Forward by Roger Corman
Our producer, Chuck Emmons, wrote to Mr. Roger Corman, director of the 1960 film The Little Shop of Horrors on which this musical was based, asking for comments that we might use as a forward for our program. Mr. Corman graciously replied:
Of all the films I've directed the one that has survived the longest as a
"cult classic" is the one I made the fastest and the cheapest.
It was written for a standing set, principal photography was completed in
two days (after three days' rehearsal), the total cost was about $30,000,
yet it has lived on for nearly 40 years now in midnight shows on campuses,
revival cinemas, videocassette outlets and remakes for stage and screen.
One of the reasons for its astonishing durability may be that when I made
the film, I was creating a new genre--the black-comedy horror film. I was
tired of the straightforward horror genre and wanted to try a different
kind of film--something more cynical, darker, more wickedly funny.
This new mix had worked in my previous film "A bucket of Blood" and I wanted
to make another in a similar tone. I called Chuck Griffiths (who wrote
"A Bucket of Blood") and told him I wanted a variation on the "Bucket of Blood"
story line. I wanted a somewhat gruesome premise, a quirky plot and unconventional,
well-sketched characters. We brainstormed for a night and Chuck first suggested
cannibalism as a premise, but the censors would have not allowed it so he came
up with the premise of a maneating plant, and wrote the screenplay in a week.
In order to pull off the tight shooting schedule I turned to Corman 'regulars'
for both cast and crew. I wanted actors I had used before and could rely on.
For example, the role of Seymour was originally written for Dick Miller (who
had played the lead in "A Bucket of Blood") but he decided not to do it.
Instead he added his own deadpan style of humor as a customer who eats plants.
One sequence that helped turn the film into a cult favorite was an inspired bit
of bleak humor by an actor I began to use more regularly--Jack Nicholson, who
plays a masochist at a dentist appointment.
We adhered quite closely to the script and despite a loose, improvisational feel
to the witty exchanges, this film was in no way created on the set. Any changes
made were worked out in the three days of rehearsal before rolling. Everyone
just came in very well prepared.
In a sense, the creation of "The Little Shop of Horrors" may have been closer to
the theatrical tradition of designing plays for a stock company than to standard
film making. Perhaps this is why the original movie translates so well into the
stage version. I thought the 1982 musical adaptation by Howard Ashman and Alan
Menken was wonderful: it caught the spirit and youthful energy of the movie.
Running off-Broadway helped since I always believed both my film, which was
reminiscent of a college humor show and the musical would have been diminished
with a more expensive, slicker production in which the lavish appearance might
work against the comedy.