It’s astounding, time is fleeting. Madness takes its toll. 50 years ago, a little movie based on a small experimental play performed on the stage in London made it’s way to the big screen for the first time. It’s initial release was met with plenty of indifference from audiences and critics at the time, but what came next took everyone by surprise, including the people who made the movie. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) became a cult hit with audiences who were made up of what society would consider outsiders. People of the LGBTQ community, punk rockers, and just people who defy societal conformity of any kind were drawn to the unashamed and in your face campiness of the film, and it’s enduring message about living open and free. But, Rocky Horror is more than just any cult film; it is “The Cult Film.” The very idea of “cult movies” exists because of Rocky Horror, mainly because of how the movie set the standard for creating a subculture all on it’s own. The audiences who go to see the movie are not just there to be viewers; they are active participants. Screenings of Rocky Horror have turned into ritualistic events, where people dress up as their favorite characters, bring their own props to imitate what they see on the screen, as well as make call backs to the movie itself with what has evolved into a whole secondary script just for the audience. Since it’s re-release in 1977, The Rocky Horror Picture Show has remained in continuous exhibition all over the world. No matter what day it is, there is likely some theater out there playing The Rocky Horror Picture Show; most likely around the midnight hour. Now, even after 50 years, Rocky Horror not only has maintained it’s subversive edge but it seems even more essential for our world today than ever before. But why this movie? What was it that made this movie the film that would launch a subculture of it’s own that makes this more than just a movie? The strange journey that The Rocky Horror Picture Show has taken over this half century is certainly a peculiar story on it’s own. So, let’s do the time warp again and see how this movie became the cult hit that it is today.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show began as an idea from a struggling actor in London named Richard O’Brien. As a fan of science fiction and B-Movie horror, he drafted a concept where he combined all the elements he loved into a rock and roll musical. While O’Brien was briefly appearing in a London staging of Jesus Christ Superstar, he shared his concept script with the show’s director Jim Sharman. Sharman liked O’Brien’s play so much that he decided he would make it his next project. They managed to secure space at an experimental theater stage above the Royal Court Theater. The mish-mash of B-movie camp and rock and roll music proved to be a hit with the London counter culture scene and it quickly outgrew the tiny 60 seat venue. It later expanded to larger venues and eventually it crossed over the pond to be staged in America. While the show drew in audiences everywhere it went, it still remained a bit of an underground production. But, it did reach the attention of one very key fan of the show. The theatrical run of the show in Los Angeles played at the Roxy Theater in West Hollywood, which was owned by a very successful music producer named Lou Adler. Adler was the man who produced the hit albums of the Mamas & the Papas and Carole King, and now he was looking towards producing for the big screen as well. It was fortunate timing that Rocky Horror would fall into his lap at the Roxy. Thanks to Adler’s connections, he was able to get financial backing for a big screen adaptation of the show from a major film studio; 20th Century Fox. Though the production was going to be financed by a major American film studio, Adler still believed that it was important to still keep the English roots of the show intact, so Jim Sharman was hired to direct the film while Richard O’Brien would adapt the play into a film script. The production would also operate out of England, with most of the production happening at the Elstree and Bray Studios. For the stately manor house that serves as the main location for most of the movie, the gothic style Oakley Court was chosen, mainly due to it being a favorite shooting location for the fame B-movie horror studio Hammer Films.
Most of the actors from the original stage version were carried over, except for a couple of noteworthy replacements. Perhaps to please the American studio backers, the parts of Brad and Janet were re-cast with American actors, and rock singer Meat Loaf was also added to the cast in a small role. In the end, the casting change worked to the movie’s advantage, because Brad and Janet were meant to be send-ups of bland, clean cut American archetypes seen in the B-Movies of the 1950’s that the show was parodying. The production managed to find the right duo for the parts, casting stage actor Barry Bostwick as Brad and Susan Sarandon (in her first film role) as Janet. Their sweet natured innocent performances perfectly fit the tone that the movie need to set with the two, especially in how they clash with all the other characters we meet. Though initially reluctant to appear in the film himself, Richard O’Brien eventually gave in and brought to life the hunchbacked caretaker of the spooky manor, Riff-Raff. Two other key roles, Magenta and Columbia, were also filled with veterans of the original stage musical. Veteran character actor, Charles Gray, was also cast to play the omniscient narrator role of the Criminologist, lending the movie it’s only air of stateliness. But, when we think of Rock Horror, there is one person above all who comes to mind. The role of the diabolical Dr. Frank-N-Furter, the mad, transvestite alien scientist, will be forever linked with the one and only Tim Curry. Curry originated the role on the stage, and despite some rumors of rock singers like Mick Jagger being eyed for the role, there was no doubt that Curry would also play the role on film as well. From the moment that Curry first makes his descent down that iron elevator and onward, he takes command of the film. He is nothing but swagger and indomitable confidence. And given that he presents himself as this pansexual dynamo dressed in the most flamboyant of outfits, he was really unlike anything we had ever seen in a movie before, or really ever since. Curry’s unique voice also helps to make the character stand out, with his smooth drool combined with a refined way of speaking which Curry purposely took inspiration from Queen Elizabeth herself in creating.
What set The Rocky Horror Picture Show apart at the time was not because of the shocking, sexualized nature of the movie. John Waters had been making a name for himself for years that continually pushed the envelope with regards to “bad taste” in his movies (which Rocky still feels pretty tame compared to). No, what made Rocky Horror stand out was that this was a mainstream production made by a Hollywood studio. 20th Century Fox was really taking a chance by putting their logo on this film, and initially they may have regretted doing so. Rocky Horror was a big financial flop when it first released. Critics didn’t know what to make of it, and audiences stayed away, forcing many theaters to pull it quickly from release due to poor attendance. After a couple years, Fox began tossing the movie aside, allowing it to be licensed for screenings at a steep bargain. This led to it being put on the roster for midnight screenings across the country, as various art house theaters were looking for movies that fit the kind of cheap, B-movie thrills that midnight audiences desired to watch. Over time, audiences at these midnight showings began to realize how much a hidden gem Rocky Horror was. The showings began to fill up more and more and pretty soon, Rocky Horror became a small cult hit. But it would evolve to be something even more than that. It’s hard to say when the audience interaction part of the Rocky Horror experience began, as it seems to organically grow out of so many individual showings across the world with their own contributions. Where it seemed to be first observed was at the Waverly Theater in New York around a year into the movie’s midnight screenings run, when people at one of the screenings overheard someone else in the theater react to Susan Sarandon placing a newspaper over her head in a rainstorm by yelling, “Buy an Umbrella, you cheap Bitch.” Overtime, more and more “call outs” as they call them were being heard at the screenings, and over time, it became part of the reason to go see the movie.
Halloween midnight screenings offered their own contribution as people started coming to the theater dressed as their favorite characters from the movie. Dr. Frank-N-Furter was an especially favorite costume for a lot of people, particularly those who really wanted to get in on the gender-bending thrill that the character represented. All the while, the original Rocky Horror Show continued to be performed on the stage. While the movie was still playing in theaters, the same cast could be seen on the Broadway stage, though sadly it too had a short life span and lasted only 45 performances. But, somehow, the movie itself would give the live show an unexpected new life of it’s own. As the midnight screenings began to attract more an more people who dressed up, a few of those audience members went even further and began to imitate what they were seeing on the screen itself, putting on their own performance. This evolved from just a spontaneous interaction between people in the audience and the movie itself into a stage presentation in it’s own right. This spawned what we know now as the “Shadow Cast” phenomenon, where a group of actors will literally reenact the entire movie in front of the screen while the movie is playing. Many people who don’t know what they are getting into when they first see one of these Shadow Cast shows may find the gimmick distracting, but for long time fans of the movie, it’s become another fun addition to the overall experience. It’s without a doubt one of the most unique things you’ll see in any movie theater, as you’ll feel like you’re getting both a play and a movie for the price of one ticket. There are several theater troupes across the country whose main focus is just to perform as Shadow Casts at midnight showings of Rock Horror, which apparently is a high demand gig as there are so many of those happening all over the place. This would eventually reflect back well on the original stage musical as well. The Rocky Horror Show would have a much longer revival on Broadway in the year 2000, which itself would embrace the raucous interactive nature of the film with audience call backs being encouraged throughout the show.
Over the years, Rocky Horror has gone on to have a major influence on both the movies and cinema culture at large since then. In terms of style, it helped to mainstream the glam rock aesthetic, which artists like David Bowie would continue to lean into more over the coming decade. And of course it popularized the very idea of cult movies in the pop culture lexicon. Many films have tried to stir up the same kind of cult status that Rocky Horror enjoys, but few have ever come close. The only movie that seems to have come any where near what Rocky Horror has become as an audience involved experience is Tommy Wiseau’s so bad it’s good cult hit The Room (2003). Just like with Rocky Horror, The Room has become a classic due to it’s embrace of audience call backs shouted during screenings. But, the call back participation itself has spawned it’s own long lasting legacy in the form of a little gimmick called riffing. In the late 80’s, the show Mystery Science Theater 3000 launched, and it’s appeal was due to the hilarious comedy that would arise from it’s characters watching very bad movies and cracking jokes the whole time while commenting on what they are seeing. Joel Hodgson, the co-creator of Mystery Science Theater has cited Rocky Horror and it’s audience “call backs” as one of the inspirations for the comedy on the show. Beyond just Mystery Science Theater, riffing on media has become something of a comedy staple over time, and it stands to reason that we have the rowdy audience members of The Rocky Horror Picture Show to thank for taking out all of the politeness of media consumption. Rocky Horror’s influence even extends into the Halloween season that it very much feels at home in. Most Halloween parties are bound to have “Time Warp” on their playlists. It’s also got a very strong influence on several horror films over the years, including Rob Zombie’s House of 1000 Corpses (2003), which the death metal performer turn filmmaker directly cited as a major influence.
But, perhaps the most profound influence that this film has had is the effect that it had on the LGBTQ community. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is an unapologetic queer movie and that’s probably what has helped it to retain it’s relevance over so many years. It’s a movie all about sexual liberation and more importantly about finding yourself in a community that embraces you for who you are. Frank-N-Furter even has a song in the film called “Don’t Dream It, Be It,” which itself has become something of an anthem in the queer community. The movie became a lifeline for many queer people particularly during the ultra-conservative Reagan/Thatcher administrations in America and Britain. As society began to ostracize people for their differences in sexual orientation, especially during the scourge that was the AIDS epidemic, the midnight screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show became something of a safe haven for outcasts. There, being queer was not just normal but also celebrated, and it was a great place to meet other people in the queer community who also weren’t afraid to let their flame burn brightly. The Rocky Horror Picture Show may not have been the thing that helped to make camp entertainment such a key part of queer culture, but it definitely helped to give it some mainstream credibility. And given the state of the world we are in now, where the transgender community in particular has been under attack, Rocky Horror’s message of inclusiveness and liberation feels like it’s need now more than ever. Richard O’Brien, who himself identifies as non-binary, always intended for Rocky Horror to have this deeper meaning about letting go and being yourself regardless of what everyone else thinks. The transgender community especially holds Rocky Horror and Dr. Frank-N-Furter in particular in high regard. It’s almost a certainty to see any drag performance include a performance of the song “Sweet Transvestite” at some point; even from cisgender straight performers who just want to indulge a little bit in some gender-bending. The fact that Rocky Horror has been safe harbor for a queer community that has gone through some very hard times over the years has been probably the most fulfilling legacy this movie has enjoyed in it’s 50 years.
It’s strange to think about where Rocky Horror stands now. In 2019, 20th Century Fox was merged into the Walt Disney Company, meaning that the family audience centered “House of Mouse” is now the current steward of this film. Though there were some worries about how this movie was going to be treated by it’s new owners, Disney has thankfully treated Rocky Horror respectfully enough. It refrained from putting the film into the Disney Vault like it has with so many other Fox properties and has kept the record-breaking streak of the movie’s 50 year limited theatrical run still going. For it’s 50th anniversary, Disney has even given the movie a 4K restoration, helping to preserve the movie for the next 50 years and beyond. And now that it’s reached that milestone, people are reflecting on just how meaningful and important the film has been. It’s been singled out for preservation by the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress for “cultural and historical significance.” It’s impact on the LGBTQ community alone is something that certainly is worth celebrating. In that regard, it was way ahead of it’s time, and we are only now starting to recognize how influential it has been. For the cast and crew of the movie the film is something that everyone involved looks back on fondly. Tim Curry went on to have a prosperous career both on screen and as a voice actor, and even continued to be a beloved presence on stage, including in musicals like Spamalot. Unfortunately he suffered a major stroke in 2012 that left him partially paralyzed, which hindered his abilities as a performer, though he still maintains work as a voice actor. Richard O’Brien attempted to make a sequel to Rocky Horror in 1981 with the movie Shock Treatment, and while it too has a small cult following, it still pales compared to the legacy of the former. Still, Rocky Horror has helped to keep him in the spotlight over the last 50 years and given him consistent work as an actor in both film and on the stage. As an experience, The Rocky Horror Picture Show is really a one of a kind. From personal experience, I actually came to this pretty late, only getting my first true Rocky Horror midnight experience this very year at the TCM Film Festival of all places. And it was the first time where I truly got what all the hype was about. It’s more than any movie; it’s an experience. For anyone interested, find yourself a midnight showing with a shadow cast performance because you really haven’t seen the movie until you’ve watched it in that way. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is everything a movie can be rolled into a one-of-a-kind experience, so take the plunge and let the movie fill you with ANTICI…PATION.