Desperate Living

Desperate Living
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJohn Waters
Written byJohn Waters
Produced byJohn Waters
Starring
Cinematography
  • Thomas Loizeaux
  • John Waters
Edited byCharles Roggero
Music byChris Lobingier
Production
company
Distributed byNew Line Cinema
Release date
  • May 27, 1977 (1977-05-27)
Running time
90 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$65,000

Desperate Living is a 1977 American black comedy film directed, produced, and written by John Waters.[2] The film stars Liz Renay, Mink Stole, Susan Lowe, Edith Massey, Mary Vivian Pearce, and Jean Hill.

It is the third installment of what Waters has labeled the "Trash Trilogy", which also includes Pink Flamingos (1972) and Female Trouble (1974), and the only one to not feature Divine.[3] The film generated a cult following around Renay, who appeared in at least two dozen other films.[4]

Following the murder of her husband, a suburban housewife and her maid agree to be exiled to Mortville, a shantytown ruled by a tyrannical queen regnant.

  1. ^ "Desperate Living (18) (!)". British Board of Film Classification. September 7, 1990. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  2. ^ Firsching, Robert. "Desperate Living (1977)". AllMovie. Archived from the original on August 9, 2011. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  3. ^ Levy 2015, p. 282.
  4. ^ "Renay was a cult film favorite". Variety. January 29, 2007. Retrieved July 4, 2020.