Pink Flamingos

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Pink Flamingos is a 1972 film directed by John Waters. When the film was initially released in 1972, it caused a huge degree of controversy and thus, it has became one of the most notorious cult films ever made. It made an underground star of the flamboyant female impersonator, Divine. The independent film also stars David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce, Mink Stole, Danny Mills, Cookie Mueller, Edith Massey and Steve Yeager. Produced on a budget of only $12,000, it was shot on weekends in the vicinity of Baltimore, Maryland. The majority of the film was shot in Phoenix, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore.

Since its release it has had a rather large cult following and is one of John Waters' most famous or downright notorious films due to some shocking scenes and the wide range of perverse, taboo acts performed in the film. In 1997, the film was re-released, with an improved stereo soundtrack (which, unlike the original, was made available to the general public, on compact disc), and after the end of the original movie the new version contained a brief video commentary by Waters, plus a few scenes cut from the original release. The re-release was rated NC-17 by the Motion Picture Association of America. It was later subjected to a DVD release.

The film came in at number 29 on the list of 50 Films to See Before You Die, on a show in the United Kingdom.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Divine lives under the pseudonym "Babs Johnson" with her egg-loving mother Edie (Edith Massey), delinquent son Crackers (Danny Mills), and Cotton (Mary Vivian Pearce), a like-minded companion whose simple pleasure is voyeurism. They reside in a mobile home (in front of which can be found a pair of pink, plastic flamingos, accounting for the film's title) on Philpot Road in Phoenix, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore. After finding that Divine had been named "the filthiest person in the world" by a tabloid paper, a rival family, the Marbles (David Lochary and Mink Stole), set out to destroy the tight-knit family but come unstuck in the process. The Marbles are both perverts - Raymond enjoys flashing women with a sausage tied to the end of his penis and Connie is obssessed with destroying Divine at whatever the cost. Both seem to take enjoyment in abusing young women.

The Marbles own an "adoption clinic," which is actually a black market baby ring. They kidnap young women, have them impregnated by their manservant, Channing (Channing Gilroy), and sell their babies to lesbian couples. The proceeds are used to finance a network of dealers selling heroin in inner-city elementary schools. The Marbles send a spy named Cookie (Cookie Mueller) to the trailer in the guise of what Crackers thinks is a date. In one of the films most infamous scenes he has sex with her whilst crushing live chickens as Cotton looks on voyeuristically. Cookie then informs the Marbles about Divine's real identity, her surroundings and her family, as well as information about her upcoming birthday party.

As part of their "phase one", the Marbles send human faeces to Divine as a "gift" which they also use to proclaim themselves as "the filthiest people alive". Claiming her title has been seized, Divine claims whoever sent the package must die and her two associates agree. Meanwhile, Channing dresses up as Connie, dying his hair red, wearing her clothes and imitating her lines from earlier on in the film in presumably some sexual form of transvestism. As the Marbles come in, they hear him and as he then imitates Raymond unknowingly, the two react with outrage, firing him and locking him in a closet. As Divine's birthday celebrations start, the Egg Man (Paul Swift) who delivers eggs to the trailer daily to give eggs to Edie confesses his love for her, proposes and she accepts his marriage proposal.

The party starts, and the Marbles spy on it as it goes on. Edie leaves in a cart with the Egg Man to have a honeymoon around the chicken industry. The Marbles witness a topless dancing woman with a snake, a man with who flexes his shoulders and has rectal contractions to a song and the gifts Divine recieves, such as a pig's head. They call the police, but this backfires when Divine and the other partygoers beat the four policemen to death and eat them alive. After the party ends, Divine and Crackers head to the Marbles house, where they lick and rub the furniture to spread their "curse", and the two both engage in oral sex. Afterwards when they find Channing in the closet, they tie him up and take him to the basement where the two pregnant girls are held. They free both and give Channing to them, where the two women then castrate him with a knife and he bleeds to death.

Concurrently, Connie and Raymond burn Divine's beloved trailer to the ground. Afterwards, Crackers, Cotton and Divine find the trailer reduced to flame and ash. This is the last straw for Divine, and as Connie and Raymond find that Channing is dead and the two girls are freed, Divine takes them both hostage at gunpoint. She then calls the local media and takes the Marbles into the forest. Divine holds a "kangaroo court", asks both of her associates for testimony and sentences the Marbles to death on her proclaimed sentences of "first degree stupidity" and "assholism". They tie the Marbles to a tree, coating them in tar and feathers. Divine then shoots both of them in the head and the media men leave shortly afterward, satisfied with their scoop of a "live homicide".

Divine, Crackers and Cotton talk about where to base their seat of operations next and they enthusiastically decide to relocate to Boise, Idaho. The infamous ending starts as Crackers, Cotton and Divine walk by and prepare to leave, where they spot a dog and it's owner. The dog defecates on the sidewalk, and Divine sits down next to it. She takes the feces with her hand and puts it in her mouth, proving that not only is she the filthiest person alive, but the filthiest actress alive as well.

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[edit] Cast

[edit] Soundtrack

The film used a number of obscure and not so obscure hits of the late 50s / early 60s, supposedly in John Waters' record collection when he made the film. They were released as a Soundtrack CD in 1997 on the 25th Anniversary release of the film on DVD.

  1. The Swag - Link Wray and His Ray Men
  2. Intoxica - The Centurions
  3. Jim Dandy - LaVern Baker
  4. I'm Not a Juvenile Delinquent - Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers
  5. The Girl Can't Help It - Little Richard
  6. Ooh! Look-a-There, Ain't She Pretty? - Bill Haley & His Comets
  7. Chicken Grabber - Nite Hawks
  8. Happy, Happy Birthday Baby - The Tune Weavers
  9. Pink Champagne - The Tyrones
  10. Surfin' Bird - The Trashmen
  11. Riot in Cell Block #9 - The Robins
  12. (How Much is) That Doggie in the Window - Patti Page

The song "Happy Birthday Baby" is used as a replacement for "Sixteen Candles", which appeared in the original cut of the film from 1972. For the 1997 reissue, "Sixteen Candles" could not be used in the film or the soundtrack due to copyright problems. The original version of Pink Flamingos also used a brief excerpt of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring which had to be removed for the re-release.

[edit] Trivia

Image:John Waters by David Shankbone.jpg
Director John Waters

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  • Elizabeth Coffey (Chick with a Dick) was a pre-op male-to-female transsexual who had already undergone hormone therapy to develop breasts and female features at the time of filming. She had surgery to remove her penis a week to the day after her scene was filmed, and appears as a completely female character in Waters' next film, Female Trouble.
  • When Connie and Raymond call the police to break up Divine's birthday party, Raymond gives the police real directions, which would have easily guided real police (or anyone else, for that matter) to the site of the trailer.
  • John Waters originally wanted a man named "Mr. Ray" to be the narrator of Pink Flamingos. Mr. Ray was famous for his hair-weave radio ads and for his Baltimore accent. Mr. Ray refused, so Waters recorded the voice-over himself, imitating Mr. Ray's voice as "Mr. J."
  • At his request, the Singing Asshole is not credited, and John Waters maintains that he "certainly will remain nameless. It's his choice."
  • Some of the music was changed for the 1997 re-release, most notably at the beginning of the party scene, where "Sixteen Candles" was replaced with "Happy, Happy Birthday, Baby".
  • The house that Connie and Raymond Marble live in together was rented by John Waters and Mink Stole.
  • There was a "Revenge On Cookie" subplot, cut from the final film.
  • According to John Waters, the film's budget was so tight, that he could not afford "A" and "B" reels. The work print was in effect the master copy.
  • During filming, Divine was arrested for stealing, and in his defense said that he was a method actor playing a criminal.
  • The film has one of the longest front credits sequence of all time. Every actor and every single extra featured in the movie appears listed in it.
  • David Lochary and Mink Stole designed and colored their own hair for the film. David Lochary apparently colored his hair bright blue with a blue Magic Marker.

[edit] Goofs

  • Crew or equipment visible: During a tracking shot along a sidewalk, the window frame of the camera car enters the shot.
  • Crew or equipment visible: When Cookie makes her phone call to the Marbles, there is a clear shadow of the crew as someone on the set moves around.
  • Continuity: Throughout the film, the Marbles deliriously talk about their scheme to ruin Divine and seize her title of "Filthiest Person Alive". They refer to the attacks as a series of "phases" - phase one is the sending of the obscene parcel. Phase three is when Connie & Raymond are in the phone booth calling the police about Divine's rambunctious birthday party. But there is no "phase two".
  • Crew or equipment visible: 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.
  • Crew or equipment visible: A cameraman's shadow is visible as Divine and her friends eat the police officer.

[edit] DVD release

Pink Flamingos was released in the John Waters Collection along with the NC-17 version of A Dirty Shame, Desperate Living, Female Trouble, Hairspray, Pecker, and Polyester.

[edit] Notoriety

Though the movie is admired for its stylistic elements, sense of humor and uniqueness, the draw of Pink Flamingos is its notoriety. It contains many shocking and/or offensive scenes, which are sometimes removed from various cuts so that the film can be screened. These scenes include..

  • Divine stealing a cut of meat by tucking it between her legs.
  • Divine urinating on public property.
  • Raymond flashing women in the park with a sausage tied to the end of his penis.
  • The infamous "chicken fuck," where Crackers and Cookie have sex while crushing a live chicken between their bodies. Danny Mills sliced the chicken's head off during the scene, and it was later eaten by the cast.
  • The artificial insemination sequence, where Channing ejaculates into his hand then uses a syringe to impregnate a captive woman. Waters claims that this sequence now offends even him.
  • A woman exposing herself and revealing she has a penis (this part was played by a pre-op transsexual who later appeared in another John Waters movie as a "complete woman").
  • A party guest using his rectum to lip-synch the song "Surfin' Bird" (also known as the "Singing Asshole", who is uncredited in the film at his request and remains anonymous).
  • Divine performing unsimulated oral sex on her "son" Crackers.
  • The finale, where Divine consumes actual dog feces to prove her filthiness.

[edit] Alternate versions

  • The 25th Anniversary re-release version contains a re-recorded music soundtrack, re-mixed for stereo, plus 15 minutes of deleted scenes preceded by the film, introduced by John Waters.
  • 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.
  • The first UK video release of Pink Flamingos in November 1981 (prior to BBFC video regulation requirements) was completely uncut. It was issued by Palace as part of a package of Waters films they had acquired from New Line. The package included Mondo Trasho (double billed with Sex Madness), Multiple Maniacs (double billed with Cocaine Fiends), Desperate Living and Female Trouble. The 1990 (and now requiring BBFC approval) video re-release was cut by 3m 4s, the 1997 issue lost 2m 42s, and the pre-edited 1999 print was cut by 2m 8s.

[edit] Deleted scenes

The 1997 reissue features several deleted scenes that Waters removed in order to keep the movie from running too long. They include...

  • A scene where Miss Edie talks to her "lil' eggies" before eating them.
  • A scene where Connie and Raymond break into Babs' trailer while Babs, Crackers and Cotton are out. They crack raw eggs over poor Miss Edie and force her to wear a baby bonnet. Referred to by John Waters as Miss Edie's "egg humiliation".
  • A scene where Divine tape records her memoirs, called "Being Divine" -- (Quote: "Being Divine, Chapter 1, June. It was about this time in my career that I realized I was capable of being perfect... perfect in every aspect of human development.")
  • A scene where Cotton and Crackers take revenge on Cookie the spy, breaking into her home and killing her and her mother.
  • A scene where Divine is informed of the Marbles' activities by a local gossip named Patti Hitler (portrayed by Pat Moran, who would later become Waters' casting director).
  • A scene where Divine, Cotton and Crackers sing "We Are The Filthiest People Alive" in Pig Latin.

[edit] Audience participation

The film has a reputation as a midnight movie with audience participation similar to The Rocky Horror Picture Show

  • The Funday Pawpet Show holds what is called the "Pink Flamingo Challenge," in which the ending to the movie is played to the audience while they eat a (preferably chocolate) confection. Videos of the show are forbidden from showing the movie clip, only the reaction of the audience.
  • People watching it in the theater often received free "Pink Phlegmingo" vomit bags.

[edit] Banned

  • The film was banned in Australia, Canada and Norway. It was eventually released on VHS in Australia in the late 1980s, but distribution of the VHS has since been discontinued.

[edit] Sequel

  • John Waters wrote a sequel to this film, entitled "Flamingos Forever". It takes place 15 years after the action of the original film, showing Babs' return to Baltimore with Cotton, Crackers, Miss Edie, and her new grandson Dwayne, an 8-year-old transvestite. Their foe in this film is Vera Venninger, Connie Marble's sister, and her husband, Wilbur, a necrophile who runs a mortuary. Troma Films offered to finance the picture for $600,000 but it was never made because of the death of Edith Massey, and later that of Divine, whose roles were integral to the plot. Waters was also VERY uncomfortable with TROMA's editing facilities, which at that time were Moviolas from the very early days of film editing. The screenplay to this work is available with those of Pink Flamingos and Desperate Living in a collection entitled "Trash Trio". John did say himself in an interview that the sequel would have to involve Divine taking a shit and the dog eating it.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://www.baltoco.org/wiki/Pink_Flamingos"
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