Mondo Trasho (1969)

A day in the lives of a hit-and-run driver and her victim, and the bizarre things that happen to them before and after they collide (sexual assault by a crazed foot-fetishist, visions of ... See full summary »

Director:

John Waters

Writer:

John Waters

Stars:

Mary Vivian Pearce, Divine, David Lochary

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mary Vivian Pearce	...	The Bombshell / Cinderella
Divine	...	Divine / Greaser in Alley
David Lochary	...	Asylum Inmate / Dr. Coathanger / Voice of Snob #2
Mink Stole	...	Homeless Woman / Asylum Inmate / Snob #1
Bob Skidmore	...	Asylum Personnel / Policeman
Margie Skidmore	...	Shocked Mother in Park / The Virgin Mary
Berenica Cipcus	...	Evil Stepsister #1 / Asylum Inmate / Dr. Coathanger's Nurse
Jack Walsh
Chris Atkinson
Lizzy Temple Black	...	The Virgin Mary's Assistant
Mark Isherwood	...	The Hitch-Hiker
Mike Bauer
Pat Moran	...	Dr. Coathanger's Secretary
George Figgs	...	Asylum Inmate / Man in Waiting Room
Susan Lowe	...	Asylum Inmate

Storyline

A day in the lives of a hit-and-run driver and her victim, and the bizarre things that happen to them before and after they collide (sexual assault by a crazed foot-fetishist, visions of the Virgin Mary, strange chicken-foot grafting operations).

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Plot Keywords:

hit and run | actual animal killed | pig | nurse | foot fetish | 

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Taglines:

At Last... A "Gutter Film"

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 March 1969 (USA)

Also Known As:

John Waters' Mondo Trasho

Filming Locations:

Johns Hopkins University - 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,100 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dreamland

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While filming a scene featuring a naked hitchhiker, John Waters was on the campus of Johns Hopkins University without permission. When someone was offended, campus police were notified and Waters and his crew lammed it. They eluded the police for a while but were caught when they went to pick up the car and were charged with "conspiracy to commit indecent exposure."

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Quotes

Divine: [talking to the Virgin Mary] Oh, Mary... teach me to be Divine.

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Crazy Credits

And introducing John Leisenring as 'the shrimper'

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Alternate Versions

Was released once in the UK - in 1983, before the video recordings act, paired with 'Sex Madness' (1938). This release by Palace Video was uncut.

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Connections

Referenced in Serial Mom (1994)

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Soundtracks

I Got Stung
Written by Aaron Schröder and David Hill
Performed by Elvis Presley

User Reviews

John Waters' First Feature Length Film...

It's amazing that one of John Waters best films would be his first feature length film. After making three short films, cult film director directed 'Mondo Trasho', a silent movie filled with a rock and roll soundtrack. It certainly shows some of the surreal brilliance that was to come in his movies and has a very dream like feeling. The plot, if you can call it that, is of a modern day Cinderella (Mary Vivian Pearce) who is run over by the sexy driver Divine (Divine). For the rest of the day, Divine and the corpse wander about all of Baltimore trying to find ways to get out of this nightmare and meet up with reporters, mental patients, a topless dancer (Mink Stole), saints, pigs and an insane doctor called Dr. Coathanger (David Lochary in arguably his best performance). It's a strange piece of fiction with the occasional unsynchronised dialogue. It hints at the brilliance that John Waters would achieve with the likes of 'Female Trouble', 'Hairspray' and 'Serial Mom'. It's actually quite good even though Waters always jokes about how bad it is and how over long it is. I found it be very fast paced and funny and satiric proving that John Waters is the best satirist in modern day America and always puts a new view on things. The acting in this film is also endearing. Although none of these people knew how to act, that's the beauty of many of John's earlier films. Divine's performance consists of looking sexy and doing exaggerated movements all the time. Lochary is good in this film, if only he hadn't died so young, I'm convinced he would have won an oscar. It's also an interesting note for Waters fans to watch this because everyone looks so young. Truthfully, the living members of Waters crew like Pearce and Stole don't really look old today but it's amazing to see them pre-cult fame. Although, it's a very hard film to get hold of and even if you do, it will probably be in bad quality, it's a must for Waters fans and people interested in him as well since it's one of his more accesible films.