Schöner Gigolo, armer Gigolo

I'd heard for ages that this was pretty bad, and that Bowie was embarrassed by it. However, as it showed up on BFI subscription (i.e. Free to me) I thought I'd give it a go.

Simply stated, I can see why the reviews were awful at the time. There is a fair bit to enjoy also, though, so worth a look.

IMHO the main issue is that the tone is all over the place - some scenes are clearly played for laughs (heavily signalled by the "oom-pah" score) even if they are not funny. On the other hand, some bits really *are* funny. The balance between the nazism and the nightclub scenes is however much better handled in Cabaret (of course). Some reasonable acting therefore gets a bit lost along the way.

Bowie himself looks a bit stiff and awkward much of the time - something that worked much better in the context of The Man Who Fell to Earth than it does here.

This is one of the most unusual films I have ever seen. It's an offbeat, sensitively filmed look at Weimar Germany in a sort of parallel-universe version. "Cabaret" it is not! If you ever get a chance to see it, I don't want to spoil the ending for you . . . but when you see it, you'll say to yourself, "Of course! Why didn't I foresee that coming?!?" David Bowie plays a sort of innocent ne'er-do-well discharged from the German army after World War I and drifting through existence; he can't find anything to do with himself except hire himself out as a "gigolo" for rich, proto-Eurotrash war widows in ballrooms where they "dance to forget". Bowie's father is a once-domineering tyrant who has been silenced by a stroke. Bowie tries to break the news to him that he has descended so far as to play the gigolo, a betrayal of his father's macho ideals, but Dad only sits in stony silence -- a disturbing scene. Bowie plays a poor lost soul. As Western civilization decays all around him, a sinister character stalks him and tries to gain control over him; this bloke is vaguely homosexual (only suggested), and one of his lines is a real groaner of a double-entendre: "We will have you in the end!" Marlene Dietrich is the center of romantic gravity in this story; she sadly, sweetly tells Bowie the raison d'etre of forlorn women dancing with gigolos in the ballrooms -- the only way to assuage loss and stave off despair. Then she performs the song "Just a Gigolo", bringing out all the heartbreak from its depths. The end of the film is dark and truly chilling. Go see it if you can!

Believe it or not, this was David Bowie's first acting role in a motion picture, despite the fact that this film was released a year after THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH. A large portion of this film was destroyed in a fire, so it took director Hemmings nearly three years to piece together a motion picture out of what remained. With that in mind, this is a remarkable film, and one can't help but wonder what the finished product might have been like had it not been for the fire. For what is most intriguing about this film is the use of real footage of the Weimar Republic Germany in all its glorious decadence and decay. Whether this footage was used to buffer the missing footage or planned from the beginning, I guess we'll never know, but it brings an invaluable air of absurdity and black humour to what is already a pretty outrageous film. All the performances are great, especially Bowie, who really is one of the most underrated film talents out there. And the music score, which features some of the glorious songs from that era, as well as the irresistible theme song from Miss Dietrich, is fantastic! If anyone knows where I can get a copy of the soundtrack, let me know!

It is March 2005 and this extraordinary German production has just been released on DVD in Australia. The transfer is pretty good considering the problems with the original materials. In its first release it was quite successful here and is considered a Cabaret /Salon Kitty derivative. Lushly produced and with an astonishing cast fortunately for us allowing some genuine movie greats to perform and sing, JUST A GIGOLO is almost a parallel universe to the lives of Sally Bowles and Michael from Cabaret with an equally convincing and sleazy world. Bowie at times even looks like Michael York. Viewers need to be patient and let the story unfold in its awkwardly edited way. Often it seems dubbed and post produced with echoing sound effects. The musical numbers alone are worth the rental on this Gigolo. I hope it is released in your country soon. Otherwise Umbrella Entertainment from Melbourne Australia might help you. They got it from somewhere. There is a KINOWELT logo on the box too. Regarding the soundtrack, it was produced at the time and I have it on vinyl, so a vintage (!) LP store will help you. The soundtrack record is excellent as well.

Above, a previous post makes the claim, "Believe it or not, this was David Bowie's first acting role in a motion picture, despite the fact that this film was released a year after THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH. A large portion of this film was destroyed in a fire, so it took director Hemmings nearly three years to piece together a motion picture out of what remained." Don't believe it. This story is a total fabrication.

All available contemporary sources reveal that "The Man Who Fell To Earth" was shot in 1975, and a simple viewing will attest to the fact that Bowie's physical appearance is of the 1975/1976 era of his career. Contemporary sources also show that "Just a Gigolo" was shot Berlin in 1978, and its initial running time was 147 min. upon its November, 1978 release in German cinemas. It was soon pulled from release because of poor reviews, and it was *intentionally* cut down to shorter lengths for its various international releases, not because of accident by fire.