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:

Your hairdresser does it better...

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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:

Holivudski frizer

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

Carrie Fisher said she was cast in the role mainly through family connections. She said when Warren Beatty ran lines with her, he did it whilst eating. She said the whole thing for her was a lark. She also admitted years later in an article she wrote for Rolling Stone magazine that star Beatty unsuccessfully propositioned her.

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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

Lester: That's what I call fucking! Am I right or am I right?

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Crazy Credits

In the opening credits, horror film producer/actor William Castle is billed as "Bill Castle," but in the end credits he is back to "William Castle."

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Connections

Referenced in Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story (2007)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

The Country Wife

Beatty says he approached Towne to do a modern version of the classic restoration comedy called The Country Wife (hilarious by the way). In the original play, the hero beds all the wives by confessing to their husbands that he's impotent so the husbands make fun of him and think nothing of leaving their frustrated and underappreciated wives in his care.

Here in the updated "Shampoo", Beatty and Towne make the hero an assumed-to-be-gay hairdresser (instead of impotent)and the results are inspired bedroom farce mixed with social satire.

Younger viewers may find the film a little dated but it was a "period" film when it was made (set in 68 when it was shot in 74) so Ashby consciously gave it that dated look. For me this and Heaven Can Wait are Beatty's best work. Walks a fine comic/tragic line. And this really feels like the closest character to Beatty's heart. It was after this that I went back and saw Splendor in the Grass and began to appreciate Beatty as an actor rather than just a gigolo celebrity.

Great dialogue by Towne, Jack Warden's hilarious and Julie Christie is stunning.