Female Trouble (1974)

Director:

John Waters

Writer:

John Waters (writer)

Release Date:

28 March 1984 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Horror

Tagline:

Nice girls don't wear cha-cha heels.

Plot:

A spoiled schoolgirl runs away from home, gets pregnant while hitchhiking, and ends up as a fashion model for a pair of beauticians who like to photograph women committing crimes.

Plot Keywords:

Christmas | Cha Cha | Hitchhiking | Electric Chair | Dressing Room

Cast

Divine	...	Dawn Davenport / Earl Peterson
David Lochary	...	Donald Dasher
Mary Vivian Pearce	...	Donna Dasher
Mink Stole	...	Taffy Davenport
Edith Massey	...	Ida Nelson
Cookie Mueller	...	Concetta
Susan Walsh	...	Chicklette
Michael Potter	...	Gator
Ed Peranio	...	Wink
Paul Swift	...	Butterfly
George Figgs	...	Dribbles
Susan Lowe	...	Vikki
George Hulse	...	Mr. Weinberger
Margie Skidmore	...	School snitch
Berenica Cipcus	...	Mean girl
Betty Woods	...	Mrs. Davenport
Roland Hertz	...	Mr. Davenport
Ramsey McClean	...	Baby
Henry Bederski	...	Drunk
Hilary Taylor	...	Taffy as a child
Cindy Chosky	...	Stripper
Laurel Douglas	...	Telephone company girl
Mark Lazarus	...	Priest
Anne Figgs	...	Gator's girlfriend
Sally Albaugh	...	Sally
Lynn Russo	...	Girl who won't pay
Bob Willis	...	Doctor
Valerie Stafford	...	Nurse
Bob Adams	...	Ernie
Channing Wilroy	...	Prosecuting Lawyer
Al Strapelli	...	Judge
Seymour Avigdor	...	Defense lawyer
Christine Mason	...	Bailiff
Mumme	...	Bailiff
Pat Moran	...	Bitch prisoner
Marina Melin	...	Cheryll
Elizabeth Coffey	...	Earnestine
George Stover	...	Chaplain
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Cowboy Foulke	...	Spectator at strip club in beginning (uncredited)
Mimi Lochary	...	Juror (uncredited)

Directed by
John Waters

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
John Waters		writer

Produced by
John Waters	....	producer
Jochen Breitenstein	....	line producer (uncredited)
Jimmy Hutzler	....	associate producer (uncredited)
James McKenzie	....	associate producer (uncredited)
Leroy Morais	....	line producer (uncredited)

Cinematography by
John Waters

Film Editing by
Charles Roggero
John Waters

Production Design by
Vincent Peranio

Art Direction by
Vincent Peranio

Costume Design by
Van Smith

Makeup Department
David Lochary	....	hair stylist
Christine Mason	....	hair stylist
Van Smith	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Pat Moran	....	production chief

Sound Department
Robert Maier	....	sound

Special Effects by
Ed Peranio	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
David Insley	....	assistant camera
David Insley	....	lighting technician
Elaine Jankonus	....	still photographer
Bruce Moore	....	still photographer
Mink Stole	....	still photographer

Music Department
Don Cooke	....	music arranger: title song
John Waters	....	librettist: title song

Other crew
Randy Burman	....	title designer
Delores Delux	....	assistant title designer (as Dolores Deluxe)
Alan Rose	....	title designer
Steve Yeager	....	production assistant
Sally Albaugh	....	double: Divine (uncredited)
Pete Garey	....	production advisor (uncredited)

Thanks
Charles Watson	....	dedicatee (as Tex Watson)

Production Companies

• Dreamland

Distributors

• Saliva Films (1974) (USA) (theatrical)
• Danton Films (1975) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Wizard Video (1982) (USA) (VHS)
• Palace Video (1982) (UK) (VHS)
• Continental Video (198?) (USA) (VHS)
• Cinema Group (video)
• Continental Home Vídeo (2005) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Fine Line Features
• New Line Cinema
• New Line Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Cinemen  production assistance
• Pentagram  music publishing
• Quality Film Labs  technical assistance

Also Known As:

Rotten Mind, Rotten Face (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated NC-17 for explicit sexuality and nudity.

Runtime:

89 min | USA:92 min (16 mm version) | USA:97 min (original length)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Chace Surround (2001 re-release) | Mono

Certification:

Australia:R | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A | France:-16 | USA:NC-17 (1999) | USA:X (original rating) | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Company:

Dreamland

Trivia:

The female prisoner kissing Dawn in her cell at the end of the movie previously appeared in Pink Flamingos (1972) as "Chick with a Dick." The actress is a male-to-female transsexual.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Dawn returns home from hospital with the Dashers and unwraps the birdcage containing Aunt Ida, Donald instructs her to, 'Cut off the hand that threw the acid!' Dawn then chops off Ida's left hand. Ida, however, threw the acid with her right hand.

Quotes:

Taffy as a child: Why can't I go to school? Why can't I have friends?
Dawn Davenport: You can't go to school because I said so. I won't have you nagging me for lunch money and whining for help on your homework. There is no need to know about presidents, wars, numbers or science. Just listen to me and you'll learn. And no little friends over here, repeating rhymes, asking flippant questions, and talking in those nagging baby voices. Can't you just sit here and look out into the air? Isn't that enough? Do you always have to badger me for attention?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Indie Sex: Taboos (2001) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Jingle Bells

John Waters' Masterpiece!

This film is my favorite of all time! All of the great elements of John Waters' films mesh together perfectly in this hilarious romp that operates around the theme of 'crime is beauty.' All of the classic John Waters' actors are here, and most of them give their best performances. John Waters has said that this film is the 'ultimate Divine vehicle', and he's right. Her look literally changes every ten minutes as she mutates from a teenage hair hopper with an attitude to an unwed, abusive mother, to crime fashion model to death row inmate. Divine also has a small male role as the father of her own illegitimate child. Edith Massey, my personal favorite actress, gives her funniest and best realized performance as Aunt Ida, the bitter, veangful fag hag who lives next door. This is not the most accesible of Waters' films, and truthfully, this probably isn't the one to start with if you're not yet a fan (I would recommend Polyester or Hairspray in that case), but if you want to see an early work thats not quite as gross as the others, check it out! Waters himself says that this is his favorite of his underground films.