The Rocky Horror Picture Show hit theaters in late 1975 with little initial buzz, but the bold musical—a campy spoof of sci-fi and horror B-movies, packed with dazzling costumes and infectious songs—dug in its heels and became a cultural staple for the next 50 years.
The film was based on the hit stage musical The Rocky Horror Show, written by Richard O’Brien when he was an out-of-work actor. The story follows Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry), a flamboyant, cross-dressing alien scientist who looks like a glam-rock deity and is determined to seduce everyone in sight. The film sparked a new kind of audience interaction—people dressed up, sang along, and even shouted back at the screen. It also became a haven for LGBTQ+ fans, drawn to its unapologetic celebration of queerness, sexual freedom, and fluid identity.
Today, it holds the record as the longest-running theatrical release in history, still playing in cinemas. Here’s how the cast and crew remember its rise to cult fame.
### The Making of a Phenomenon
In 1974, Richard O’Brien and director Jim Sharman adapted the stage show for film. While most of the original cast stayed, 20th Century Fox insisted on recasting the leads, Brad and Janet, with Hollywood actors.
Richard O’Brien (co-writer, composer, and Riff Raff):
“Mick Jagger’s team approached me about buying the rights—he wanted to play Frank. But Jim Sharman said no, explaining that if we sold them, we wouldn’t get to make the movie ourselves. I hadn’t even considered that possibility. Then Lou Adler came on as producer and pitched it to Fox. Suddenly, we were greenlit—and the whole original cast got to be in it. It was like kids being let loose in a candy store.”
Jim Sharman (director and co-writer):
“I was given two choices: a decent budget with rock stars or a tiny budget keeping the original team. I went with the latter. It made sense to have Americans play Brad and Janet, and Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon were perfect—they weren’t big stars yet.”
Barry Bostwick (Brad):
“Susan and I stepping into these roles mirrored our characters entering this bizarre new world. We were wide-eyed newcomers in this wild, glam-rock London scene.”
Nell Campbell (Columbia):
“For Barry and Susan, it was tough joining what was essentially a tight-knit theater group. We’d all worked together for months.”
Patricia Quinn (Magenta):
“Sharman took us to John Goldstone’s house to see the set designs. I remember the pink laboratory, the Transylvanians on motorcycles, and Sue Blane’s incredible costume sketches. When I saw my dinner dress design, I just thought, Wow.”
The rest, as they say, is history.”Oh, I’m doing this.”
Doing The Time Warp… in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. (Photograph: Moviestore Collection Ltd/Alamy)
Tim Curry, who had first played Frank-N-Furter in the stage musical, made his film debut as the seductive, corset-wearing scientist.
Bostwick: I was in awe of Tim’s acting skills. Watching him balance the character’s darkness and cruelty with charm and allure—few could have pulled that off.
O’Brien: On stage, Frank-N-Furter had a more German expressionist style—gothic, eerie, with rougher makeup. But in the film, he became glamorous, which was beautiful.
Production began in October 1974 on a $1.4 million budget, lasting nearly two months. Filming took place at Bray Studios and Oakley Court, a Berkshire country house, both previously used for Hammer horror films.
Sharman: We shot at Hammer Horror studios as a tribute, but it wasn’t the most practical choice. It was freezing, mid-winter, far from ideal conditions.
Bostwick: It was a miserable shoot. I was always in my underwear, and every 20 minutes, the prop guy sprayed me with ice-cold water—apparently, they didn’t know how to heat water in England back then. Susan got pneumonia, everyone had colds. At one point, I grabbed the spray and doused him just to give him a taste.
(Photograph: Photo 12/Alamy)
Campbell: It was hilariously unglamorous. Thank goodness for my silk dressing gown—we were half-naked most of the time, hiking to the bathrooms. And we were all paid very little.
Quinn: Everything was a surprise. Nobody explained anything. In the dining table scene, Tim was told to yank off the tablecloth—revealing Meat Loaf (who played Eddie). I burst out laughing—nobody warned us! Richard told me to shut up, but it’s all in the film. No room for mistakes.
Bostwick: The pool orgy scene… We were on stage, wet, in high heels, trying to do high kicks. It took all our balance and teamwork. Underwater, everyone was kissing and groping. Afterward, we warmed up in a booth—until it caught fire. We barely escaped before it could burn down the set.
For the opening scene, they used an unusual technique.
Quinn: Jim asked if I’d seen Man Ray’s Lips painting. I hadn’t. He said, “We’ll have your lips mime Science Fiction.” They erased my face, leaving only my lips. But they kept going out of frame, so they clamped my head in place with a lamp fixture. The most famous lips in cinema history.
The grueling schedule left no time for socializing.
O’Brien: We were up at 6 AM, straight to bed after work. No parties.
Bostwick: I barely had dinner with anyone. I got to know the makeup guy best. It was my first time in London—on days off, I explored flea markets.Quinn: We were exhausted. I never really got to know Susan. Barry once said to me, “You never liked me.” I replied, “No, I didn’t—because I thought you were Brad,” that boring guy. There wasn’t time for small talk.
Bostwick: There was a lot of pot being passed around among the Transylvanians.
The film flopped when it was released in August 1975 and was torn apart by critics.
O’Brien: At our first screening, we all left feeling a little down. It felt slow to me. On stage, it was a fast 90 minutes, but the movie seemed dreamy and sluggish. I thought, God, people should have picked up their cues faster.
Campbell: It was supposed to be my big break, so it was really disappointing when it just vanished.
Bostwick: It never even opened in New York. Later, I heard it wasn’t a hit in London either.
The film was re-released for midnight screenings in April 1976, starting at New York’s Waverly Theater (now the IFC Center). Word spread, and fans began shouting responses to the lines during showings. “Shadow casts” dressed as the characters and lip-synced along in front of the screen. The queer community embraced it, finding a sense of belonging in these interactive screenings.
O’Brien: One day, someone asked me, “Have you heard about your movie?” I said, “Yeah, it opened and closed.” They replied, “No, it’s doing these midnight showings now.” That was a shock.
Sharman: Somehow, I always felt it would find its audience—even though there was no logical reason to think so. There was just something special about it. Lou saw the potential and convinced Fox, who had basically given up on it, to start late-night screenings. That’s how it grew.
Quinn: When I was in South Africa, people told me it was banned for “corrupting the youth.” In Germany, they banned it for cannibalism. I thought, Wow, we’re going to be a hit. The first fan who dressed as Magenta ended up becoming one of my closest friends.
Bostwick: It started as a gay event. The audience were outcasts in their own way, and they found their family there. They saw something in the film they’d never seen before—an alternative way of living.
Campbell: At first, the audience callbacks were few and really clever. Now, they shout after almost every line. My castmates agree—it’s too much. You can barely hear the movie over the screaming.
Sharman: People asked, “Aren’t you upset your film is just background noise for a party?” I said, “No, it’s amazing.”
Sharman and O’Brien later worked together on Shock Treatment (1981), a loose sequel featuring some of the same characters.
O’Brien: The first draft had Rocky rising from the grave, dragging Frank’s body to Dr. Scott to be revived. The producers liked it, but Jim said no. Everything was rewritten, and Shock Treatment came out. Honestly, it’s flawed—I’m not happy with it.
Sharman: I felt Rocky Horror was complete on its own. Shock Treatment was a different beast.The Rocky Horror Picture Show was originally meant to stand alone, and I wasn’t interested in making a sequel. I’d moved on to other projects and was hesitant about reuniting the original team. Still, I wanted to collaborate with Richard O’Brien again. We created a story about an America controlled by reality TV under a power-hungry ruler. The idea didn’t take off at the time—perhaps the satire felt too bleak and exaggerated—though it turned out to be oddly prophetic.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show went on to earn over $115 million worldwide and holds the record as the longest-running theatrical release in history. It’s still shown in cinemas globally.
O’Brien finds its enduring success remarkable. Creating something with lasting appeal is incredibly rare—especially for what essentially began as a teenage boy’s fantasy. LGBTQ+ fans often tell him how the film changed their lives, making them feel accepted and less alone in the world.
Bostwick jokes that if his kids have children someday, they might take them to see the film and say, “That was your grandpa—people used to shout ‘asshole!’ at him his whole life, but he wasn’t one. He was a great dad, just part of this iconic story.” He’s proud of the film and supports its message.
Campbell calls it the only positive cult he knows. The film’s greatest joy is how much it means to so many people. Even now, coming out as gay, bisexual, or trans can be difficult, but this 50-year-old movie still unites people. He’s met countless fans who found love through screenings and even entire families dressed as characters. To him, it’s truly wonderful.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show returns to select UK cinemas starting August 22.
