It’s one of the most disturbing scenes ever committed to film – when camper Bobby Trippe is forced to “squeal like a pig” while being raped by a crazed, toothless hillbilly.
A nerve-rattling and uncomfortable watch, the three and a half minute attack is shown through the eyes of Jon Voight’s character Ed.
Tied to a tree and guarded by a giggling toothless savage, Ed can only look away as his pal is sodomised and ordered to squeal.
READ MORE: Squealing ‘inbred’ family whose eyes point in different directions ‘like in Deliverance’
There have been reports that Ned Beatty who played the victim, Bill McKinney who played the rapist, or a crew member thought up the famous line.
But in an exclusive interview with the Daily Star to mark the film’s 50th anniversary, its iconic director John Boorman dispelled those rumours and revealed its true origin.
And it might put you off lunch.
Without going into too much detail, the squealing action basically aids anal sex, Boorman explained.
“I looked into this very closely… I researched it and spoke to homosexuals,” said the 89-year-old.
Understandably, Warner Bros was nervous about the scene. Its blunt impact on 1972 audiences has not diminished over time.
“It [the film] caused some controversy because of the homosexual rape,” said Boorman.
(Image: John Hamilton/Warner Bros/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)
“It was certainly something that the studio was very worried about. But when it started taking a lot of money at the box office, they stopped worrying.”
Boorman explained he’d wanted the harrowing scene to be stripped down to its bare bones.
Shot in a shady, tangled wood with no music or gimmicks, a large part of the scene is filmed in one unbroken shot.
“I talked to the two actors about it. I wanted it to be as realistic as possible,” said Boorman.
“Jon Voight was tied up to this tree and he was hearing it – he didn’t so much see it as hear it.
“For the most part he was just listening.”
This month marks the 50th anniversary of Deliverance.
It tells the story of four friends – Lewis (Burt Reynolds), Ed (Jon Voight), Bobby (Ned Beatty), and Drew (Ronny Cox) – who take a canoeing trip, anticipating potential dangers like white water rapids and wild animals.
What they don’t expect is the sadistic hillbillies who launch the brutal attack and the pals find themselves fighting for their lives, miles away from civilisation.
Deliverance was late actor Ned Beatty’s first film and he went on to have a successful career in movies.
But he could never shake off that rape scene and became indelibly linked to the disturbing line.
“For years, people shouted ‘squeal like a pig’ at Bobby,” said Boorman.
“He had to live with that for a while.
“It made his career but, as well, he had to put up with that.”
In a piece he wrote for The New York Times, Beatty admitted it was irritating.
“It hurts my pride when some jerk hollers ‘squeal like a pig’ at me. I get mad – real mad,” said the actor.
Most of the movie was shot in Rabun County in Georgia. Instead of extras, local residents were cast in the roles of the hill people which, besides saving costs, added to the realism.
(Image: Getty Images)
It was later reported that its depiction of the raging, inbred stereotypes rattled the cages of some of the locals.
But Boorman told the Daily Star: “The local people were a great help to me. They all enjoyed it and we were on good terms.
“Of course the hillbillies were something else, they probably deeply resented it but they didn’t say anything really.
“I think the press tried to get them to talk about it but they didn’t.”
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
