The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)

Memorable, crazy movie

Absolutely Fantastic

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS is another one of the Roger Corman quickies made on the cheap. This one was shot in just two days and it shows. It's got a one-trick storyline, takes place for the most part in a single set, and with a small group of actors involved, many of whom were Corman regulars. It could have been a load of old rubbish but it works and the major reason for that is down to the interesting, original storyline. Griffith's idea is about a sort-of Venus flytrap plant that feeds on human blood rather than flies; in essence this is a vampire story, but with a plant rather than a human. There were lots of 'killer plant' type stories being churned out in the pulp age of weird fiction and this is just like one of them. Corman chooses to play things for laughs and the result is a quirky comedy with lots of surreal humour involved.Many of the laughs come from the bizarre characters in the film. Jonathan Haze is very good as the dim-witted Seymour and Jackie Joseph shines as the beautiful object of his obsession, Audrey. Mel Welles has fun as the larger-than-life flower shop owner and there are great, minor roles for Corman regulars Jack Nicholson (hilarious as a sado-masochist) and Dick Miller (as a guy who loves eating flowers). The special effects of the killer plant are VERY limited but the ending, with the faces of the victims appearing in the blossoms, is imaginative and slightly disturbing. It's not a film that you'll want to watch more than once, and the musical remake vastly outclassed it in terms of budget and technical proficiency, but the skewed, off-kilter comedy and bizarre storyline make it worth a watch.

Seymour Krelboyne (Jonathan Haze) is a clumsy young nebbish who works in a flower shop and who has grown a very unusual new plant, something along like the lines of a Venus flytrap. As it grows, it brings him much fame, and it helps to bolster his confidence. Unfortunately, he finds that the plant is bloodthirsty. Not only that, but it can actually talk as well, and soon it's relentlessly prodding him towards procuring it human victims for sustenance.One of legendary producer / director Roger Cormans' best known and best loved movies, its reputation as The Film Shot in Two Days precedes it, but it's really quite an entertaining little dark comedy gem. It's got a high body count and also takes a very cavalier attitude towards death, giving it a fine edgy quality. The dialogue is just full of malapropisms spouted by some of the characters. It's got a high quotient of solid gags, and the cast simply couldn't be better.Corman stock company player Haze, in *the* big role of his career, is appealing as the put upon Seymour. Jackie Joseph is cute in the role of Seymours' co-worker Audrey, who has inspired him to name the plant Audrey Jr. Mel Welles is great blustery fun as flower shop owner Mr. Mushnick. The great Dick Miller of so many fun Corman movies is hilarious as Burson Fouch, who regularly munches on flowers. Other fine contributions are made by Myrtle Vail as Seymours' hypochondriac mom, who has a devastating idea of what constitutes fine cuisine, Leola Wendorff as Mrs. Shiva, whose family members are always dying, Wally Campo and Jack Warford as the deadpan, 'Dragnet' inspired police detectives, Meri Welles (Mrs. Mel Welles at the time) as the hooker Leonora Clyde, and John Herman Shaner as sadistic dentist Dr. Farb. Viewers will automatically recognize the young Jack Nicholson in one of his earliest film roles; he's a riot as masochistic dental patient Wilbur Force, who's addicted to dental pain. Writer Charles B. Griffith appears on screen as the hold-up man & the screaming man in Farbs' office, and is also the voice of Audrey Jr.The jazzy score by Fred Katz and Ronald Stein is enjoyable and the puppeteering / effects are actually pretty good.This is one production that has definitely transcended the gimmick of originally having been made as a joke. It's a wonderfully loony story that inspired a Broadway musical that itself got filmed in 1986.Eight out of 10.

Jonathan Haze plays a clumsy young man named Seymour who works in a florist shop run by his cheap boss(played by Mel Welles) To everyone's surprise, Seymour grows an unusual plant that becomes quite popular, which he names Audrey, after his girlfriend. Sadly, Audrey the plant can only survive on blood, so Seymour reluctantly has to provide victims...Bizarre film is a big cult item with many, and certainly has a most offbeat sense of humor, but I found this a stupid, clumsy and grisly comedy with annoying characters and no point at all, especially in its ending. Jack Nicholson does give a most enthusiastic performance in his brief bit that seems dropped in from somewhere else...One funny bit: the "Fink" speech!

I remember seeing the musical version of this classic movie back in my youth and did enjoy that, but never having seen the original 1960 movie, I made a super bargain at a local DVD store and picked it up.Now, keep in mind that this movie is 52 years old already and shot in black/white, but still it was a great movie to watch. A lovely dark comedy with a funny and good story.To shortly summarize what "The Little Shop of Horrors" is about, then Seymour Krelboyne (played by Jonathan Haze) works at Gravis Mushnick's (played by Mel Welles) flower store, and he is hopelessly in love with Audrey Fulquard (played by Jackie Joseph). Having a very unique plant, Seymour names the plant after his love, and he accidentally finds out that the plant needs blood to live. As the plant grows in size, which it does at an alarming rate, the plant grows more and more hungry and need more than just blood to satisfy it's ravenous desire.The storyline is very good, easy to follow and offer some funny moments. Being such an old movie, don't expect too much from the props and scenery, although I will say that the movie actually fares quite well with whatever meager props and scenery they made use of.And of course, Jack Nicholson, is in this movie as well, one of the first performances of his I have seen personally, but he is not the star of the movie. After his fame and success in Hollywood, of course, his name is one of the headliners on the DVD cover, despite him having a small role only."The Little Shop of Horrors" is a definite must watch movie, because it is a great comedy from that age, and probably a pioneer in its genre at the time. Well worth a watch and a great addition to any movie aficionado's DVD collection.