Female Trouble (1974)

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.

Director:

John Waters

Writer:

John Waters

Stars:

Divine, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Divine	...	Dawn Davenport / Earl Peterson
David Lochary	...	Donald Dasher
Mary Vivian Pearce	...	Donna Dasher
Mink Stole	...	Taffy Davenport
Edith Massey	...	Aunt Ida
Cookie Mueller	...	Concetta
Susan Walsh	...	Chicklette
Michael Potter	...	Gater
Ed Peranio	...	Wink
Paul Swift	...	Butterfly
George Figgs	...	Dribbles
Susan Lowe	...	Vikki
George Hulse	...	Teacher
Margie Skidmore	...	School Snitch
Berenica Cipcus	...	Mean Girl

Storyline

The life and times of Dawn Davenport, showing her progress from loving schoolgirl to crazed mass murderer - all of which stems from her parents' refusal to buy her cha-cha heels for Christmas. She runs away from home, is raped, becomes a single mother, criminal and glamorous model before her inevitable rendezvous with the electric chair...

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Plot Keywords:

christmas | cha cha | hitchhiking | electric chair | prostitution | 

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Taglines:

She has a lot of problems

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Horror

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated NC-17 for explicit sexuality and nudity

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 March 1984 (France)

Also Known As:

Rotten Mind, Rotten Face

Filming Locations:

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dreamland

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min 92 min (16 mm) 97 min (original length)

Sound Mix:

Chace Surround (2001 re-release) Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many of the principal actors' and crews' parents played the jurors in the final courtroom scene, including the mother and brother of David Lochary (Donald Dasher) and the mother of set designer Vincent Peranio.

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Goofs

The word "chaplain" is misspelled "chaplin" in the closing credits.

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Quotes

Aunt Ida: Aahhh! Ahhhh! Dawn, ya son of a bitch! You're the one who did it! YOU! You drove Gater away!
[as Ida enters the room]
Donald Dasher: Oh my God!
Donna Dasher: Incredible!
Dawn Davenport: Ida Nelson, you get out of my house!
[hurling acid into Dawn's face]
Aunt Ida: You made Gater leave! I got somethin for your face, motherfucker!

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Crazy Credits

For Charles Watson (the Manson Family member). Waters' prison visits to Watson inspired the "crime is beauty" theme of the film, and Waters used a toy wooden helicopter Watson made for him in the credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Bloodsucking Freaks (1976)

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Soundtracks

"Female Trouble"
Sung by Divine
Music by Bob Harvey
Lyrics by John Waters
Arranged by Don Cooke
Published by Pentagram

User Reviews

The world of the heterosexual is a sick and boring life.

I am at a complete loss to understand why this film was not nominated for an Oscar for costuming, makeup and set decoration. It had the most outrageous costuming that I have ever seen. The sets were so hideous that they made me nauseous. The makeup was beyond belief.

That was the good things about the film that featured an outrageous star in Divine, a transvestite that played Dawn Davenport. He was so over the top that I couldn't take my eyes off the screen.

This is the first John Waters (Hairspray, Pecker) film that I have seen. He is definitely on the cutting edge in outrageous humor, horror, and satire.

This film on the outrageous cult of celebrity is no more outrageous than the current obsession in the media with Paris Hilton.

If you haven't seen a John Waters film, check out the Sundance Channel for this one.