The Story Behind Shelley Duvall’s Intense Experience Filming The Shining

Searching for Shelley Duvall: The Reclusive Icon on Fleeing Hollywood and the Scars of Making ‘The Shining’

THE STAIRCASE SCENE in The Shining where WENDY (Shelley Duvall) fends off JACK (Jack Nicholson) with a baseball bat became infamous for the toll it took on Duvall. Stanley Kubrick demanded over 100 takes, leaving her physically exhausted and emotionally drained, with her trembling performance reflecting genuine distress Filmed on the Overlook Hotel set at Elstree Studios, the sequence relied on Nicholson’s improvised intensity and Duvall’s raw fear, creating one of the film’s most unsettling mom

'The role required me to cry, all day long, every day': Shelley Duvall on her defining performance in The Shining

Dr. Phil stands by disturbing Shelley Duvall interview