“Pigs!” A James Bond Thug Mortgages House For Horror! Shocking True Hollywood Story!

“For 3000 Years People Have Been Eating Pigs…This Week, PIGS Are Getting Even.”

It may look like your standard horror film, but the story behind these “Pigs” is fascinating – a true Hollywood story!

Meet Marc Lawrence!

Recognize this man? Marc Lawrence was one of the more popular character Actors of the 60’s and 70’s, including this role as a mobster in the James Bond 007 film “Diamonds Are Forever”…

More on Lawrence’s role in the 007 movie in a moment, but first, time to look at Lawrence’s passion project – the 70’s drive-in classic horror film “Pigs!”

Veteran character Actor Marc Lawrence put everything on the line – INCLUDING HIS HOUSE! – to make his horror opus – starring killer pigs!

The Twisted Tale Of “Pigs!”

First, let’s get into the horror that is “Pigs!” Here is the plot, as explained by the great website Mondo-Digital.com:

“Lawrence plays Zambrini, a farmer and cafe owner first seen having a nocturnal chat with a recently exhumed dead body he’s about to feed to his pigs, whom he explains aloud have developed a taste for human flesh after snacking on another poor sap who passed out drunk in their vicinity. A nearby pile of shoes indicates this is hardly the pigs have also been well fed for quite a while!”

Vinegar Syndrome Rocks This “Pig”!

I love the story behind “Pigs!” Thanks to the terrific home video company Vinegar Syndrome, we now know the full story! Marc Lawrence was once a blacklisted character actor in the 50’s, and he was so passionate about “Pigs” that he mortgaged his own house to fund the movie! Lawrence wrote, directed, and starred in “Pigs”, which had a tortuous release in the 70’s under a variety of titles!

Here’s what the great website “dvddrive-in.com” says:

“Released by distributor Classic Films as PIGS, the distributors – as explained in the intertitles for the poster gallery – eventually bought out Lawrence’s interest in the film and recruited him to shoot a new opening with an exorcism for which they then released the film again in 1974 throughout the 1970s under variations of THE STRANGE EXORCISM OF LYNN HART, LOVE EXORCIST, and BLOOD PEN!”

This “Pig” Went By A Lot Of Names!

Yes, “Pigs” was released in a number of different formats, under a whole slew of different names!

Marc Lawrence died in 2005, but Vinegar Syndrome has gone all out to keep his legacy alive! His daughter Toni shares her memories of him and the project – she starred in the film! The blu-ray release includes a special 14-minute featurette called “Back on the Menu.”

There is also a 13-minute “Somewhere Down the Road” feature, with composer Charles Bernstein recalling how he made this film in his early days – taking the job in exchange for a Lawrence painting intended for Fellini!

Thanks to the great website “DVD Drive-In” for the use of their review – which is full of great trivia about the film as well – you can read the entire review here:

http://www.dvddrive-in.com/reviews/n-s/pigsblu72.htm

And before we leave Marc Lawrence, let’s remember his classic, deadpan line from the Bond movie “Diamonds Are Forever!”

Nice Aim 007!

In this Bond film, a group of mobsters barge in on 007 while he’s in a Vegas hotel room with a woman. The thugs throw the woman out the window, and when Bond sees her land in the swimming pool, he compliments Marc on his aim. Lawrence has the classic line in response:

“I didn’t know there was a pool down there”

Here is that scene from “Diamonds Are Forever”:

Thanks as well to Mondo Digital for their review of “Pigs” – this website always has the latest cult films reviewed, so you need to bookmark it – you can see their review here:

http://www.mondo-digital.com/pigs.html

Mondo Digital offers up great reviews of the best exploitation films being released…and since we brought up 007: