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Band of Outsiders (aka Bande Aparte)
Jim Sharman, on the Laserdisc SE interview, said that the "Time Warp" dance scene was a nod to a dance contest scene in this movie.
Dr. Strangelove
Dr. Scott is an ex-Nazi scientist trying to make it in the U.S. government. Additionally, he has a limb that he can't control (his leg at the end), and accidentally slips back into speaking in German once or twice (during the dinner scene).
Dracula
This one is a bit more subtle. In the old Dracula movies, the vampire would bite the necks of the women, symbolizing a sexual encounter. Afterwards, the women would be "seduced" and under the vampire's spell. RHPS takes this a bit more literally, and has Frank actually have sex with Brad and Janet, after which (with a little help from the Medusa switch) they are under Frank's spell, and even emulate him in the floor show. Of course, if you're looking for obvious references, there's the fact that they're from Transylvania, and Magenta has an eastern European accent.
Frankenstein
This one is obvious. Dr. Frank-N-Furter. A muscle-bound creation that doesn't speak very well and that is afraid of fire. Using someone else's brain. Magenta's "Bride of" hair at the end. 'Nuff said.
King Kong
This is another obvious one, with Rocky carrying Frank up the RKO tower at the end.
Night of the Hunter
Eddie's finger tattoos are like those of Robert Mitchum's character.
Sunset Boulevard
The scene of Frank floating face-down in the pool is a strong reference.
The Wizard of Oz
The allusions to this were originally going to be much stronger, what with the film starting out in black & white and going to colour during Frank's entrance (read the shooting script for more information), but the associations are still strong. Most of the wedding guests from the beginning show up later as Transylvanians, to give a Wizard-esque "alternate reality" feel. Additionally, the minister at the wedding is played by Tim Curry, and the church caretakers are Richard O'Brien, Pat Quinn, and Little Nell. Some theorize that they are not the same characters, but I say that they are, because of the markings on the Criminologist's slides. I think the wedding guests are supposed to be different characters, though.
Esther Williams musicals
The "Don't Dream It, Be It" number parodies this genre
practically every horror movie ever made
As RHPS is a satire, it uses numerous "classic" horror-movie devices. All of this is purely intentional, such as the fact that there just happens to be an old castle in rural Ohio, or that Dr. Scott just happens to be Brad and Janet's ex-tutor that they just happened to be going to visit and who just happens to work for the government and who just happens to be Eddie's uncle and who just happens to discover that Frank and Company just happen to be outer-space aliens. The old "Oh, well, that explains everything then" trick. That sort of thing.

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Many fans have made it a personal quest to hunt down all the movies mentioned in SFDF. Bill Ung made a beautiful montage of excerpts from the films, shown at the Anaheim convention in 1997 (available on the convention video). James Curran's "Annotated Science Fiction/Double Feature" is probably the best source of information on the films. It has several homes on the Web; my personal favorite is http://www.rockymusic.org/sfdf/, which includes videograbs from several of the films.

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There really aren't too many more errors in editing than there are in most other films, it's just that since RHPS has been viewed so many times, they're more obvious. Just to give a couple of examples, Die Hard II is supposed to take place in Washington, D.C., yet the telephones say Pacific Bell on them; also, Ash does not have his shotgun with him during the pit scene in Army of Darkness, yet he starts shooting people with it when he comes out (of course, this could have been intentional). There are plenty more. Ask around on alt.cult-movies or some such newsgroup if you're truly interested.

Here's a list of a few from RHPS, in chronological order. If you have any more, please send feedback.

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Well, since RHPS is a send-up of the old B-movies, it could be argued that this was intentional, as the old movies rarely paid too much attention to such trivialities as plot continuity. Regardless of the reason, many things seem to happen that are seemingly impossible (or at least improbable). Here are some of them, and various explanations to go with them.

Late November Evening?
The Criminologist says that this all occurs on a "late November evening," yet Richard Nixon's resignation speech is on the radio in the car. Nixon resigned in August. So what's the deal? Was the radio doing a re-broadcast? Did Brad and Janet go through a Time Warp? If it was Nixon's original speech, why were Brad and Janet talking, rather than listening to it like good clean-cut American citizens? Also, what were the wedding guests doing wearing white for an autumn wedding? And what's with the copy of The Plain Dealer? Its date doesn't seem to match anything.

Any number of explanations could be made, but my personal opinion is that nobody really cared. For you Americans, do you know the last year that Margaret Thatcher served? These were Brits making a film set in the United States, and I doubt too much research or attention was placed on what the Criminologist said compared to what was on the radio. Most likely, the speech was on there to give a sense of the period, and the paper to give a sense of the location - i.e. "Apple-Pie Midwest America". Possibly, the speech was also included to give a "feeling of foreboding."
What time of the night?
This is often-times a much debated topic, yet the explanation seems simple. The concern is mainly that according to the clock during The Time Warp, it was midnight when Brad and Janet arrived, yet they had dinner a few hours later, and when they left, it was still dark out. This is compounded by the fact that the clock chimes more than twelve times. Many various explanations have been given. Some claim that they arrived earlier than midnight, others say that time had no meaning in the castle. Nobody seems to be able to accept the idea that perhaps Transylvanians don't keep the same dinner schedules as Earthlings. Well, here's the chronology for you, so shut up about it already.

The wedding was in the early afternoon. By the time Brad and Janet stopped dancing and singing, and got around to changing clothes, announcing their plans to their parents (well, Janet's parents anyway; Brad was born an orphan), getting a bite to eat (White Castle, perhaps?), and heading off to see Dr. Scott, it was well into the evening, perhaps around 8:00 or 9:00 or so. When the car broke down around 10:30, they had to walk back several miles in the dark and the rain, so it took a good hour and a half for them to arrive at the castle. Everything between their arrival to the end of the Creation Scene is in "real-time", and so Rocky ends up being born between midnight and 12:30. After a bit of sleep (perhaps an hour), Frank seduces both Brad and Janet. Since Frank is the wonderful lover that he is, this takes up a bit of time, putting Janet's seduction of Rocky well past 4:00. Dinner happens around 5:00, after which the cast is Medusa-ed, and Frank prepares for the floor show. The floor show begins at around 7:30, making Rocky seven hours old, and by the time the castle blasts off, it's just around dawn (it is November in midwest America; it takes a while for daylight to happen).
So there you have it. It all fits, and it all makes sense, so don't try to tell me anything different. Unless, of course, it's a good theory.
What, exactly, is the floorplan of the castle?
There isn't one. While some scenes were shot on location at was is now the Oakley Court Hotel (see Section 3d for the address), much of the interior was a sound-stage reconstruction. The castle as it's portrayed in the movie doesn't exist, although Brian Thomson did create a scale layout drawing of the house. “I’ve read that the house is architecturally incorrect but it isn’t, I calculated it all," he said in a September 2001 interview with Crazed Imaginations. Apparently the dome and the elevator line up correctly (he showed the interviewer), but we weren't there, so we can't tell you how. You'll also note that there are no doors into the lab. So how do the Transylvanians get there before Brad and Janet? Perhaps they all made a quick trip in the elevator, perhaps they all teleported up there, or perhaps they used Riff and Magenta's secret entrance that was originally supposed to be there. This also was supposed to be how Dr. Scott entered the lab, but nobody noticed that they forgot to install it until it was being filmed. Richard asked Brian how Dr. Scott was going to enter, and Brian answered, as a joke, "We'll just push him through the wall."

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Whose lips are those?
The long answer is that, in the original play, The Usherette (who is the same actress who plays Magenta; sort of a Wizard of Oz type of thing) sings it. The Usherette is not Magenta; it is a different character, just the same as Dr. Scott and Eddie are different characters (they are also portrayed by the same actor in the play). For the movie, however, there was no Usherette, and so Richard O'Brien sang the song (not Riff Raff). As a tribute to the Usherette, Patricia Quinn's lips mouth the words (though not terribly accurately). Since the main reason Pat took the part in the play in was so that she could sing that song, when she found out that Richard would be singing it for the movie, she was less than pleased. Her exact words were, "You bastard!"
The short answer is that they belong to Patricia Quinn.
What does RKO stand for?
It does not stand for Richard Keith O'Brien, though that could be a double-meaning in Science Fiction / Double Feature. RKO stands for Radio-Keith-Orpheum, which was a movie company that produced many of the movies of the genre that RHPS is based on.
The following is a rather interesting history of RKO, written by Brian Sutin (who has actually never seen RHPS), and forwarded to me by Greg Ubben. Thanks, guys!
In the late twenties there was a company incorporated as Robertson-Cole Productions, but was called FBO, Film Booking Offices, and was owned by Joseph P. Kennedy. In a rather famous Wall Street maneuver, he staged a takeover of a (vaudeville) theater chain called Keith-Albee-Orpheum. He ousted the owners and merged the two companies, calling the result Radio-Keith-Orpheum, where Radio- was from Sarnoff's Radio Corporation of America. Joe later became head of the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), and had several rather famous sons (John F., etc.). RKO was later purchased by Lucille Ball, who started there as a bit actress, changed the name to Desilu Productions, and made it into a TV studio.
What does 4711 mean?
The number '4711' which is tattooed on Frank's leg is the name of a European cologne (the original eau de Cologne, in fact) which was popular among gay men in the 1970's. It is still available.
Where is Denton?
There are eighteen (count 'em) Dentons in the US - Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana (two), Nebraska, North Carolina, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas (two). There is also a Denton which is a suburb of Manchester, England. Denton is supposed to be "Anytown, USA." The popular belief is that the Denton in the movie is located in Ohio, which has been all but proven to be true with a piece in the Rocky Horror Scrapbook that shows Janet's address as 10 Main Street, Denton, Ohio. This can't be used as absolute proof, however, as the scrapbook was a limited edition piece that came out after the movie, and was mainly put together by Brian Thompson. More likely than not, when the name "Denton" was initially used, nobody gave any consideration as to what state it was in.
Has anyone noticed that RHPS bears a resemblance to [insert movie]?
Yes, we have. Rocky uses images and concepts from The Wizard of Oz, Frankenstein, Dracula, King Kong, and practically every other old movie you can think of. This is what we in the movie industry call "satire". Refer to the What movies are alluded to?subsection for more on this.
I saw [such-and-such-line] in a TV show (other movie, etc.); is this an RHPS reference?
Most likely not. Many lines in Rocky were used because they were popularly used lines. For example, the line "to absent friends" was used long before RHPS, and has been used since. Most likely, those that occurred afterward were not RHPS references, and it's almost certain that those that occurred before RHPS were not references, either.
Hey! Those people at the wedding look familiar! Who are they?
Many of the actors who portray the guests also portray Transylvanians. The cute cameraman is Perry Bedden (the best Transie of them all). Tim Curry is the minister. Richard O'Brien, Patricia Quinn, and Little Nell are the church workers. It has not been determined whether these people are supposed to be Frank et al. in disguise, or if it's merely a Wizard of Oz type of thing. My own personal theory is that the wedding guests are just an Oz type of thing, but that it really is Frank and Company running the church. They could have very well sabotaged Brad's car to break down. This makes sense when put against Frank's mock-surprise "well how 'bout that?" line in Sweet Transvestite.
What exactly does Frank say when the sheet is lifted off of the tank?
Okay. Let's settle this once and for all. At the Twentieth Anniversary Convention in Los Angeles in October 1995, I, J. Alan Pfaff had the chance to ask Richard whatever I wanted to. I chose, in my infinite wisdom, to ask him this question. He said, without a doubt, that Frank says "Hoopla!"
So there.

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Charles Atlas
Rocky Horror gets the "Charles Atlas Seal of Approval", and the song "I Can Make You A Man" is also referred to as the "Charles Atlas Song." The original version of the song (see History of the RHPS) made references to a "magazine advert". Charles Atlas is the name behind a muscle-building program frequently advertised in comic books. It was popular in the 50's and promised to "make you a new man" in just "seven days" utilizing a method called "dynamic tension."
Damocles
As in The Sword of. Acording to Greek mythology, Damocles envied his friend, King Dionysius. Dionysius invited Damocles to a banquet, which he enjoyed until he saw a sword hanging above him, only secured by a thread. Damocles stopped envying his friend, realizing that while the king enjoyed many luxuries, he lived always under the threat of assassination. Therefore, the expression "The Sword of Damocles" means some sort of impending danger, and "cutting the thread" is therefore self-explanatory.
Buddy Holly
"...was singing his very last song." A pioneer of rock-n-roll in the 1950's, Buddy Holly was famous for such tunes as "Peggy Sue" and "That'll Be The Day". He was killed, along with Ritchie Valens ("La Bamba") and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson ("Chantilly Lace"), in a plane accident on February 3, 1959, a date which has come to be known as "the day the music died".
Steve Reeves
"...take in an old Steve Reeves movie." Reeves' best-known works as an actor are from the 1950's "Hercules" film series. So, the next time someone yells out the tired old "Who the hell is Steve Reeves?" line at a showing of RHPS, you have some ammunition for a counter-attack.
Lily St. Cyr
Ms. St. Cyr (pronounced "sincere", no matter what Susan Sarandon says) was a stripper in the 1940s who later opened a lingerie shop in Hollywood. She passed from this world in 1999. God bless her, indeed.
Fay Wray
Fay Wray starred in the original "King Kong". If you want to know what happened to her, go do some research at the library or online, or just look in the back of Bill Henkin's RHPS Book. I can't do everything for you.

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Most of the major trivia was covered in the previous three sections, but here are some more. If you have any to add, please send feedback to Ruth Fink-Winter.

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The Infamous Riff/Brad Buttfuck Scene
This is a favourite on the newsgroup, and becomes more monstrous every time the thread comes up. It's close to being a conspiracy theory, in more ways that one. Those who talk about the scene discuss the conspiracy at Fox to erase all proof of the scene, while the mere discussion of the scene is a conspiracy to confuse the hell out of everyone.
The first person to start the rumor was Pat Quinn (not the actor - this one can be reached at http://www.pquinn.com/psq/index.html). Here's the basic story: A while back, there was a thread of people trying to "one-up" each other by saying things like "Our theatre has Superheroes", "Our theatre has the mono soundtrack," "Our theatre has the trailer," etc. In order to try to put an end to this silly bickering, I posted an obviously false message saying "Our theatre has Once In A While, Brad's verse for There's A Light, and The Crim's verse for Sword of Damocles." A bit further down the thread, Pat posted that his theatre had "the infamous Riff/Brad buttfuck scene," and we ran with it.
Since that time, we've seen quotes from Barry Bostwick and Richard O'Brien, references in Shock Treatment, a copy of the original scripting, still shots, MPEGs, and people who have actually seen it in a theatre. Of course, those who have visual proof of it can't seem to find where they put it, lost it in a computer crash, threw it away years ago, etc. This is simply because none of this exists.
Discussion of the scene seems to pop up every once in a while on the newsgroup. It's been pointed out that discussion of the scene is much akin to the rituals that many casts have for their virgins. It's a Rocky Rite of Passage (of sorts). Keep an eye out; join the fun.
Richard O'Brien went to school in Denton, Texas
I've even had professors from the school ask me about this. Apparently there are persistent rumours at the University of North Texas (in Denton) that Richard O'Brien went to school there and received an "F" on the script for Rocky Horror that he had written for a drama class.
Richard O'Brien was born as Richard Smith in Cheltenham, England. His family moved to New Zealand when he was 10. He dropped out of secondary education when he was 15, and enrolled in an agricultural college to please his parents. In his early 20s, he moved back to England and lived primarily as an out-of-work actor in London (during which he wrote the original script and songs for what was to become Rocky Horror) until he achieved his first major success (with Rocky Horror) in 1973. At no time during this period did he attend college in Denton, Texas.
The formula for LSD is on the wall in the lab
Sorry to disappoint you...it isn't. (If you were wondering, the chemical formula for LSD is C20H25N3O; look the structure up.) J. Alan seemed to remember hearing from a reliable source that the formula is, actually, laundry detergent (or something of the sort).
There are three separate chemical formulas on the wall; compound #1 was successfully identified as cadaverine (H2N(CH2)5NH2) by Sonja Schwartz (confirmed); #3 is a drawing of most of a molecule of hemoglobin (the word "globin" appears twice on the wall). I'm not sure what #2 is...
David Bowie was the voice for Rocky
While it is true that Peter Hinwood did not do his own singing, it is not true that it is David Bowie's voice. There were actually two voices for Rocky: the one used on the mono and the one used on the soundtrack (used also for the stereo version of the print). The voice for the mono track is Trevor White. There are various rumours floating around about who it was, but nobody really knows for sure. It's definitely not Bowie, though.
Charles Gray is dead
Unfortunately, this is no longer a rumor.
Charles Gray moved on to the land of the eternal matinee on March 7, 2000.
Peter Hinwood is dead
Joe Blevins takes the credit/blame for this one. The basic story is that Peter Hinwood died during the making of RHPS and that there are several clues throughout that help to prove this. I am the walrus. It's not true, of course. Only his career died.

Peter Hinwood has resurfaced since the film: he did an autograph session for The Master's Warehouse, and he and his residence are featured in the book "London Living" by Lisa Lovatt-Smith. You can see excerpts at the New York City cast page.

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The "official" Trivia Quiz was written by Mike Hess and updated by E. Bernhard Warg, and is available through the fan club. It's quite long, and divided into sections. It contains perhaps every "one-line" trivia question that could ever be conceived (unlike the trivia here, which is mostly stories about the making of RHPS rather than specifics about the movie itself). For a good time, assign the sections to the various categories in Trivial Pursuit and make an evening out of it.

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General Pledge (this makes more sense in the US)
I, State Your Name,
Pledge Allegiance to the Lips
Of the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
And to the decadence for which it stands,
One movie, under Richard O'Brien,
With Sensuous Daydreams, Erotic Nightmares, and Sins of the Flesh for All!
And I promise to be creative and not repeat anything anyone else says.
Richard O'Brien's Transylvanian Pledge
We swear, often and loudly, to strike a blow for glamour and frivolity, for rock-n-roll, for six-inch heels, for interplanetary intercourse, and for the Transylvanian Way.

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Section last modified Monday, 22-Sep-2003 01:33:51 EDT