Jim Sharman, Richard O’Brien (screenwriters) THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (Jul 18, 1974) Film script

[London: 1974]. Vintage original film script, quarto, typescript on onion paper, 168 pp., fine.

The original typed manuscript of one of the most transgressive movies of its time. When the film had its initial release in 1975 it was genre-bending (and very definitely also gender-bending), and along with its mix of horror with musical comedy, was wildly off-putting to mainstream audiences. Of course, the road to its ultimate position as a cult classic followed.

This script bears a date of July 18, 1974 on its title page. There then follow three pages of typed notes reflecting numerous script revisions and changes in design choices, all of which had been made in the subsequent two months. There are over thirty change notes, making this an especially interesting version to study.

Russo, pp. 52-53: “The ‘gayest’ film yet made by a major studio… Its most expert satire is of the age-old fear with which straight society encounters deviant sexuality.”