PINK FLAMINGOS , An Exercise In Poor Taste


Pink Flamingos Pink Flamingos (tag-line: An Exercise in Poor Taste) is a 1972 transgressive black comedy film written, produced, composed, shot, edited, and directed by John Waters.
Divine lives under the pseudonym "Babs Johnson" with her simple-minded, egg-loving mother Edie (Edith Massey), delinquent son Crackers (Danny Mills), and voyeuristic traveling companion Cotton (Mary Vivian Pearce). They reside in a mobile home, in front of which can be found a pair of eponymous plastic pink flamingos. The trailer is off Philpot Road in Phoenix, a suburb of Baltimore, Maryland. After learning that Divine has been named "the filthiest person alive" by a tabloid paper, wealthy rivals Connie (Mink Stole) and Raymond Marble (David Lochary) set out to destroy the tight-knit family but come undone in the process.he Marbles run an "adoption clinic", which is actually a black market baby ring. They kidnap young women, have them impregnated by their homosexual manservant, Channing (Channing Wilroy), and sell their babies to lesbian couples. The proceeds are used to finance a network of dealers selling heroin in inner-city elementary schools. Raymond also gets money by exposing himself (with large kielbasa weiners tied to his penis) to unsuspecting women in a park and stealing their purses when they flee. 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 film's most infamous scenes, he has sex with her while crushing a live chicken between them as Cotton looks on voyeuristically. Cookie then informs the Marbles about Divine's real identity, her whereabouts, and her family, as well as information about her upcoming birthday party. more



John Waters (narrator) as Mr. J
Divine as Divine / Babs Johnson
David Lochary as Raymond Marble
Mink Stole as Connie Marble
Edith Massey as Edie
Danny Mills as Crackers
Mary Vivian Pearce as Cotton
Cookie Mueller as Cookie
Channing Wilroy as Channing
Paul Swift as The Egg Man
Susan Walsh as Suzie
Linda Olgierson as Linda
Pat Moran as Patty Hitler
Steve Yeager as Nat Curzan
George Figgs as Bongo player
Elizabeth Coffey as Chick with a dick





Soundtrack

The film used a number of mainly single B-sides and a few hits of the late '50s/early '60s, sourced from 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" - The Nighthawks
  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