Pink Flamingos (1972)

Director:

John Waters

Writer:

John Waters (writer)

Release Date:

October 1979 (West Germany)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Horror

Tagline:

An exercise in poor taste.

Plot:

Notorious Baltimore criminal and underground figure Divine goes up against Connie & Raymond Marble, a sleazy married couple who make a passionate attempt to humiliate her and seize her tabloid-given title as "The Filthiest Person Alive".

Plot Keywords:

Hippie | Lesbian | Competition | Criminal | Egg

Cast

Divine	...	Divine / Babs Johnson
David Lochary	...	Raymond Marble
Mary Vivian Pearce	...	Cotton
Mink Stole	...	Connie Marble
Danny Mills	...	Crackers
Edith Massey	...	Edie
Channing Wilroy	...	Channing
Cookie Mueller	...	Cookie
Paul Swift	...	The Egg Man
Susan Walsh	...	Suzie
Linda Olgeirson	...	Linda
Pat Moran	...	Patty Hitler (Party Guest In Nazi Uniform)
Jack Walsh	...	Party Guest
Bob Skidmore	...	Delivery Boy
Pat Lefaiver	...	First Lesbian
Jackie Sidel	...	Party Guest
Julie Munshauer	...	Party Guest
Steve Yeager	...	Nat Curzan from "The Tattler"
Nancy Crystal	...	Sandy Sandstone
George Figgs	...	Bongo player
John Oden	...	Onlooker
George Stoll	...	Onlooker
David Gluck	...	Onlooker
Elizabeth Coffey	...	Chick with a Dick
Margie Donnelly	...	Onlooker
Margie Skidmore	...	Brunette in park
Berenica Cipcus	...	Blonde in park
Iris Burman	...	Party Guest
Randy Burman	...	Man at deli with hot dog pack / Party Guest
Don Blumberg	...	Party Guest
Vincent Peranio	...	Musician at party
Bob Adams	...	Police officer who gets shot
Mark Lazarus	...	Officer
David Lehman	...	Party Guest
Catriona Maloney	...	Party Guest
Richard Keller	...	Cab Driver
Charlie Swope	...	Party Guest
Barry Golome	...	Party Guest
Ed Peranio	...	Party Guest
Elia Katz	...	Army Guy
Steve Waters	...	Jogger
Billy Davis	...	Party Guest
Howard Gruber	...	Party guest sniffing popper
Van Smith	...	Guest at party in drag
Chuck Yeaton	...	Deli clerk
Laurie Birnbaum	...	Party Guest
Lenny Taylor	...	Extra
Trick Grantham	...	Party Guest
Mark Isherwood	...	Party Guest
Randy Damm	...	Party Guest
Alan Reese	...	Party Guest
Alberta Reese	...	Party Guest
Cowboy Foulke	...	Party Guest
David Sander	...	Party Guest
Brigette Grey	...	Party Guest
John Herndon	...	Party Guest
Ellis Clark	...	Party Guest
Joe Wilepski	...	Party Guest
Jimmy Hutzler	...	Party Guest
Paul Landis	...	Party Guest
Lawrence Irvine	...	Party Guest
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marina Melin	...	Basement slave (uncredited)
Max Mueller	...	Noodles (uncredited)
John Waters	...	Mr. J (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
John Waters

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
John Waters		writer

Produced by
John Waters	....	producer

Cinematography by
John Waters

Film Editing by
John Waters

Production Design by
Vincent Peranio

Art Direction by
Vincent Peranio

Makeup Department
Van Smith	....	makeup artist: Divine
David Lochary	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Mink Stole	....	hair stylist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Pat Moran	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Vincent Peranio	....	set designer (as Vince Peranio)

Sound Department
Bill Porter	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Lawrence Irvine	....	unit photographer
Brad Ganson	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Van Smith	....	costumes: Divine

Other crew
Bob Adams	....	technical assistant
Randy Burman	....	title designer
Barry Golome	....	technical assistant
Ed Peranio	....	technical assistant
Vincent Peranio	....	technical assistant
Alan Rose	....	title designer

Production Companies

• Dreamland

Distributors

• Saliva Films (1973) (USA) (theatrical)
• Danton Films (1975) (Canada) (theatrical) (cut version)
• Wizard Video (1981) (USA) (VHS)
• Palace Video (1981) (UK) (VHS)
• Palace Video (1981) (UK) (video) (Betamax)
• Harmonyvision (1982) (USA) (VHS)
• Fine Line Features (1997) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Alliance Atlantis Communications (1997) (Canada) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Entertainment (1997) (UK) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Criterion Collection, The (1997) (USA) (laserdisc)
• Herald Film Company (Japan)
• New Line Cinema
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2008) (Finland) (TV) (Teema)

Other Companies

• Allen Lee Opticals  Mink Stole's glasses
• Allen Lee Opticals  opticals
• Rockford  opticals
• Rockford  production assistance

Also Known As:

John Waters' Pink Flamingos (USA) (complete title)

MPAA:

Rated NC-17 for a wide range of perversions in explicit detail.

Runtime:

93 min | Australia:106 min (re-release) | UK:104 min (re-release) | USA:108 min (re-release) | Argentina:108 min (re-release)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby (1997 re-release) | Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Argentina:18 | Australia:(Banned) | Australia:R (cut) | Australia:X (video rating) (1984) | Singapore:(Banned) | Japan:R-18 | Australia:Refused Classification (uncut) (re rating) (1997) | Canada:(Banned) (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Ontario) | Canada:XXX (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (1997) | Ireland:18 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:(Banned) (original rating) | Norway:18 (video rating) (1992) | UK:18 (cut) | USA:NC-17 (re-rating) (1997) | USA:X (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Company:

Dreamland

Trivia:

Elizabeth Coffey (Chick with a Dick) was a pre-op male-to-female transexual who had already undergone hormone therapy to develop breasts and female features at the time of filming. She had surgery to remove her penis a week to the day her scene was filmed, and appears as a completely female character in Waters' next film, Female Trouble (1974).

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: About an hour in, when the Marbles are driving through a park, the shadow of the camera operator (John Waters) is visible as they drive by.

Quotes:

Channing: [after being caught in drag by the Marbles] It was just playing!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Cockettes (2002)

Soundtrack:

Surfin' Bird

A must-see----kind of

Babs Johnson (Divine) lives in a trailer with her son Crackers, her daughter Cotton and her mother Edie (Edie Massey). She's in competition with a couple named Connie and Raymond Marbles (Mink Stole, David Lochary) to be named the filthiest person alive. The film shows their attempts to outdo each other.

This film is very much NOT for everyone. It's a in your face no holds barred assault in bad taste. Crackers has sex with a woman with a live chicken between them while his sister watches; the Marbles pick up female hitchhikers, impregnate them, keep them chained in the basement and sell the babies to lesbian couples; Divine and family have a party which includes cannibalism etc etc. It's disgusting but, in a way, not unwatchable. It's SO over the top and is so unapologetic about it that it's kind of fascinating. As director John Waters might say, it's bad taste done well. Also it's kind of amusing to watch--the acting is so wretched (especially by Massey) that you just watch it in disbelief. A friend laughed out loud at how bad Massey was (she improved in later pictures).

This is NOT for people who are easily offended. Even though it's over 30 years old it's STILL shocking. However if you have an open mind and can take a lot of extreme behaviour this is a must-see. The only part that really was too much is what Divine does at the very end.