The Shining is undoubtedly a classic cult horror.
What fans might not know is the making of the film was a nightmare all on its own.
The on-set stories about the film are now a thing of Hollywood whispers that no one
wants to talk about because if we did talk about it, that would mean that it wasn't just
a nightmare … it was a reality.
A tragic reality that Shelley Duvall had to live through and scarred her for the rest
of her life.
So much so that she quit acting and never looked back.
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In 2017, Shelley Duvall made a rare appearance on a Dr. Phil special because, as she herself
stated in the interview, "I'm very sick, I need help."
The interview revealed the former actress to be almost unrecognizable from her old self
and suffering from terrible mental health problems.
Fans of the actress were shocked to see how much she had changed and were, of course,
incredibly concerned by some of the statements she had made on the show.
The actress made a series of bizarre claims, including the suggestion that her old co-star
Robin Williams was not actually dead but was "shape-shifting."
Later in the show, Dr. Phil took Duvall to a mental facility, but she refused treatment
and was sent home after only three days.
Many commentators blasted Dr. Phill for seemingly exploiting Duvall's illness in the name of
ratings and spoke out in support of the actress.
Even Duvall admitted that she felt misled by Dr. Phil's producers and has refused requests
for a follow-up appearance on the show.
Shelley, a film icon, is now 72 years old – and yet, despite the impact she left on
the film industry, we've barely seen her on screens at all in the past 20 years.
The Texas-born actress starred in a number of the best-loved films of the 70s and 80s
before gradually fading from the limelight and quietly quitting the business.
And while we know that there's nothing wrong with an early retirement, and we'd like to
think that Shelley is simply enjoying a well-earned rest after a fruitful career, the truth is
a lot more tragic than we thought.
So what was it that pushed Duvall to a breaking point?
Well, for those of you that don't know, In 1980, Shelley Duvall was cast alongside
Jack Nicholson as his wife in the film adaptation of Stephan King's novel, The Shining.
Directed by Stanley Kubrick, the film depicted the story of the protagonist, Jack Torrance,
an aspiring novelist and recovering alcoholic who is offered to serve as the caretaker of
the isolated - and might we add super creepy - infamous Overlook Hotel in Colorado.
Shelley was already in a vulnerable and fragile state when she arrived in England to shoot
The Shining.
Her boyfriend at the time, singer-songwriter Paul Simon, had broken up with her right before
she had gotten onto the plane.
So when she arrived in England, she had been heartbroken and abandoned by the man that
she loved.
The environment on set did very little to ease any of the actress's current heartache.
In fact, the treatment she received only amplified her fragile state of mind.
Work on the film alongside Nicholson lasted almost an entire year, with notoriously hard
director Kubrick often spending more than a week at a time on single scenes.
Duvall had to spend a great deal of her screen time crying and screaming in terror, and as
Kubrick would force her to shoot these scenes over and over for month after month, this
naturally took its toll on the actress psychologically.
Stephen King openly admitted that he hated Kubrick's adaptation of the film, especially
the characterization of Duvall's character, Wendy, which, according to him, was a misogynistic
portrayal of a character that was totally different from the one he had written about
in the books.
It wasn't just Stephan who was disturbed by Kubrick's interpretation of Wendy's character.
Those who watched the film were also shocked by the performance that Shelley gave in the
movie.
"... She's basically just there to scream and be stupid, and that's not the woman that
I wrote about."
King said about the film.
However, we should add that the author aimed most of his critiques at Kubrick rather than
Duvall herself.
It seemed like all she did was scream and cry.
And the sad truth is, she wasn't just crying on-screen; tears streamed down her face even
when the cameras weren't rolling.
Things might have improved if Duvall had received the praise she deserved once the film was
released.
Unfortunately, it was not well-received at all.
Duvall's work, in particular, attracted so much criticism that she was nominated for
Worst Actress at that year's Razzie Awards.
We all know that it's the director's job to encourage their actors to get the performance
that they need for the film.
However, Kubrick did a lot more than just encourage his actors.
Nicholson was fed nothing but cheese sandwiches that he loathed for two weeks straight to
unleash the madman in him - and while that might not sound so bad, it's nothing in comparison
to what Shelley had to endure.
Stanley pushed her to a breaking point.
In fact, most of the horrific things that happened off-screen all happened to the actress.
Duvall was last seen in Manna From Heaven in 2002 and has now completely withdrawn from
the spotlight and keeps to herself in her Texas Hill Country home.
The former actress chose to open up in a rare and candid interview about her traumatizing
experience on-set.
She recounted the horrifying psychological and emotional torture that she endured during
the shooting procedure.
According to Duvall, the role was emotionally and physically exhausting as she would have
to force her body to be in a state of constant panic to appease the filmmaker's expectations
regarding Wendy's character.
Reflecting on this torturous experience, Duvall had explained that to get herself into the
necessary emotional state; she would "think about something very sad in your life or how
much you miss your family or friends.
But after a while, your body rebels.
It says: 'Stop doing this to me.
I don't want to cry every day.'
And sometimes just that thought alone would make me cry."
One particularly intense sequence – the confrontation between Nicholson's Jack and
Duvall's Wendy on a staircase – wound up earning a spot in the Guinness Book of Records
for the number of takes put on film.
Kubrick made the two actors do the scene 127 times over the course of three weeks before
he was finally satisfied with
the outcome.
It was reportedly the director would openly praise her co-star Nicholson's work without
ever saying a complimentary word to Duvall.
The experience left Duvall physically ill and losing hair from the stress.
It was also rumored that her Shining co-stars were instructed to not sympathize with her
on set in order to push her mental state to the brink, mimicking the isolation and fear
her character was meant to express, which ultimately left the actress alone and friendless
on set.
Despite her horrific experience filming The Shining, Shelley did not give up on acting
just yet.
The actress decided to play a considerably lighter role in Popeye, as Olive.
The film was a live-action take on the beloved cartoon, with Robin Williams as the lead role.
Unfortunately, this film was also met with a mixed response.
So, she slowly faded out of the spotlight.
Now, with her gray hair and casual, cozy clothes, you might hardly recognize her as the once
dark-haired Wendy Torrance—or the glamorous starlet who once graced countless chic Hollywood
galas in the '70s and '80s.
However, it's clear that Duvall is at peace and content with her life off the grid in
rural Texas, with her long-term partner Dan Gilroy, and it seems very unlikely that she
will ever return to our screens again.
However, regardless of where Shelley Duvall is today or how the public remembers her,
her catalog of excellent, on-screen performances will always remain her truest legacy.