John Waters

Female Trouble

Female Trouble

Glamour has never been more grotesque than in Female Trouble, which injects the Hollywood melodrama with anarchic decadence. Divine, director John Waters’ larger-than-life muse, engulfs the screen with charisma as Dawn Davenport, the living embodiment of the film’s lurid mantra, “Crime is beauty,” who progresses from a teenage nightmare hell-bent on getting cha-cha heels for Christmas to a fame monster whose egomaniacal impulses land her in the electric chair. Shot in Waters’ native Baltimore on 16 mm, with a cast drawn from his beloved troupe of regulars, the Dreamlanders (including Mink Stole, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce, Edith Massey, and Cookie Mueller), this film­—the director’s favorite of his work with Divine—comes to life through the tinsel-toned vision of production designer Vincent Peranio and costume designer/makeup artist Van Smith. An endlessly quotable fan favorite, Female Trouble offers up perverse pleasures that never fail to satisfy.

Film Info

  • United States
  • 1974
  • 97 minutes
  • Color
  • 1.66:1
  • English
  • Spine #929

Director-Approved Special Edition Features

  • New, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised by director John Waters, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
  • Audio commentary from 2004 featuring Waters
  • New conversation between Waters and critic Dennis Lim
  • New and archival interviews with cast and crew members Mink Stole, Pat Moran, Vincent Peranio, Susan Lowe, Mary Vivian Pearce, Hilary Taylor, and Van Smith
  • Interview from 1975 featuring Waters and cast members Divine, Stole, and David Lochary
  • Deleted scenes and alternate takes
  • Rare on-set footage
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by film critic Ed Halter

New cover design by Eric Skillman

Purchase Options

Director-Approved Special Edition Features

  • New, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised by director John Waters, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
  • Audio commentary from 2004 featuring Waters
  • New conversation between Waters and critic Dennis Lim
  • New and archival interviews with cast and crew members Mink Stole, Pat Moran, Vincent Peranio, Susan Lowe, Mary Vivian Pearce, Hilary Taylor, and Van Smith
  • Interview from 1975 featuring Waters and cast members Divine, Stole, and David Lochary
  • Deleted scenes and alternate takes
  • Rare on-set footage
  • English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • PLUS: An essay by film critic Ed Halter

New cover design by Eric Skillman

Female Trouble
Cast
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
Channing Wilroy
Prosecutor
George Hulse
Teacher
Betty Woods
Dawn’s mother
Seymour Avigdor
Defense lawyer
Pat Moran
Bitch prisoner
Chris Mason
Bailiff
Mumme
Bailiff
Margie Skidmore
School snitch
Cindy Chosky
Stripper
Lynn Russo
Girl who won’t pay
Elizabeth Coffey
Earnestine
Roland Hertz
Dawn’s father
Hilary Taylor
Taffy as a child
Marina Melin
Cheryll
Al Strapelli
Judge
Berenica Cipcus
Mean girl
Laurel Douglas
Telephone-company girl
George Stover
Chaplin
Credits
Director
John Waters
Written and filmed by
John Waters
Sets by
Vincent Peranio
Costumes and makeup
Van Smith
Production chief
Pat Moran
Sound
Bob Maier
Lighting/Assistant cameraman
Dave Insley
Editors
Charles Roggero
Editors
John Waters
Production assistance
Cinemen
Production assistance
Steve Yeager
Stills
Bruce Moore
Stills
Elaine Jankonus
Stills
Mink Stole
Hairstyles
Chris Mason
Hairstyles
David Lochary
Special effects
Ed Peranio
Titles
Randy Burman
Titles
Alan Rose
Titles
Dolores Deluxe

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