29 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About The Shining That Didn't Make Jack a Dull Boy

By:: Brian C. Miller; Cracked Writers

August 01, 2021

29 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About The Shining That Didn't Make Jack a Dull Boy

The Shining is one of the most bone-chilling, intense movies ever made… and the production was predictably a nightmare! Here are some of our favorite behind-the-scenes facts straight from The Overlook Hotel.

29

KUBRICK ALMOST LEFT THE HERE'S JOHNNY! PART OUT. THE SHiNiNG The line was thrown in by Jack Nicholson - and Kubrick, being British, didn't get that it was a reference to The Tonight Show. He came close to cutting out the film's most iconic shot. CRACKED.COM — Source: 16 Bone-Chilling Behind-The-Scenes Facts About 'The Shining'

28

easter eggstra meanings and references THE SHiNiNG The famous axe scene was inspired by The Phantom Carriage. The iconic 1921 silent film sees a drunken man taking an axe to the door with his wife and children on the other side. Even the pace of the door smashing is the same as the scene in Kubrick's movie. It's also believed that the 1919 film Broken Blossoms served as inspiration. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 References And Hidden Meanings In 'The Shining'

27

THE FINGER WIGGLING WAS DANNY LLOYD'S IDEA. THE SHiNiNG Lloyd came up with Tony's finger- talking during his audition, and Kubrick liked it enough to keep it. CRACKED.COM — Source: 16 Bone-Chilling Behind-The-Scenes Facts About 'The Shining'

26

easter eggstra meanings and references Danny says THE SHiNiNG redrum 42 times. RECRUM The number 42 is scattered throughout the movie, from Danny's shirt to the Summer of '42 on the TV screen. It's believed that this is a reference to the Holocaust and the Final Solution that was rolled out in 1942. GRACKED.COM — Source: 15 References And Hidden Meanings In 'The Shining'

25

IT WASN'T A FUN EXPERIENCE FOR SHELLEY DUVALL. THE SHiNiNG An emotionally : and physically taxing role, compounded by an abusive director, made Duvall have a really shitty time. She considered quitting acting after the movie was done. CRACKED.COM — Source: 16 Bone-Chilling Behind-The-Scenes Facts About 'The Shining'

24

easter eggstra meanings and references THE SHiNiNG The Silence Ingmar Bergman's 1963 film sees a bored boy roaming the halls of an empty hotel, sans ghosts. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 References And Hidden Meanings In 'The Shining'

23

DICK HALLORANN WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE HERO. THE TSHiNiNG In the original script, Halorann does manage to save Danny and Wendy. But then Kubrick thought that, this being a horror movie, someone had to die-and he picked the black guy. CRACKED.COM — Source: 16 Bone-Chilling Behind-The-Scenes Facts About 'The Shining'

22

easter eggstra meanings and references THE SHiNiNG The Playgirl magazine PLAYGIRL 31 OF TAHUTICHS) sieed TO CONY While Jack Torrence is waiting in the lobby of the Overlook Hotel, he's reading a copy of a magazine not usually found in the lobby of a hotel. There have been many speculations as to what this could mean, especially looking at the cover stories of the magazine, but it could also simply point to Jack's fantasies that the Overlook seems able to give him. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 References And Hidden Meanings In 'The Shining'

21

all work ALL WORK AND a All work NO PLAY WAS a All work REALLY TYPED a COUNTLESS TIMES. Alll work and no Jack play makes All work and noplay makes Jack a HOLD pray OULT All work and no play makes Jack TSHiNiNG makes Kubrick made his secretary, Margaret Warrington, a really dull gal, by having her type Jack's mantra on about 500 sheets of paper- and then again in four other languages, for foreign releases of the movie. CRACKED.COM — Source: 16 Bone-Chilling Behind-The-Scenes Facts About 'The Shining'

20

easter eggstra meanings and references THE SHiNiNG Thanks, David Lynch Kubrick was a big fan of Lynch's Eraserhead, and paid homage to the film by using similar sound, lingering shots, and modeling the bathroom scene of Room 237 to the apartment 27 in Lynch's film. GRACKED.COM — Source: 15 References And Hidden Meanings In 'The Shining'

19

JACK NICHOLSON WAS KUBRICK'S FIRST CHOICE TO PLAY JACK TORRANCE. TSHiNiNG Stephen King didn't like him, though. He thought Nicholson made Jack look deranged to begin with, undermining the point that he was just a regular guy before the Overlook. CRACKED.COM — Source: 16 Bone-Chilling Behind-The-Scenes Facts About 'The Shining'

18

easter eggstra meanings and references THE SHiNiNG Day of Wrath The movie's main title music is taken from Dies Irae (Day of Wrath), a Latin sequence and Gregorian chant from the Requiem Mass for the Dead. It has also been used to describe Judgement day. Given the references to Native Americans as well as the Holocaust in the movie, the song makes sense in context. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 References And Hidden Meanings In 'The Shining'

17

CRACKED.COM THE SHINING MADE IT TO THE GUINNESS BOOK OF RECORDS. THE SHiNiNG The scene where Danny and Hallorann discuss the titular shining reportedly took 148 takes- more than any other scene with dialogue ever. — Source: 16 Bone-Chilling Behind-The-Scenes Facts About 'The Shining'

16

easter eggstra meanings and references THE SHiNiNG Jack's colored clothes In the first part of the film, Jack wears a lot of green, but following the dream in which he cuts Wendy and Danny into pieces, he dons his red jacket for the rest of the film, signifying how his nature has changed. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 References And Hidden Meanings In 'The Shining'

15

JACK NICHOLSON ATE ONLY CHEESE SANDWICHES FOR TWO WEEKS. THE SHiNiNG Nicholson hates cheese sandwiches-so Kubrick had him eat nothing but that, to push him into Jack Torrance's murderous rage. CRACKED.COM — Source: 16 Bone-Chilling Behind-The-Scenes Facts About 'The Shining'

14

easter eggstra meanings and references THE SHiNiNG Keep America Beautiful KILK AMERICA BEAUTIFUL When Wendy tells Danny The loser has to keep America clean, it's a reference to the various PSAs about anti-littering in the U.S. Many people use the Crying Indian PSA as reference here, but there's also a PSA from 1961 that says keeping America clean is a family affair, and shows a kid with their parents walking along - a stark contrast to Wendy and Danny going out without Jack. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 References And Hidden Meanings In 'The Shining'

13

SCATMAN CROTHERS HAD LONG WANTED TO BE DICK HALLORANN. Crothers read the novel before the adaptation happened, and thought that Hallorann would be a great character for him to play. He was disappointed when Kubrick chose to kill him. THE SHiNiNG CRACKED.COM — Source: 16 Bone-Chilling Behind-The-Scenes Facts About 'The Shining'

12

easter eggstra meanings and references There is no THE SHiNiNG maze at the start. The opening scene ends with an overhead shot of the Overlook Hotel in a mountainous area and, while there are trees, the hedge maze isn't there. Yet. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 References And Hidden Meanings In 'The Shining'

11

THE SHiNiNG KUBRICK TURNED DOWN CASTING JESSICA LANGE. Lange was suggested for the role of Wendy Torrance, but she didn't fit Kubrick's idea of Wendy as a fragile, codependent woman. (Stephen King hated that Kubrick turned the character into that.) CRACKED.COM — Source: 16 Bone-Chilling Behind-The-Scenes Facts About 'The Shining'

10

easter eggstra meanings and references THE SHiNiNG Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror A scene where Wendy walks up the stairs shows her shadow on the wall, much like in the 1922 German film. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 References And Hidden Meanings In 'The Shining'

9

THE SHiNiNG DANNY LLOYD HAD NO IDEA HE WAS IN A HORROR MOVIE. Kubrick decided not to tell the five-year- old what the movie was about. Lloyd thought the film was just about a family. CRACKED.COM — Source: 16 Bone-Chilling Behind-The-Scenes Facts About 'The Shining'

8

THE CREW KEPT GETTING LOST IN THE HEDGE MAZE. THE SHiNiNG The maze was a set made with pine boughs stapled to plywood, but it was still maze-like. The crew was given a map, and even SO they got lost several times while shooting. CRACKED.COM — Source: 16 Bone-Chilling Behind-The-Scenes Facts About 'The Shining'

7

easter eggstra meanings and references THE SHiNiNG Dopey in Danny's room In the beginning of the film we see the cartoon of Dopey from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but later on that sticker disappears. It signifies Danny's change from dopey to enlightened. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 References And Hidden Meanings In 'The Shining'

6

SHiNiNG SLIM PICKENS ALMOST PLAYED DICK HALLORANN. Pickens said that he'd take the role, as long as his scenes were shot in under 100 takes- not exactly something Stanley Kubrick would commit to. CRACKED.COM — Source: 16 Bone-Chilling Behind-The-Scenes Facts About 'The Shining'

5

easter eggstra meanings and references THE SHiNiNG Retracing steps Danny flees his dad in the maze by retracing his steps and confusing Jack Torrence in the process. Retracing steps is a known Native American scout method. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 References And Hidden Meanings In 'The Shining'

4

THE MAZE SCENES WERE HELL. THE SHiNiNG The set was hot, the fake snow was difficult to run on, and the smoke pumped in to make the environment misty made it hard to breathe. At one point, the crew resorted to wearing gas masks. CRACKED.COM — Source: 16 Bone-Chilling Behind-The-Scenes Facts About 'The Shining'

3

easter eggstra meanings and references An Easter THE SHiNiNG egg, debunked. People have said that Danny's Apollo 11 jersey was Kubrick's way of addressing the conspiracy connecting him to the supposed fake moon landing. The jersey was actually knitted by a friend of the costume designer, Milena Canonero, and when Kubrick said he wanted Danny to wear something handmade, Canonero brought the jersey to the set. GRACKED.COM — Source: 15 References And Hidden Meanings In 'The Shining'

2

THE SHOOTING WENT WAY OVER SCHEDULE. THE SHiNiNG The movie was supposed to be shot over 17 weeks. Kubrick's strademark fastidiousness turned that into a full year. CRACKED.COM — Source: 16 Bone-Chilling Behind-The-Scenes Facts About 'The Shining'

1

DANNY LLOYD WAS PROMISED THE TRICYCLE, BUT NEVER GOT IT. THE SHiNiNG A crew member said Lloyd could have the tricycle once filming was done. They never gave it to him. Lloyd called in it 2017 a lesson in the hollowness of grownup promises. CRACKED.COM — Source: 16 Bone-Chilling Behind-The-Scenes Facts About 'The Shining'

Tags

Scroll down for more content

Recommended For Your Pleasure

15 Nibbles of Trivia That Landed in Our Paths This Week

Here’s the story of the worst way anyone ever woke up

Authors: By Ryan Menezes
Published: March 25, 2023
Comments: 1

The Best Thing Each Monty Python Member Has Done Since the Series Ended

There are some great projects that in no way involve parrots or spam

Authors: By JM McNab
Published: March 25, 2023
Comments: 4

The Four Best — and Most Brutal — Songs From ‘Metalocalypse’

Adult Swim may have murdered the ‘Metalocalypse’ TV series, but death metal never dies

Authors: By Keegan Kelly
Published: March 25, 2023
Comments: 1

5 Slapstick Ways Scientists Figured Out How the Natural World Works

Sometimes, you just like dressing frogs in little costumes

Authors: By Ryan Menezes
Published: March 25, 2023
Comments: 1

14 of the Funniest (and Dumbest) Running Gags in Sitcom History

Some of these runners just stumbled at the finish line.

Authors: By Jay L'Ecuyer, JhallComics
Published: March 25, 2023
Comments: 6

The Most Vicious Celebrity Roasts Never Televised

It’s bad when Bobcat Goldthwait tells you to throttle it back

Authors: By Matt Solomon
Published: March 25, 2023
Comments: 5