Stars: Jack Nicholson, Dick Miller, Jonathan Haze, Jackie Joseph, Mel Welles

Director: Roger Corman

Summary: An offbeat horror classic about a Skid Row flower shop employee who creates a weird plant that feeds on human flesh. Jack Nicholson appears in his first film role as a dental patient who thrives on pain.

King of the B's director Roger Corman shot this crazy beat-era classic in a mere two days, but it packs plenty of inspired lunacy and clever bits in its 70-minute running time. Jonathan Haze stars as clumsy assistant florist Seymour, who saves his job in Mr. Mushnik's skid-row flower shop when he brings in a unique man-eating plant. The problem is, it's a very hungry plant--every night it opens its huge jaws and demands to be fed, forcing poor Seymour to take to the street in search of victims lest he disappoint his boss and his adoring girlfriend Audrey (Jackie Joseph). From a zingy script by Charles Griffith, this hilarious black comedy overflows with great ideas and characters: Corman regular Dick Miller plays a hipster who eats flowers, and a very young Jack Nicholson takes a memorable turn as a masochistic dental patient. DRAGNET-style detective Joe Fink (Wally Campo) narrates as he slowly begins to track the killer down. This oft-revived favourite still generates plenty of laughs and chills, deserving of repeat viewings.

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The off-Broadway comedy-horror-musical hit that ran for years makes a successful transfer to film with a bevy of big-name cameos and two perfectly cast leads. Rick Moranis is the nebbish Seymour, who pines for flower-girl Audrey (Ellen Greene) while living in the basement of florist Mr Mushnik (Vincent Gardenia). Things start turning around for Seymour, though, after he buys a little plant during a solar eclipse, christens it Audrey II, and discovers that it likes to drink blood. Soon enough, though, Seymour finds out that Audrey II, now grown to epic proportions, is in actuality a "mean green mother from outer space" that is hell-bent on world domination. Based on the 1960 Roger Corman cheapie that featured a young Jack Nicholson, Little Shopboasts a hilarious, amazing score by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken, who would go on to revitalise Disney's animation arm with The Little Mermaidand Beauty and the Beast. Greene, the lone holdover from the original cast, is a ravishing, goofy Audrey, whose awkward demeanour belies a voice that could knock Ethel Merman off her feet. She's ably matched by Moranis, whose lack of a singing voice is perfectly in sync with Seymour's nerdiness. And Levi Stubbs Jr of the Four Tops provides the low-down, nasty-minded voice of Audrey II; his rendition of the Oscar-nominated "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space" is a showstopper. As for those celebrity cameos, Steve Martin's sadistic dentist is a masterful creation, as is Bill Murray's masochistic patient; John Candy, James Belushi, and Christopher Guest also pop up. And there was never a lovelier and funkier Greek chorus than the three Motown-fuelled girls (Tichina Arnold, Michelle Weeks and Tisha Campbell) who appear throughout the film. --Mark Englehart, Amazon.com

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 0
Year:	1960
Release Date:	April 22, 2002
Runtime:	70 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	D V D 4523
Keywords:	Little, Shop, General, Horrors, Horror, Occult, Sci, Fi
Genre:	Horror/Occult