"The Rocky Horror Picture Show" released - August 14, 1975

On this day in 1975, the cult classic "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" premiered in London. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This Day in History Class. It's production of I Heart Radio. Hi,
I'm Eves, and Welcome to This Day in History Class,
a show that uncovers a little bit more about history
every day. Today is August nineteen. The day was August nineteen.

(00:28):
The film The Rocky Horror Picture Show premiered in London
at the Rialto Cinema, based on a stage play called
The Rocky Horror Show. The movie is still in limited
release in theaters across the United States. The play The
Rocky Horror Show opened in London in nineteen seventy three.
Actor and writer Richard O'Brien wrote the musical, which nods

(00:51):
to science fiction, be horror movies, and rock and roll.
In the play, a couple gets caught in a storm,
gets a flat tire, and ends up at the castle
of a scientist named Dr Frankenfurter. It featured Tim Curry,
Patricia Quinn, Neil Campbell, Julie Covington and Richard O'Brien. The

(01:12):
show's original production in London was well received, and it
moved to a larger theater in Chelsea, then the even
larger King's Road Theater. The production went on to be
produced in other venues around the world. American record producer
Lou Adler saw the show in London in nineteen seventy three,

(01:33):
and he liked it so much that he secured the
u S theatrical rights to the show. It premiered at
his Roxy Theater in Los Angeles in nineteen seventy four.
Adler made a deal with twentieth Century Fox, and filming
of The Rocky Horror Picture Show began in nineteen seventy
four in England. Many of the people who were in

(01:55):
the original stage production were also cast in the film.
The shoot lasted for about six weeks. The Rocky Horror
Picture Show opened in London on August fourteenth, nineteen, and
it had its official US debut in Los Angeles in
September at the u A Theater in Westwood Village. It

(02:17):
did well in Los Angeles, but it was not successful elsewhere.
But even though the turnout was poor in other cities,
people were returning for repeat viewings. The ending of the
film was recut, and Atler and Tim Deagan, the film's
marketing director, decided to release the film as a midnight

(02:38):
screening in early nineteen seventy six. Theaters around the country
began showing The Rocky Horror Picture Show at midnight screenings.
Audiences for the film grew, and people began wearing costumes
to the showings and interacting with the film in other ways.
Groups began performing live at the showings. The Official Rocky

(03:00):
Horror Pictures Show Fan Club formed at the Waverley Theater
in New York. By the end of nineteen seventy seven,
the screenings have become all out interactive experiences. People began
holding conventions around The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and it
began getting more attention through news and media outlets. In

(03:20):
nineteen one, the film Shock Treatment was released as a
follow up, but not a direct sequel, to The Rocky
Horror Picture Show. Fox also produced a reimagining of the
film that aired on television in The Rocky Horror Picture
Show has remained in circulation since it opened. Though it
was initially considered a box office and critical flop, it

(03:44):
has since become a cult classic and made millions of dollars.
Because it's still in limited release today, it's the longest
running theatrical release in film history. I'm Eve Jeffcote, and
hopefully you know a little more about his to you
today than you did yesterday. And if you haven't gotten
your fill of history after listening to today's episode, you

(04:07):
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(04:40):
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