Little Shop of Horrors (1960)

Little Shop of Horrors (1960)

Release Date

1960

Director

  • Roger Corman

Cast

  • Jonathan Haze
  • Jackie Joseph
  • Mel Welles

A nerdy florist finds his chance for success and romance with the help of a giant man-eating plant who demands to be fed.

B-movie maestro Roger Corman famously shot this cult classic in only two days and a night. When Skid Row plant-shop owner Gravis Mushnick (Mel Welles) threatens to fire his hapless clerk Seymour Krelboyne (Jonathan Haze), Seymour brings in a new species of plant he's been breeding at home, hoping it will lead the shop to fame and fortune and save his job. Turns out, the plant (voiced by Levi Stubbs), named Audrey Junior after Seymour's sweet but bubble-headed crush and co-worker (Jackie Joseph), not only talks, but also needs a special kind of food to survive: human flesh and blood. With its inspired script by Charles Griffith, its outrageous premise, and its hilarious performances, this black comedy helped establish Corman as an underground legend.

Past Programs

2011

Carnivorous Plants

Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline, MA

2013

The Science of Carnivorous Plants

Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT