a self-masochist who likes to go to the dentist and have his teeth pulled without anesthetic. Which gives him such a kick that he almost has an orgasm. The viewer is already introduced to his dark voice, laugh and freaked out look with which he later made many people shiver in “The Shining”. Jonathan Haze also plays very well. He trips, makes stupid mistakes and is, in short, very funny. It is therefore precisely he who has cultivated a special (man-eating) plant and receives an important prize for it. Jackie Joseph plays the dumb girl. She is fed up and impressed with Seymour despite his bumbling. In “The Little Shop of Horrors” she looks like a beautiful American woman. The scenes between her and Seymour contain a high level of childish innocence. She confesses her infatuation with conviction and without embarrassment.

Furthermore, there are many characters that are not really important for the story but for the hilarity. The flower-eating man who keeps passing by and talks about the difference in taste between city flowers and country flowers is an example. Another is the method of the detectives. This one is to scream with a big wink at the bureaucracy. The man-eating plant is also very nice with its not to be forgotten statement: FEED ME….

The denouement is ridiculous and makes no sense, yet it is in line with the story. The quality of the film is downright bad. The acting performances range from extremely good to very bad. From a camera point of view it is clear that not too much time has been spent on it. Nevertheless, the director managed to deliver a more than entertaining film, which was also the source of inspiration for the musical of the same name released on film in 1986. This film stars Steve Martin and Bill Murray.

“The Little Shop of Horors” is definitely worth checking out. Both because it is an absolute low-budget production now famous cult film and because it is Jack Nicholson’s film debut. Most importantly, though, it’s an adorable comedy movie.