Schöner Gigolo, armer Gigolo

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.

I saw this movie when I was 19 at a theater in Seattle. I actually stole the movie poster out of the wall display as they did not have it locked down and it was too good of an opportunity for the more adventurous girl I was back then. I no longer have the poster( I tossed it after a while as it was damaged from too many moves). I still have 2 soundtracks from it that I bought at the time(thank God). One I've left sealed because, yeah I'm one of those types. Anyways, I loved the movie. It had a great cast(I was a HUGE Bowie fan, still am). I've always liked the director David Hemmings. Such a hottie when he was a young actor. Charming soundtrack by the way. It's definitely worth seeing. Storyline roughly is down on his luck soldier who becomes a gigolo but is a little too sensitive for his new career and the politics of the time. Wish I had a copy of the movie....

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.

Kim Novak's former husband Richard Johnson- whom Kim co starred in Moll Flanders- personally persuaded the great star to attach herself to Just A Gigolo which starred David Bowie and Marlene Dietrich and Maria Schell.

I recently saw this movie and I found Novak entrancing in the film, sexy, and gorgeous. Kim Novak in an interview in 2010 said Kim Novak wondered why She made this film. I can understand that, it got little US distribution even with a great cast. But film fans of German films and especially of Kim Novak -who looks gorgeous, alluring, and is very stylish as always in this film is worth a look.

There are also clips of this film on Youtube.com and I recommend all try and catch them as well.

PS Kim Novak's last films Just A Gigolo, The Children and Liebestraum all received scant distribution only The Mirror Crack'd got the distribution it deserved

David Barra Los Angeles