The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)

Directed by Roger Corman. Starring Jonathan Haze, Jackie Joseph, Mel Welles, Wally Campo, Jack Warford, Dick Miller, Myrtle Vail, John Shaner, Jack Nicholson, Meri Welles, Leola Wendorff.

Roger Corman’s fiendishly original cult classic black comedy about a Jerry Lewis-esque nebbish (Haze) who’s (barely) employed at a flower shop when he grows an unusual and unique plant—named Audrey Jr., after a co-worker (Joseph) he’s sweet on—that attracts the attention of the Skid Row community. There’s just one hitch: fauna Audrey turns sickly unless its fed a steady stream of human flesh and blood! A low-budget and lightning-fast production (it gained notoriety for being shot in less than three days), with camera set-ups that make classic sitcoms look visually dynamic, but proof that good ideas can thrive even when money and talent are limited. Supporting cast has fun—Miller brings new meaning to the phrase, “Please don’t eat the daisies,” Campo and Warford nail their deadpan “Dragnet” parodies, and Nicholson is hilarious in a small role as a giggling masochist eager for a little dental work (“No novocaine, it dulls the senses”). Script by Charles B. Griffith, who also has bit parts as both a robber and a screaming dental patient, and even voiced Audrey Jr. on-set; it was supposed to be dubbed by someone else later, but why spend the money? Later turned into an off-off-Broadway musical, which had its own big screen version in 1986.

72/100