In 1975, the film The Rocky Horror Picture Show was released in theaters. The film was based on the musical written by Richard O’Brien, which premiered two years earlier at the West End theatre in London. The musical has been remade all over the world and the film is the definition of a cult classic.
The film was remade in 2016 as a TV movie with Laverne Cox in the role of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, but most people would agree that it didn’t even come close to reaching the quality of the original. The film has been out for over 40 years now, but there are still some things people might not know about the movie. Here are 10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Dr. Frank-N-Furter Almost Had A German Accent
Tim Curry has had a successful career as an actor, but his most famous role is the Sweet Transvestite from Transsexual Transylvania. Dr. Frank-N-Furter is, of course, the main character of the musical and film, who was played by Curry in both. Dr. Frank-N-Furter has a posh British accent, but that almost wasn’t the case.
When Curry was trying out voices for the character, he tried German and American accents, but they didn’t work. Curry revealed in a 1975 interview that director Jim Sharman suggested he talk like a “Belgravia hostess with the mostess.” He then elaborated that he heard a British woman on a bus talking with her friend and he based his voice on her.
Richard O’Brien Wanted To Play Eddie
Richard O’Brien wrote The Rocky Horror Show during a period of unemployment. O’Brien’s play was then shown to Jim Sharman, who was able to get the play showtimes at The Theater Upstairs. O’Brien originally wanted to play Eddie, the rock and roll loving guy who gave half of his brain to Rocky.
Sharman wanted O’Brien to play Riff-Raff instead and O’Brien has been known for the role ever since. It would have been interesting to see O’Brien play Eddie, but after 40+ years, most people couldn’t imagine anybody else in the role of Riff-Raff.
Patricia Quinn Was Furious She Didn’t Get To Sing The Opening Song
There are several songs in The Rocky Horror Show, but one of the most iconic is “Science Fiction/ Double Feature” since it is the first song heard in the film. In the original stage production, it was sung by Patricia Quinn. Quinn played the character Magenta in the play and film, but she didn’t get to sing the famous song in the film since it was instead sung by Richard O’Brien himself.
Quinn was reportedly furious that she didn’t get to sing the song for the movie and almost quit the production. That being said, her lips were used for the opening scene despite her not actually singing the song.
Meat Loaf Wanted To Play Doctor Scott & Eddie
When it came to The Rocky Horror Show getting adapted for film, most of the actors from the play were brought back for the movie. Marvin Lee Aday, a.k.a Meat Loaf, was hired for Richard O’Brien’s play in 1973. Since Eddie and Dr. Everett Scott are related, they were supposed to look a lot alike, which is why Meat Loaf was cast in both of the roles for the play.
For the film, however, Meat Loaf only played Eddie, while Jonathan Adams was hired for Dr. Scott. In an interview with VH1, Meat Loaf revealed that he actually wanted to play both characters in the film and still thinks the casting for Dr. Scott in the film was a mistake, despite saying that Adams did great in the role.
A Real Skeleton Was Used For The Time Warp
All of the songs in The Rocky Horror Picture Show are memorable, but “The Time Warp” is no doubt the most famous song to come out of the film. The song comes shortly after Brad and Janet are invited into Frank-N-Furter’s mansion by Riff Raff.
The song begins when Riff Raff opens a clock, dusts off a skeleton and says, “It’s astounding, time is fleeting, madness takes its toll.” While many people can recall the scene, it is a bit less known that the skeleton inside was actually real. The piece is one of the more collectible props from the film, with the skeleton and clock selling for £35,000 in 2002.
Mick Jagger & Steve Martin Wanted Roles
Several actors in The Rocky Horror Picture Show went on to have successful acting careers, but Rocky Horror will always be one of their most known films. Most of the cast from the play were hired to play their characters for the movie, but the cast could have looked very different. Mick Jagger from The Rolling Stones wanted to play Dr. Frank-N-Furter and Steve Martin auditioned for Brad.
Both men have made a career in their respective industry, but Tim Curry and Barry Boswick ultimately got the roles. Vincent Price also wanted a role in the film as the narrator, but couldn’t accept the offer due to scheduling conflicts.
Peter Hinwood Doesn’t Actually Speak In The Film
Peter Hinwood was an English model and actor who is most known for playing Rocky Horror in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The actor was incredibly muscular in 1975, which is likely why he was cast in the role, but he doesn’t ever speak in the film. Rocky Horror does speak, but all of Hinwood’s lines were dubbed by Australian singer Trevor White.
Sharman and Richard Hartley, the musical director, weren’t happy with the way Hinwood sounded, so they hired White to not only sing the songs but also record all of Rocky’s lines.
Meat Loaf’s Motorcycle Scene Was Very Dangerous
When Eddie is introduced in the movie, he breaks through the freezer on a motorcycle and sings “Hot Patootie-Bless My Soul.” With Meat Loaf not feeling comfortable driving a military-grade motorcycle, a stuntman was brought in to drive the bike. Cameramen filmed the stuntman for the wide shots, but then rigged a wheelchair with handlebars and a camera for Meat Loaf to ride for the closeups.
Since the wheelchair was too heavy in the front because of the camera, it flipped over, cut Meat Loaf’s arm, and destroyed the camera. The stuntman tried to catch him, but tripped and broke his leg. Later, when the stuntman went to ride the motorcycle around the room, he accidentally fell off the top of the ledge and the bike landed on top of him.
The Set Didn’t Have Heat Or Bathrooms
While many people have a ball watching The Rocky Horror Picture Show every year around Halloween, it doesn’t sound like the cast and crew had an easy time making the film. When The Guardian interviewed Susan Sarandon, The Rocky Horror Picture Show obviously came up and Sarandon talked about how the building they used for Frank-N-Furter’s mansion didn’t have heat or bathrooms.
Sarandon even got pneumonia because of it. Thankfully, the castle has since been renovated and is actually a hotel called The Oakley Court. Today those working conditions wouldn’t really be accepted, but things were a bit different in the ‘70s.
There Were Several Times Where They Weren’t Really Acting
The Rocky Horror Picture Show snagged an incredible group of actors, but there were a couple of scenes where the actors weren’t really acting. During the dinner scene, Dr. Frank-N-Furter is serving his guests dinner, which turns out to be Eddie. Frank-N-Furter quickly pulls the table cloth off of the table to reveal Eddie's gruesome dead body.
The cast’s reaction to seeing the prop for the first time is genuine. In the same scene, Brad slams his fist down on the table and accidentally hurt Susan Sarandon’s hand. Sarandon then unintentionally got revenge by stepping on Bostwick’s foot with her sharp high heel near the end of the film.