Pink Flamingos (1972)

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

Director:

John Waters

Writer:

John Waters

Stars:

Divine, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 (as Pat LeFaiver)

Storyline

Sleaze queen Divine lives in a caravan with her mad hippie son Crackers and her 250-pound mother Mama Edie, trying to rest quietly on their laurels as 'the filthiest people alive'. But competition is brewing in the form of Connie and Raymond Marble, who sell heroin to schoolchildren and kidnap and impregnate female hitchhikers, selling the babies to lesbian couples. Finally, they challenge Divine directly, and battle commences...

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Plot Keywords:

black comedy | underground film | controversy | anal gaping | scatological humor | 

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Taglines:

The filthiest people alive! Their loves, their hates and their unquenchable thirst for notoriety!

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime

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Certificate:

R18

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the film MIDNIGHT MOVIES, John Waters says in part "I was high when I wrote this film. I was NOT high when I made it."

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

The Egg Man: I am your eggman, and there ain't a better one in town!

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Crazy Credits

All of the credits are shown in the beginning. There are no closing credits.

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Alternate Versions

Because of this film's off-color, explicit nature, it has been edited for content many times all over the world. The Canadian censors recently reinstated five of the seven scenes that were originally edited in that country. The United Kingdom has never seen the complete version of the film. A town on Long Island, New York banned the film altogether. The Japanese laserdisc version contains a blur superimposed over all displays of pubic hair. Prints also exist that were censored by the Maryland Censor Board.

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Connections

Featured in The Roots of 'Hairspray' (2007)

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Soundtracks

The Girl Can't Help It
by Bobby Troup
Performed by Little Richard
Courtesy of Fantasy, Inc.

User Reviews

Y'all Ain't Ready For This...

There is no film to put beside Pink Flamingos by way of comparison. It is a film genre of it's own. I read and hear reviews of this movie that express disgust and horror and I picture John Waters chuckling. This was the intent, it was meant to upset the status quo and in "politically correct" times that we live in, isn't it a small surprise to see this film come to the forefront again? This is a movie that will freak out the uptight for as long as it exists in any media. It was meant to. As much as "Clockwork Orange" talked about "ultraviolence" this movie is all about ultra-bad taste. We can numb ourselves to sex and violence but Pink Flamingos is a movie you just will never get used to. There will be something in this movie that will get to you. As a last resort to make sure everyone is offended before you leave the theatre, John includes the always discussed poodle scene. No reason for this scene, except to make sure he gets you and also to make sure you leave talking about it. Obviously filmed on a budget, and using Water's stock cast, this is a movie simply about a contest to see who are the filthiest people alive. All the characters are bizarre in one way or another. This movie reminds me of "Rocky Horror Picture Show" in that everyone in the film has something odd about them and both movies joyfully celebrate these uniquenesses. Not a movie to buy for Mom on Mother's Day... but worth seeing just to say you did.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 March 1976 (France)

Also Known As:

John Waters' Pink Flamingos

Filming Locations:

Maryland, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dreamland

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 106 min (re-release) 104 min (re-release) 108 min (re-release) 108 min (re-release)

Sound Mix:

Dolby (1997 re-release) Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1