“I’m just a sweet transvestite, from Transexual Transylvania!”
This week marks the 50th anniversary of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW.
Directed by Jim Sharman and based on the 1973 musical stage production of the same name, ROCKY HORROR was a musical comedy horror centered around a young, engaged couple (Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick), whose car breaks down near a castle. Seeking help, they meet the head of the house, Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry, in his debut), a mad scientist and alien transvestite.
After the stage production made its debut in London in 1973, the following year it came to the United States, where the theatrical rights were bought. The film would then head back to England, where filming would take place at the famed Elstree Studios and a country house in Berkshire, England. Most of the cast was from the original stage production, and the sets re-used many dressings from the Hammer horror films.
The film would open in England in August of 1975, before its American debut a month later. Reactions were mixed and audiences were small. A new marketing campaign was put together with a re-designed poster with the tagline “A different set of Jaws”, a spoof of the poster of JAWS which had released the same year. By using midnight showings, ROCKY HORROR would find its audience and become one of the biggest cult-favorites of all time. By never being officially pulled from release, it still runs in midnight showings today, and is considered to be the longest-running film in history.
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Over the years, THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW has become more than a cult classic. It is a phenomenon whose legacy is defined by its enduring influence on film, theater, and pop culture. Through midnight showings, where audiences interact with the screen shouting lines, and dressing as characters, it transformed into a living performance, blurring the line between spectator and performer. Its brash celebration of queerness, camp, and sexual liberation was groundbreaking for the time. The film’s themes of self-expression resonated and made a safe space for people to explore identity without judgment. Characters like Dr. Frank-N-Furter challenged gender norms decades before such conversations entered the mainstream. Its legacy lies not only in its longevity but in how it empowered audiences to embrace individuality, turning a flop into a timeless celebration of self-expression and community.
“And crawling on the planet’s face, some insects, called the human race, lost in time, and lost in space..”
