Roman Candles
Dreamland, 1966, 40 minutes
Starring Maelcum Soul, Bob Skidmore, Mona Montgomery, Divine, Mink Stole, Mary Vivian Pearce, David Lochary
In homage to Andy Warhol's Chelsea Girls, Roman Candles is screened using three projectors simultaneously, and features what would become the Dreamlanders, a cast and crew who helped create John's films throughout his career. Also similar to Warhol's factory superstars, some players were given new names. In fact, this film marks the screen debut of Divine!
The movie features random scenes of Maelcum Soul in nun habit drag, a priest drinking a beer, a woman being attacked with an electric fan, a drag queen riding a motorcycle, and Divine playing hide and seek. The soundtrack is played back from tape in the room during the screening, and includes radio advertisements, rock songs, a press conference with Lee Harvey Oswald's mother, and a tune by the Shangri-Las.
The 8mm film stock, just like his first film Hag in a Black Leather Jacket, was stolen for the production by Dreamlander Mona Montgomery and John. It was the first film produced under the name Dreamland Studios, established in 1966 by Waters.
Originally screened only a few times, the film has never been released on video. However, it was seen as part of the touring exhibition John Waters: Change of Life, and at career retrospectives.