Shampoo (1975)

Lovers undo a hairdresser from Beverly Hills around Election Eve in 1968.

Director:

Hal Ashby

Writers:

Robert Towne, Warren Beatty

Stars:

Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Goldie Hawn

Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Warren Beatty	...	George
Julie Christie	...	Jackie
Goldie Hawn	...	Jill
Lee Grant	...	Felicia
Jack Warden	...	Lester
Tony Bill	...	Johnny Pope
George Furth	...	Mr. Pettis
Jay Robinson	...	Norman
Ann Weldon	...	Mary
Luana Anders	...	Devra
Randy Scheer	...	Dennis
Susanna Moore	...	Gloria
Carrie Fisher	...	Lorna
Mike Olton	...	Ricci
Richard E. Kalk	...	Detective Younger

Storyline

Thirty-something George Roundy is a Beverly Hills hairdresser, who spends as much time sleeping with his female clients as he does doing their hair. Whether they want to admit it, all the women in his life are on the most part aware that they are are not the only one with whom he is sleeping. And some, such as the wealthy and married Felicia Karpf, have a stronger emotional dependence on George than they would like to admit. George's current girlfriend is Jill, an up and coming actress. Jill's best friend is Jackie Shawn, one of George's old girlfriends who left him because he couldn't make a true commitment to her. In turn, Jackie is currently having an affair with Lester Karpf, Felicia's wealthy businessman husband. George is unhappy working at a salon owned by Norman, with whom he is constantly butting heads. In his first act of wanting finally to be a grown up, George wants to open his own salon, but doesn't have the financial resources to do it, and no bank will lend him money ...

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Plot Keywords:

year 1968 | election day | election | republican | beverly hills | 

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Taglines:

In a town where anything goes, everything does in this funny bedroom farce.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Movie Channel [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 March 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Shampoo

Filming Locations:

2270 Bowmont Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$49,407,734

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$49,407,734

Company Credits

Production Co:

Persky-Bright / Vista, Columbia Pictures, Rubeeker Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In her 2016 autobiography "The Princess Diarist", Carrie Fisher reveals that because her character claims she had never had her hair done, her real-life hair was deemed too short and she had to wear a wig. But the wig wasn't very convincing and therefore a headscarf was added.

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Goofs

During the final party scene, the song "Good Shepherd" from Jefferson Airplane's "Volunteers" album is prominently featured. "Volunteers" was not released until November 1969, a year after the events in the film.

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Quotes

Lorna: Have you ever made it with a guy?
George Roundy: Have you ever made it with a girl?

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: NOVEMBER 4, 1968 ELECTION EVE

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Connections

Referenced in The Oprah Winfrey Show: Living Legend Debbie Reynolds and Her Daughter Icon Carrie Fisher (2011)

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Soundtracks

Mr. Soul
(1967) (uncredited)
Written by Neil Young
Performed by Buffalo Springfield

User Reviews

why don't more people love shampoo?

In a recent interview in Cineaste magazine, celeb film critic Pauline Kael described the 1970's as the greatest decade of American movies. She then laid claim by listing her seven favorite films from that period. One of the films mentioned was Shampoo. I couldn't agree more with Pauline. Aside from the lighting and some of the camerawork, everything in the film is about as good as it gets---Robert Towne's ear for common parlance, Beatty's understated charisma, and Ashby's whirlwind direction.

It's strange that more people haven't written about this movie. In many ways, Shampoo seems to have been forgotten, floating somewhere in film history heaven. I live in Los Angeles and have never heard about it being screened anywhere. Dave Kehr and the critical establishment in general have all written it off as a film that hasn't aged well. And I've never seen a book written about either Shampoo or Ashby. Am I living in a vault or is this really the legacy of Shampoo? If you don't like this movie, I urge you to write or contact me. My e-mail address is listed above. I simply don't understand why more people don't