Multiple Maniacs (1970)

The travelling sideshow 'Lady Divine's Cavalcade of Perversions' is actually a front for a group of psychotic kidnappers, with Lady Divine herself the most vicious and depraved of all - but... See full summary »

Director:

John Waters

Writer:

John Waters

Stars:

Divine, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Divine	...	Lady Divine
David Lochary	...	Mr. David
Mary Vivian Pearce	...	Bonnie / Cavalcade Patron
Mink Stole	...	Mink / Cavalcade Patron
Cookie Mueller	...	Cookie Divine / Cavalcade Patron
Edith Massey	...	Edith / Virgin Mary
Susan Lowe	...	Cavalcade pervert
Rick Morrow	...	Ricky
Howard Gruber	...	Gilbert
Paul Swift	...	Steve (Cookie's boyfriend)
Vincent Peranio	...	Freak
Jim Thompson	...	Freak
Dee Vitolo	...	Freak
Ed Peranio	...	Freak
Bob Skidmore	...	Cavalcade Patron

Storyline

The travelling sideshow 'Lady Divine's Cavalcade of Perversions' is actually a front for a group of psychotic kidnappers, with Lady Divine herself the most vicious and depraved of all - but her life changes after she gets raped by a fifteen-foot lobster...

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Plot Keywords:

lobster | rape | drugs | church | masturbation | 

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Taglines:

You won't believe this one!

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Horror

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Certificate:

X

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 April 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

Maníacos múltiples

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dreamland

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

John Waters: [manson] Lady Divine constantly taunts Mr. David with the idea that he is responsible for the Manson murders.

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Quotes

Lady Divine: How dare you contaminate my dressing room with this little piece of filth!
Mr. David: She is not! She's an auto-erotic acomprophasiac and a gerontophiliac and I just thought you might be interested in her for the show, that's all.
Bonnie: Yes and I can start immediately. I have this great act all worked out, with this great old man in his late 70s and his mirror, well, actually he's my...
Lady Divine: [in disgust] Oh!
Bonnie: ...and we used to have kind of a thing together, and I heard about this show and I thought what an ideal setup...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

And George Figgs as Jesus Christ

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Connections

References Nachtspiele (1966)

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Soundtracks

Just Because
Written by Bob Shelton, Joe Shelton and Sydney Robin
Performed by Elvis Presley

User Reviews

The only Waters film to offend me

Of all of John Waters films, this is the only one that offended me in some way. But more on that later. I was surprised to see that this early John Waters movie was available on video, presuming it would be long out of print (like "Mondo Trasho" and "Female Trouble")! It can usually be found for sale dirt cheap or for rent easily.

Divine stars as a brunette for the first time in Waters' first sound film. The sound, cinematography, and editing is real rough, but it gives "Multiple Maniacs" a priceless documentary-like quality that is enhanced by the near flawless delivery of Waters' hilarious dialogue! Waters' early cast is here and two new additions (Cookie Mueller and Edith Massey) liven things up a bit. Great performances worth catching are given by Divine, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce, Cookie Mueller, and Rick Morrow. Mink Stole gives one of only two mediocre roles in Waters' films (the other is "Mondo Trasho") and Edith Massey is not as great as she would be in her subsequent appearances in "Pink Flamingos", "Female Trouble", "Desperate Living" and "Polyester"! Watch close for Cookie Mueller and Mink Stole in cameos as two of the snobby patrons of the Cavalcade of Perversions! The music is fantastic, more copyright-infringing oldies that are great listening (including Elvis Presley's "Just Because" and a bunch of unidentified but classic instrumentals).

Now why this movie offended me: the rosary job and the crucifixion. I just thought these scenes are the sickest things I've ever seen done in a Waters film (topping even the dog sh*t-eating in "Pink Flamingos")! The crucifixion is very well done, but just seems in VERY bad taste and the rosary job just defies any description. It's not even fun for me to watch! But everything else about "Multiple Maniacs" is classic Waters. The film does get a bit boring after Divine's rape by Lobstora, but the ending shows the lust for violence found in Vietnam Era America, juxtaposed with Kate Smith's "God Bless America" playing in the background. Not for a Waters fan who has only seen "Hairspray", that's for damn sure! Underground film fans will find lots of great techniques to use and psychotronic film fans will eat it up!