<Tr> <Th> Budget </Th> <Td> $28,000--34,000 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> 25,066 admissions (France) </Td> </Tr> <P> The Little Shop of Horrors is a 1960 American black comedy film directed by Roger Corman . Written by Charles B. Griffith, the film is a farce about an inadequate florist's assistant who cultivates a plant that feeds on human flesh and blood . The film's concept is thought to be based on a 1932 story called "Green Thoughts", by John Collier, about a man - eating plant . However, Dennis McDougal suggests that Griffith may have been influenced by Arthur C. Clarke's sci - fi short story from 1956, "The Reluctant Orchid" (which was in turn inspired by the 1905 H.G. Wells story "The Flowering of the Strange Orchid"). Mythology about man - eating plants dates back to at least the 1800s, and probably much earlier . </P> <P> The film stars Jonathan Haze, Jackie Joseph, Mel Welles, and Dick Miller, all of whom had worked for Corman on previous films . Produced under the title The Passionate People Eater, the film employs an original style of humor, combining black comedy with farce and incorporating Jewish humor and elements of spoof . The Little Shop of Horrors was shot on a budget of $28,000, with interiors being shot in two days utilizing sets that had been left standing from A Bucket of Blood . </P>

When was the original little shop of horrors made