In fact, this is such an iconic scene that it is now nearly impossible to see a man's face peeking from a hole in the door he just hacked open without hearing the words "Heeeere's Johnny" every time.
Who Did It First:
The Shining lifts almost every ingredient of this scene from a 1921 Swedish film called The Phantom Carriage. Even the setup is the same: Both protagonists are alcoholic fathers under the influence of supernatural forces whose wives lock themselves away to protect their respective children. However, there's more than one way to open a door.
![6 Iconic Scenes Ripped Off From Lesser-Known Movies]()
![6 Iconic Scenes Ripped Off From Lesser-Known Movies]()
That door is goddamn staying open.
In The Phantom Carriage, the couple actually has two little girls ... one of whom coincidentally appears to be sporting the exact same hairstyle as the kid in The Shining.
![6 Iconic Scenes Ripped Off From Lesser-Known Movies]()
Finally, we know the back story of those creepy twins.
And before you say anything: Nope, this exact same scene isn't in the Stephen King novel. In the book, Jack's weapon of choice is a croquet mallet, because apparently he couldn't find a tennis racket. To our knowledge, Kubrick never admitted knowing about this film, but considering that he was trying to figure out how a man would act when driven crazy by isolation and snow, we wouldn't be surprised if he decided to look to Sweden for inspiration.
You can read more about movies (probably -- he talks about a lot of stuff) on J.F. Sargent's tumblr and Twitter.
For more famous things you didn't know were stolen, check out 6 Famous Characters You Didn't Know Were Shameless Rip-Offs and The 5 Most Famous Musicians Who Are Thieving Bastards.
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