According to interviews, Patricia Quinn (Magenta) only took the role in the play because she loved the opening song "Science Fiction - Double Feature." She was upset when she didn't get to sing the song in the film, but agreed to lip-sync the words as the pair of red lips in the beginning with vocals by Richard O'Brien (Riff Raff)
The set builders forgot to put an extra door in the lab set, thus Dr. Scott had to crash through the wall for his entrance.
When Barry Bostwick pounds his fist on the table during the dinner scene he accidentally pounded on the hand of Susan Sarandon. The reaction from Sarandon is prominent and real. She got her revenge by (accidentally) stepping on Bostwick's foot with her spike heel during the Floor Show scene. His reaction is also visible.
In an interview with Terry Gross on her radio program "Fresh Air", Tim Curry said that he got to meet Prince Charles and Princess Diana because she loved Curry in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and she requested the meeting while he was in a production of "Love for Love" that they attended. Curry recalled that he was placed at the end of the receiving line, and while Prince Charles only vaguely recognized Curry from seeing him "on television," Princess Diana told Curry, with a "wicked smile," that Rocky Horror had "quite completed my education."
One night, during a typical midnight screening at a New York theater, a patron was asked to leave before the film ended. This patron was accused of being an impostor. The patron was Tim Curry.
Tim Curry has stated that Frank is actually "pansexual."
EASTER EGGS: Literally. Genuine Easter eggs can be seen throughout the movie. In a light fixture, in an elevator scene, and even under Frank's throne. The film crew had an Easter egg hunt and not all were found. Thus they ended up in a few scenes.
In the opening wedding scene, the minister is Tim Curry (Dr. Frank N. Furter), the "old man" to his left is Richard O'Brien (Riff Raff) and the "wife" to his right is Patricia Quinn (Magenta). The spinster who joins them inside the church is Nell Campbell, a.k.a. Little Nell (Columbia). They are parodying the famous American Gothic painting, which appears later on in the castle.
Tim Curry told "Fresh Air" interviewer Terry Gross that in the original play, he started out playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter with a German accent, but he changed that when he heard a woman on a bus speaking in a highly exaggerated High-English accent that reminded Curry of Queen Elizabeth II. He later combined that with elements of his mother's "telephone voice" to create Frank-N-Furter's speaking voice. He also said that his mother, "a pretty hip lady," enjoyed the show, although not as much as she had liked it when he appeared in "The Pirates of Penzance" (because Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother had come to that).
The creators asked Susan Sarandon to appear nude during "Touch-A Touch-A Touch Me," but she refused.
When the film first opened, it had a traditional release, playing afternoon and early evening screenings. It bombed. Meat Loaf said he attended an opening week performance with director Jim Sharman in the Midwest where the theater was empty except for them. In the mid-1970s, midnight screenings became popular and word of mouth began to spread that the midnight audience might enjoy this film. It began showing at midnight in a few cities and it became popular, to the point that it has been shown continually in movie theaters since 1975, making it the longest theatrical run in history. The Museum Lichtspiele cinema in Muenchen, Germany has screened the movie every week since 24 June 1977, offering special "RHPS-Kits" to enable celebrations during the show. The kits contain a biscuit (for the toast), rice, a whistle, a candle (for "There's a Light"), and a sheet of paper with instructions for the Time Warp.
At the midnight showings, not only do patrons dress up, they bring props. There are no hard-and-fast rules on props, but the following is a list of some of the most common:
- Rice (to be thrown at Ralph and Betty's wedding)
- Water pistols (back row squirts them during rain scene)
- Newspapers (for front and middle rows to shield themselves from rain)
- Flashlights or cigarette lighters ("There's a Light" verse of "Over at Frankenstein Place")
- Rubber gloves (during and after the creation speech, Frank snaps his gloves three times)
- Noisemakers (the Transylvanians applaud Frank's creation - so should you)
- Toilet paper [preferably "Scott's" brand] (when Brad yells "Great Scott!", throw a roll)
- Confetti (at the end of the "Charles Atlas" reprise, the Transylvanians throw confetti)
- Toast (when Frank proposes a toast at dinner)
- Party hat (when Frank puts on his hat to wish Rocky happy birthday, so does the audience)
- Bell ("When we made it/did you hear a bell ring?")
- Cards ("Cards for sorrow/cards for pain")
- The props tend to vary somewhat from city to city, especially as some localities (and theaters) impose restrictions. For example, the "There's a light" prop was almost always lighters during the original 1970s shows, but open flames are now banned in most movie theaters (either by theater policy or by law - and considering that another common prop is newspapers, this is generally a good idea). Another example is that some fans insist that the toast should be buttered. However, many theaters frown on this, due to the mess (and the possibility of someone slipping).
Steve Martin auditioned for the role of Brad.
The green surgical gown that Dr. Frank 'n' Furter wears has a pink triangle over his heart. The triangle was used by the Nazis in concentration camps to denote that the wearer was a gay man, but it is pointing downward. The pink triangle pointing upward is often used as a symbol of gay pride.
As Brad and Janet drive in the rain before reaching the castle, the radio is playing Richard Nixon's resignation speech delivered August 8, 1974.
Filming took place from October through December in Bray, near Windsor, England. Barry Bostwick claims he was always wet during filming because the castle used during filming was leaking. There was one "warm room" filled with space heaters that cast members took turns warming up in until the room caught on fire.
Shortly after Rocky Horror is born, Magenta says to Dr. Frank 'n Furter that Rocky is a "triumph of your will." This is a subtle joke playing on the Nazi propaganda film Triumph of the Will (1935). Presumably, Magenta says this because Rocky comes out with light blonde hair and is quite muscular, in many ways fulfilling the Nazis' Aryan "super man" stereotype.
The movie was banned in South Africa several weeks after release by the Board of Censors, but not before it had been seen by some 250,000 viewers and had a strong cult following.
The set had no heat and no bathrooms during the filming. When Susan Sarandon told the studio heads, they told her she was complaining too much. She soon caught pneumonia after filming the pool scene. According to Richard O'Brien, she was "shaking with fever" and "should have been under medical supervision", but refused to stop working.
Pierre La Roche, a former personal stylist for David Bowie, created the film's make-up styles. He also helped create the signature look for Frank-N-Furter.
The film is based on "The Rocky Horror Show" stage play written by Richard O'Brien who created it from his love of classic science fiction and horror films. It originally premiered at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in London on June 19th, 1973 starring Tim Curry, Julie Covington, Christopher Malcolm, Richard O'Brien, Patricia Quinn, Nell Campbell, Jonathan Adams, Paddy O'Hagan and Rayner Bourton.
The song "I Can Make You A Man" was inspired by Charles Atlas muscle ads from the 1940's and 1950's often with the slogan: "In just seven days, I can make you a man". Similarly, writer Richard O'Brien took the line: "Don't dream it, be it" from the back of a magazine.
Oakley Court, Dr. Frank N. Furter's "castle", was used in numerous Hammer horror films made at adjacent Bray Studios (where the lab and ballroom scenes were shot), including The House in Nightmare Park (1973), The Reptile (1966), The Brides of Dracula (1960) and The Man in Black (1949). Built in 1859, it was refurbished in 1981 and made into a hotel, where rooms cost from 150 to 195 British pounds per night.
Mick Jagger wanted to play Dr. Frank N. Furter in the film version.
Tim Curry, Richard O'Brien, Patricia Quinn and Nell Campbell reprise the same roles here that they'd played in the original stage production. Curry and O'Brien also played the same roles on Broadway.
The films referenced in the opening number, "Science Fiction, Double Feature," are: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), Flash Gordon (multi-film franchise), The Invisible Man (1933), King Kong (1933), It Came from Outer Space (1953), Doctor X (1932), Forbidden Planet (1956), Tarantula (1955), The Day of the Triffids (1963), Curse of the Demon (1957), and When Worlds Collide (1951).
Vincent Price was offered the role of the Criminologist, but turned it down due to scheduling conflicts. He was interested in the role as he had seen the West End musical and loved it.
The studio originally offered a much larger budget to Jim Sharman for the film, on the condition that he cast popular musicians of the day. Sharman insisted upon using the original cast, so as a compromise, he accepted a much smaller budget and agreed to cast American actors in the roles of Brad and Janet. Tim Curry, Richard O'Brien, Patricia Quinn and Nell Campbell created their roles in the original stage production. Jonathan Adams appeared in the original cast as well, playing the role of the Criminologist. Meat Loaf had played the role of Eddie in the original Los Angeles stage production.
The mouth on the poster belongs to former model Lorelei Shark, whose lips (and later, the rest of her face) were later famously used on billboards and ads for Chicago rock radio station, WLUP ("The Loop"). She was paid $120 for two-hours of modeling, ($60 per hour) which has since become one of the most recognizable icons in film history.
When Frank is attacking Riff Raff with the whip, Tim Curry is actually cracking the whip against the floor in front of Richard O'Brien. However at one point Curry got a little too close and accidentally hit O'Brien. A slight grimace can be seen on his face as a result.
The opening number, "Science Fiction Double Feature", contains references to many classic science fiction films. In the script, the credits were to be shown between clips of the films. Production designer Brian Thomson disliked the idea, and suggested using a pair of disembodied lips to mouth the words, inspired by the Man Ray painting "A l'heure de l'observatoire, les Amoureux" (Observatory Time, the Lovers).
The film holds the record for the longest running stage production in history. It also holds a record for the longest theatrical release in film history. Midnight showings of the film at New York City's Waverly Theater turned it into a cult classic and increased the film's popularity over time. Stage productions of the film are still performed and random showings of the film are still screened.
"The Time Warp" was originally written for the stage version to fill space as the original production was only 40-minutes long.
The Criminologist states the events took place on a late November evening, but Brad and Janet were listening to President Richard Nixon's resignation speech on the radio. Nixon's resignation took place on August 8, 1974. Richard O'Brien cleared up the continuity error claiming Brad had recorded it and listened to it regularly.
The first midnight showing was on April Fools' Day, 1976, at the Waverly Theater in New York City's Greenwich Village.
Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick were the only Americans in lead roles in the movie.
Aside from the chemical symbols scrawled on the lab wall next to the control panel, there is a grocery list calling for flour, eggs, bread, sugar and two hypodermics.
The film was originally intended to be shown in black and white until Frank's entrance and then only his lips would be in color, the rest would still be in black and white. At the end of Sweet Transvestite it would go immediately to color and it was supposed to stay in color up until the Superheroes song. 20th Century Fox included a similar cut as an Easter Egg on the 25th Anniversary DVD of the film, but it was slightly different from what was specified in the original screenplay. It was black and white up until Riff Raff opens the door revealing the Transylvanians, at which point it cut immediately to the color film. Many fans considered this to be lazy, pointing out that the original intended effect could have easily been achieved via colorization techniques.
In the original stage production in London, Dr. Scott and Eddie were played by the same actor, which has become the custom in many subsequent productions. Meat Loaf was disappointed to learn he wouldn't be playing Dr. Scott - "I said you're making a huge mistake and I still think they did, even though the actor was fine. The way it was in the play was that Eddie and Dr. Scott really looked alike, so you knew it was his nephew and I was a really good Dr. Scott."
On the criminologist's desk, there are two framed pictures. One is of Franklin D. Roosevelt, a late US President and the other is of Ronald Reagan who had not yet become US President.
Tim Curry was very reluctant to talk about the film for years due to some not-very-good memories about his more rabid fans. He even told VH-1 that he grew "chubby and plain" in order to try escaping the role of Frank. These days, he's more open to talk about the film and even sees it as a "Rite of passage" for teenagers.
Richard O'Brien was concerned that Meat Loaf might not be able to handle his one number "Hot Patootie - Bless My Soul". O'Brien brought out the music and handed it to him, saying "It's okay to flub a few lines. No one in the London cast has ever sung the whole thing correctly anyway." He looked at it, and replied "What's the problem?" He then sang the whole thing without skipping a beat.
A stunt double was used in the motorcycle scenes except for the close-ups; Meat Loaf was pushed in a wheelchair for those scenes.
According to Richard O'Brien, it was actually Riff Raff who did most of the work on Rocky. Riff's line "Everything is in readiness, master. We merely await your... word". is pretty clearly a stab at Dr. Furter.
The Broadway production of "The Rocky Horror Show" opened at the Belasco Theater in New York on March 10, 1975, starring Tim Curry. It ran for 45 performances (closing April 5, 1975) and was revived in 2001.
The order in which Frank turns on the colored spigots while creating Rocky was not random. Each color was being rapidly shouted Tim Curry by someone off-screen. During the second close-up, a brief look of confusion can be seen on Curry's face as he scrambled to find the right color.
Just before Rocky's birthday feast, the Criminologist speaks for a while. His book is opened to display Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper".
The final number, "Super Heroes", is mostly seen only on UK-exclusive prints of the film, though it has shown up on some American prints.
In the "Over at the Frankenstein Place" sequence where Janet covers her head from the rain with the newspaper, the prop is actually coated with plastic so it would withstand many takes of being drenched with water. The coating, however doesn't cover the full page and leaves an area at one corner uncoated where Susan Sarandon is holding it so it doesn't look artificial. Water is clearly dripping from all parts of the prop, but you can clearly see that only the corner that she is holding is actually getting wet.
Peter Hinwood couldn't sing, and during the soundtrack sessions a session singer was used for Rocky Horror's part. Hinwood mimed the vocals during filming. In post-production, Jim Sharman wanted to change Rocky Horror's voice, and hired Australian actor/singer Trevor White to dub the final vocals for the film. White was interviewed for the 2002 book "Rocky Horror: From Concept to Cult."
Susan Sarandon refuses to talk about the movie, because she hates the fact that none of the cast members get royalties from the DVD sales.
Filming took place at The Oakley Court in Windsor, England. The same location was used for the horror films The Brides of Dracula (1960), And Now the Screaming Starts! (1973), The Old Dark House (1963), and Murder by Death (1976). The castle now serves as a luxury hotel.
Dr. Frank N Furter's tattoo on his upper right arm reads "BOSS", and the one on the upper part of his right thigh is "4711" (like the eau de cologne).
According to Meat Loaf, Elvis Presley was the studio's first choice to play Eddie and apparently Elvis actually had expressed some interest in doing so.
The movie is full of symbols of classic movie companies: The shield the griffin holds represents Warner Brothers; the eagle in the hall represents Republic; the lightning bolt on the flag represents the old RKO symbol, (the radio tower at the end is also RKO); the character 'Columbia' represents not only the movie company of the same name, but the symbol herself, complete with short hair; the large 'Atlas' illuminated painting in the grand bed-chamber is the symbol of Anglo-Amalgamated Productions; the large snarling cat in the hall is an MGM lion reference; the lighted globe at the end is the symbol of Universal Pictures; and the gong represents the Rank Film Corporation, whose films opened with a huge gong being struck; Columbia wears Mickey Mouse ears in the scenes in the bedroom with her & Magenta: a Disney reference.
When we see the castle at the start, the camera zooms in onto a crystal dome on top of the castle. This would appear to be the same dome used in Richard O'Brien's series The Crystal Maze (1990).
A cinema located in Munich, Germany has screened the film once a week since its release in 1975. They offer special RHPS kits containing props to be used during the film including a biscuit, a candle, rice, a whistle, and a sheet of paper with directions on how to do the Time Warp. The same routine was played in a cinema of Milan, Italy.
In 2013, Richard O'Brien let slip that Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon were actually dating during the filming.
Many films and television shows have payed tribute to Rocky Horror since the film's debut. Examples include The Drew Carey Show (1995), Glee (2009), The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012), the "Fame" franchise, 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996), Charles in Charge (1984), That '70s Show (1998), Daria (1997), CSI: NY (2004), Men in Black (1997), Halloween II (2009), Loser (2000), and the "Vice Squad" franchise.
With the death of Anne Francis on January 2, 2011, Janette Scott is the last surviving actor mentioned in "Science Fiction/Double Feature".
The makeup department created a plug that fit over Peter Hinwood's belly button to hide it from view during filming. Since Rocky was created by Dr. Frank-N-Furter completely from scratch, that means he didn't have an umbilical cord and therefore shouldn't have a belly button.
Tim Curry modeled Frank-N-Furter's voice after Queen Elizabeth II and his mother.
Peter Hinwood (Rocky) is only slightly embarrassed by being in the film. Contrary to popular rumor, he's never thrown anyone out of his shop for talking about the film. He only sees the film as a "part of the past" and rarely talks about it.
While Brad and Janet are driving, President Richard Nixon's 1974 resignation speech is being played on Brad's car radio. Richard O'Brien was not in favor of this decision because it locked the film into a specific time frame.
Peter Hinwood discovered Rocky's signature tiny gold hot pants in his home in the early '90s and sold them at auction. It was Hard Rock Café who snapped them up to add to their memorabilia collection.
The map that shows the path of Brad & Janet's trip to the castle (as shown by the criminologist) is of south eastern Ohio, south of Chillicothe. A very distinct bend in the Scioto River is visible on the left (a check of DeLorme's Ohio Gazetteer will confirm it). Near the bottom of the page you can make out "Wayne National Forest". And the town of Jackson is also visible. Though it is very blurry, it would appear that Frank N. Furter's castle would be near the town of McArthur, OH.
According to Meat Loaf, preparations for the motorcycle scene saw several accidents on the set. His stuntman drove the motorcycle through the scene including up and down several steep ramps. The bike fell off the top tier and landed upside down pinning the stuntman underneath it. Meat Loaf ran over and somehow mustered enough strength to lift the heavy bike just enough to move it off of him. The stuntman did not move for sometime but eventually opened his eyes and told everyone he was OK. He later told him that it was an old stuntman trick to make sure he wasn't suffering any pain or serious injuries before moving. They also needed to get shots of Meat Loaf riding the bike up and down the ramps, so the crew rigged a wheelchair that would hold a set of handlebars and a motorcycle windshield in front of a camera as the crew pulled it up and down the steps. Unfortunately, as they were in the middle of shooting, the wheelchair hit a ridge at the bottom of the steps sending him flying towards the floor and shattering both the camera and the windshield. His stuntman tried to catch him in the process but the ramp caught the stuntman's leg and caused a serious fracture. Meat Loaf also suffered a deep cut on his head.
According to Richard O'Brien, the body of bones in the clock was an authentic skeleton belonging to the woman who commissioned the clock. In 2002, Sothebys auctioned off the coffin-clock which sold for £35,000.
For the scene where Dr. Scott is dragged into the laboratory via electromagnet, the production designers realized they forgot to build a door for him.
The film was originally recorded in mono. When 20th Century-Fox finally decided to release it to home video in 1990, the songs in the film were re-dubbed using the stereo versions from the soundtrack release (a session singer was used in the studio version for Rocky's vocals; Trevor White re-dubbed them for the film). Rocky's vocals are different on "Rose Tint My World," and other subtle differences are noticeable to fans who have seen the theatrical release repeatedly, especially because the words didn't match to the mouths of the actors. The original English mono sound was used as an option for the 2000 DVD release (with Trevor White as the voice of Rocky Horror on all songs), along with an English 5.1 Surround mix (using the mono sound and White's vocals) and a commentary track by Richard O'Brien and Patricia Quinn.
The newspaper that Janet is reading while driving with Brad can be seen as "The Plain Dealer." This is a newspaper of Cleveland, OH.
Costume designer Sue Blane was not keen on working for the film until she became aware that Tim Curry, an old friend, was committed to the project. Curry and Blane had worked together in Glasgow's Citizens Theatre in a production of The Maids, where Curry had worn a woman's corset in the production. Blane arranged it with the theatre to loan her the corset from the other production for Rocky Horror. Blane admits that she did not conduct research for her designing and had never seen a science fiction film, and is acutely aware that her costumes for Brad and Janet may have been generalisations.
For filming, corsets for the finale had to be doubled for the pool scene, with one version drying while the other was worn on set.
Patricia Quinn's hair was not dyed, but sprayed red every single day of shooting.
In the final scene, inspiration for Magenta's hair is taken directly from Bride of Frankenstein (1935).
In "Zoolander 2", an uncredited Susan Sarandon speaks the lines: 'Touch-a, touch-a, touch me. I want to be dirty.' to Owen Wilson's character. This is a direct reference to "Rocky Horror".
While many of the costumes are exact replicas from the stage productions, other costumes were new to filming, such as Columbia's gold sequined swallow-tail coat and top hat and Magenta's maid's uniform.
In the wedding sequence at the beginning of the film, Hilary Farr of HGTV's Love It Or List It plays Betty Monroe.
After 40 years of theatrical screenings and television airings, the film made it's premium movie network debut on HBO and Cinemax's catalogues in 2015.
The budget for the film's costumes was $1,600, far more than the stage production budget, but having to double up on costumes for filming was expensive.
In the stage productions, actors generally did their own make-up; however, for the film, the producers chose Pierre La Roche, who had previously been a make-up artist for Mick Jagger and David Bowie, to redesign the make-up for each character.
Picked by Entertainment Weekly magazine as one of the "50 Greatest Independent Films" in a special supplement devoted to independent films that was only distributed to subscribers in October 1997.
According to Richard O'Brien, the whole shoot took just six weeks.
Nell Campbell was known around the set for saying "Nell's the name, tappin's the game."
Among the Transylvanians, there is as Asian woman with long hair covering her eyes. She is Kimi Wong, and at the time, she was Richard O'Brien's first wife.
Some of the costumes from the film had been originally used in the stage production. Props and set pieces were reused from old Hammer horror productions and others. The tank and dummy used for Rocky's birth originally appeared in The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958). These references to earlier productions, in addition to cutting costs, enhanced the cult status of the film.
Sue Blane's costume designs are credited with inspiring the punk look.
Richard O'Brien confessed that at the time, he didn't like Tim Curry. O'Brien was resentful and envious because Curry was attractive and got all the good lines.
Richard O'Brien stated that when writing the stage play, he actually envisioned himself playing Eddie, but the director hired for the play felt he would be a better fit for Riff Raff.
The lift went down into "a hole" (pink room) which is actually next to the covered over swimming pool. All the pink room scenes were shot, then the set torn down so they could do the swimming pool scenes. After all the pink tile was smashed and the set destroyed, part of a wall had to be recreated for one of Tim Curry's scenes.
Cliff De Young was offered the role of Brad Majors, but turned it down due to scheduling conflicts. He finally got his chance in Shock Treatment (1981).
Jim Sharman asked Richard O'Brien to write a part for singer Marianne Faithfull, who wanted to be in the film. O'Brien refused.
Christopher Malcolm and Julie Covington played leads Brad and Janet in the original stage musical when it opened at London's Royal Court Theatre (19 June 1973). Neither went on to participate in this movie adaptation, although Malcolm would participate in its follow-up, Shock Treatment (1981).
Richard O'Brien and Jim Sharman had previously worked together in stage productions of Jesus Christ Superstar and The Unseen Hand.
According to Richard O'Brien, the church was a façade. For the interior church scenes, they could only shoot one side of a real church room as they couldn't afford the whole thing.
The motorcyclists were the same actors that play the Transylvanians at the castle. Richard O'Brien didn't understand why, noting that the motorcyclists could have been anyone. Instead, the actors had to change costumes back and forth.
Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.
B.J. Wilson & Mick Grabham were part of the 'band' who recorded the music for the Rocky Horror Picture Show. They were also members of the group Procol Harum famous for their 1967 hit 'Whiter Shade of Pale' (although neither Wilson nor Grabham played on that song as they had not yet joined the band at the time it was recorded.)
In the 70's, some movie theaters showed two of Tim Curry's music videos before the midnight showings. They were "I Do The Rock" and "Paradise Garage."
Although 20th Century Fox has made several updates to the familiar fanfare theme music heard at the beginning of each Fox film over the years since 1933, Rocky Horror was one of the only movies to completely switch out the music with its own recording. Released in 1975, it was quite possibly the first Fox movie ever to do this. However, since 1975 there have been a few, including; The World's Greatest Lover (1977), Rio 2 (2014) and The Peanuts Movie (2015). In addition, there are other films that have made more subtle modifications to set the tone, e.g. The Cannonball Run (1981) and Alien 3 (1992)
During 'Sweet Transvestite', after the line "You look like you're both pretty...groovy" Frank bites his lower lip. Some have speculated that this was the inspiration for the 'biting lips' movie poster image.
The scene where Dr. Scott crashes through the wall of the laboratory was a necessary last-minute idea because set designer Brian Thompson forgot to add a door to the room. Brad's line "Great Scott!" was not in the original working script and likely also conjured at the last minute. So the entire scene involving the throwing of toilet paper, one of the film's most memorable if you are an audience member, was completely made up during the time of production.
The original play features extra verses for "Over at the Frankenstein Place" and "The Sword of Damocles." These verses were left out of the film versions of the songs.
According to Richard O'Brien, Jonathan Kramer was originally to have played Dr. Frank-N-Furter, but was beaten out by Tim Curry.
Both Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon both felt unwell during production, due to the film being filmed in the British winter of 1974. Bostwick was sick with a cold and Susan Sarandon was sick with pneumonia.
On the 1984 CBS/Fox video VHS of the film in Australia and New Zealand, the film was followed by a trailer of the 80s slasher flick Unhinged (1982). The film was about three women whom take shelter in a mysterious family's mansion, when their car breaks during a rainstorm. In this film, Brad and Janet finds themselves guests at Dr. Frank-N-Furter's mansion, when their car breaks down during a rainstorm.
The film is a parody of classic science fiction films and serials. Richard O'Brien would later star in Flash Gordon (1980) as Fido. The film is based on the comic strips and the Saturday morning serials, which starred Buster Krabbe.
The set design for the Floor Show ('Don't Dream It, Be It') sequence at the end was changed during production, but since Richard Hartley and the Rocky Horror band had already recorded a new version of the Fox theme song for the Floor Show, their recording was later salvaged & used in place of the standard Fox symphony music at the start of the film before the 'lips' song 'Science Fiction Double Feature'. The original design concept for the Floor Show routine involved using the art-deco Fox Fanfare logo sequence as the backdrop instead of the RKO tower we see in the film. Columbia and Magenta were to be pulling ropes to move the searchlight cutouts back and forth. This idea was rejected by 20th Century Fox due to concerns about the more 'controversial' aspects of this R-rated film, they didn't want their beloved Fox logo to be further associated with the movie.
Although it has never really been confirmed or denied in interviews, Janet's voice throughout the entire film was obviously completely performed by Susan Sarandon in a high-register falsetto, based on comparisons between Susan Sarandon's actual speaking voice and her character's voice in the film. The jury is still out on the voice of Little Nell, who hit such ear-splitting high notes during her 'Time Warp' tap-dance routine that it inadvertently caused some patrons' lives to suffer permanent psychological damage. On a talk show she once said that her mother used to tell her she had "a voice that could open up a soup can." In contrast, Patricia Quinn's Magenta character speaks in a darker, more sinister voice, which is ironic in itself because the song she 'lip-syncs' to: ''Science Fiction Double Feature', was actually sung by Richard O'Brien, who was singing in a high-range falsetto voice.
Included among the American Film Institute's 1998 list of the 400 movies nominated for the Top 100 Greatest American Movies.
Koo Stark whom makes an uncredited cameo as a Bridesmaid later starred in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), but her scenes were cut. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) were released by 20th Century Fox.
2 years after the film's release, Meatloaf performed and released his hit rock song "Bat Out of Hell" on October 21st, 1977.
Little Nell (Columbia) was asked to be in the stage play after Jim Sharman saw her busking on the streets of London. According to her, part of the reason Time Warp was written was to give her an excuse to show off her tap-dancing skills.
The professional wrestler "Exotic" Adrian Street paid tribute to the film by recording a song titled "Sweet Transvestite with a Broken Nose."
15 years after the film's release, Richard O'Brien hosted the popular Channel 4 adventure gameshow The Crystal Maze (1990) and Tim Curry would portray the evil clown Pennywise in Stephen King's It (1990).
Spoilers
Most of the actors weren't told of the prop corpse of Eddie under the dining room tablecloth. When it was revealed during filming, their looks of horror are genuine. The only three who obviously knew about the scene were Tim Curry, Richard O'Brien (the author), and Meat Loaf, who had to model the corpse.
