Trivia - Soylent Green

When I was a kid growing up in New York, one of my absolute favorite TV traditions was watching The 4:30 Movie on WABC Channel 7. And let me tell you—when it was “Planet of the Apes” week? Forget it! I was glued to the screen, totally captivated by these mind-blowing visions of the future. It was during those after-school marathons that I fell in love with science fiction and became forever obsessed with dystopian worlds, overpopulated planets, and futuristic tales with a twist.

From “2001: A Space Odyssey” to “Logan’s Run,” “The Omega Man,” “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” and “Outland”—I devoured them all. But one film that made a huge impression on my young mind was the gritty, eerie, and unforgettable “Soylent Green.” And now, all these years later, I had the incredible opportunity to talk with one of its stars—the luminous and talented Leigh Taylor-Young—on my podcast Hollywood Obsessed!

In these back-to-back brand-new episodes, Leigh shares behind-the-scenes stories about working with Edward G Robinson, what it was like filming “Soylent Green,” and how she felt starring in another sci-fi cult gem, “Looker.” She’s captivating, thoughtful, and full of amazing Hollywood memories you don’t want to miss.

And in honor of Leigh’s visit and the legacy of “Soylent Green,”I thought it would be fun to take a nostalgic look back at this unforgettable film—and test your trivia knowledge! Are YOU ready for the truth about Tuesday? Let’s dive in…

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“Soylent Green” is a 1973 American dystopian thriller film directed by Richard Fleischer. The story follows a murder investigation in a dystopian future of dying oceans and year-round humidity caused by the greenhouse effect, with the resulting pollution, depleted resources, poverty, and overpopulation.

The original title of Harry Harrison's book "Make Room! Make Room!" was changed by the producers, who feared that audiences would confuse it with the long-running 1950s and '60s TV series “The Danny Thomas Show” (which was originally known as “Make Room for Daddy”). A short-lived "sequel" to that series, “Make Room for Granddaddy,” aired for one season only about a year before Soylent Green went into production.

This film's opening prologue states: "The Year: 2022. The Place: New York City. The Population: 40,000,000." In reality, New York City's population would be less than half that, being around 18 million. The population today is about eight million.

The film's opening sequence, depicting America becoming more crowded with a series of archive photographs set to music, was created by filmmaker Charles Braverman.

According to the book "Future Tense: The Cinema of Science Fiction" by John Brosnan, Harry Harrison showed up one day on the set and passed out copies of the source book to the cast and crew. He also gave Edward G. Robinson pointers on his character.

During shooting, Edward G. Robinson was almost totally deaf. He could hear people only if they spoke directly into his ear. His dialogue scenes with other people had to be shot several times before he got the rhythm of the dialogue and was able to respond to people as if he could hear them. He could not hear director Richard Fleischer yell "cut" when a scene went wrong, so Robinson would often continue acting out the scene, unaware that shooting had stopped.

In the novel, the word "soylent" is supposed to suggest soybeans and lentils.

All of Sgt. Kulozik's (Mike Henry) lines were dubbed. Mike Henry's slight Southern drawl did not fit the New York City cop he was playing.

This was the last film shot at the MGM Studios backlot on Overland Boulevard and Culver Boulevard in Culver City, California. Because of the end of the "studio system" MGM had let all of their lots decay and fall apart by the time of filming, which relieved the effects crew of much dystopian set-dressing. The lots were razed in 1973 to make room for an assisted living communities, condominiums, and office complexes.

The surname of Chief Hatcher (Brock Peters)  is a reference to producer Russell Thacher.

Filming was suspended for a week when the director Richard Fleischer's father, the animator Max Fleischer, died on September 11, 1972 at the age of 89.

This was Celia Lovsky's (the Exchange Leader) final film before her death on October 12, 1979 at the age of 82.

It’s not uncommon for dystopian future films to depict women in roles tied to sexual exploitation. In “Soylent Green,” economically privileged men rent luxury apartments that come fully furnished—not just with décor, but with attractive female slaves referred to as “furniture.” One such character is Shirl, portrayed by Leigh Taylor-Young, whose presence reflects the disturbing normalization of institutionalized misogyny in this imagined society.

Filming location: The Soylent Green manufacturing facility in the film is the Chevron oil refinery and power plant in El Segundo, California.

Among the buildings in the matte "skyline" in the nighttime background of future New York City in the scene where Gilbert (Stephen Young)  crosses the drainage ditch, one can see the Marina City towers (Chicago) and the Transamerica Pyramid (San Francisco).

The chase scene during the climax has no dialogue because the writer, Stanley R. Greenberg, didn't want it to become an action movie. A clause in the film's contract said no dialogue could be added or edited, so they made the entire chase silent.

Final theatrical film of Edward G. Robinson.

Detective Thorn's words, near the end, "Ocean's dying, plankton's dying..." turned out to be frighteningly correct and, in 1973, prophetic. It's now commonly accepted that civilized humans have reduced the mass of fish in Earth's ocean by some 90%, and a 2010 study reported that phytoplankton - one of our planet's two lungs - "has declined more than 40 percent since 1950 and the rate of decline is increasing." A 2021 NOAA study now shows plankton are back at unprecedented levels .

The fact that this was arguably the final movie that was shot on the near-derelict Metro Goldwyn Mayer backlots, prior to its demolition, gives this movie an added poignancy. There's further poignancy when the audience may remember scenes from other (upbeat) MGM movies and TV series shot on the same streets - in effect, memories of "better times," set in periods before the story universe of the Soylent Green.

Most of the filming took place in the latter months of 1972.

Lincoln Kilpatrick, who plays the priest, played the ghoulish Zachary opposite Charlton Heston two years earlier in “The Omega Man.”

Charlton Heston and Edward G. Robinson had co-starred 16 years earlier in The Ten Commandments. During the early stages of making “Planet of the Apes,” test footage was also made of Robinson in the role of Dr. Zaius opposite Heston as astronaut George Taylor, but Robinson would be replaced in the completed film by Maurice Evans.

According to Dick Van Patten, Edward G. Robinson died that same evening of the final scene when he leads him to the room in the "Home Clinic." The next day Charlton Heston had the whole cast meet in the studio and made the announcement. Van Patten, star struck as it was the first time he'd met Robinson, kept blowing the line; instead of "This way please, Mr. Roth," by mistake he said, "Come with me, Mr. Robinson."

Though detective Thorn calls the murder weapon a meat hook it is actually a carpenter's tool for pulling nails known as a cat's paw.

The "going home" building is the Sports Arena next to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Sports Arena was built in 1959 and demolished in 2016. The arena was used for both exterior and some interior shots.

“Soylent Green” is included among the American Film Institute's 2001 list of 400 movies nominated for the top 100 Most Heart-Pounding American Movies.

Many of the street scenes were shot on MGM's New York Set at backlot No. 2. And instead of shooting normally at angles and camera heights that would disguise the supports and framework of the incomplete facades, they purposely included them, producing the look of a half destroyed city with no extra expense or effort from the production crew needed.

Knowing that he was dying, Charlton Heston brought Edward G. Robinson a variety of wines and cheeses from all over the world each day Robinson was on set for his scenes, which were all shot first. Robinson died at age 79 on January 26, 1973, four months before the film's release in May 1973.

Leigh Taylor-Young (Shirl) and Stephen Young (Gilbert) were the only stars of the film who lived to see the real 2022.

A custom cabinet unit of the early arcade game Computer Space was used in “Soylent Green” and is considered the first appearance of a video game in a film.

The scene where Thorn and Roth share a meal of fresh food was ad-libbed by Charlton Heston and Edward G Robinson.

Among the crowd that riots when they are told that the rations are over, many individuals are wearing face masks covering their mouths and noses, just as it is in 2022 anywhere in the world. However in the film, it is to protect themselves from outdoor smog and pollution whereas in reality it is used for protection against the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.

Charlton Heston and Chuck Connors had previously worked together in “The Big Country” (1958).

Two of the film's supporting players, Dick Van Patten and Nora Marlowe, would both also appear later that year in another classic science-fiction film, “Westworld.”

All of Roy Jenson's (Donovan) lines were dubbed to hide his thin Canadian accent.

In the outdoor market scene (starting at approx. 57m) the riot police are wearing modified football helmets, with typical aspects of the era: double-bar face mask, round ear hole, and chin strap affixed on either side with a single snap. The modification consisted of a short visor attached to the front of the helmet.

Sol Roth's death scene was Edward G. Robinson's final day of filming. Days later he would die from a long fight with bladder cancer, making his performance in the scene all too real. 

After her appearance in “Soylent Green,” Leigh Taylor-Young made the professional decision to take a hiatus from acting in order to concentrate on raising her only child, son Patrick. 

The film was released on April 19, 1973, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and received mostly favorable reviews from critics, while earning $3.6 million at the box office.

In 1973, it won the Nebula Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and the Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film.

The movie's line "Soylent Green is people!" was voted as the #77 movie quote by the American Film Institute (out of 100).

Trivia facts lovingly sourced from IMDb and Wikipedia—because even the most devoted fans need a little fact-check now and then!

And don’t forget to check out my exclusive two-part interview with Leigh Taylor-Young on the latest episodes of the Hollywood Obsessed podcast! They’re packed with behind-the-scenes gems, Hollywood throwbacks, and heartfelt reflections from a truly legendary career.  Listen now!

Episode 125 - HERE

Episode 126 - HERE