Jack le magnifique

Singapore 1973 – Jack Flowers (Gazzara) a worldworn drifter, has finally found his niche. He is a small-time pimp, eking out a living arranging liaisons for jaded ex-pats and burned-out GIs. Everybody knows Jack and everyone likes him – a situation that changes rapidly when he decides to open his own house of ill repute.

Saint Jack is Peter Bogdanovich's most accomplished film. Made long after his Hollywood star had waned it is a low-key, character driven piece full of memorable scenes and performances. The Singapore it depicts is long gone, buried under acres of concrete and glass. The world Jack Flowers' inhabits is old school orient - sampans, alleyways, bustling markets and street hustlers. Denholm Elliot excels as the bemused, vaguely melancholy accountant Jack takes under his wing. Rodney Bewes and Joss Ackland do memorable turns as aimlessly Englishmen abroad. Former James Bond George Lazenby puts in an appearance as a slimy US senator and director Bogdanovich plays a CIA operative.

For a movie produced by Roger Corman and Hugh Hefner it's far from the exploitation fare its subject matter might suggest. Photographed by the great Robby Muller and based on a novel by Paul Theroux it's well worth a look. 8/10

**Also recommended for fans of this movie is "Kinda Hot: The Making of Saint Jack in Singapore" by Ben Slater (ISBN: 9812610693) - a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film.

"Saint Jack" is an amazing little film. Just when you figure that Peter Bogdanovich was only capable of making Hollywood efforts rather than his once indepedent film maker roots (ie; "Targets" and "Last Picture Show") he surprised his fans with this little film. Not since Cassavetes, has a director pulled such an honest and Oscar worthy performance from Ben Gazzara. For me, Ben's role as Jack Flowers is one of the most colorful of American Cinema's characters. His character is shaded with the same quirks that you would expect from such an actor as Bogart. The film begins with Jack Flowers running a prostitution racket in late 1960's Singapore, with dreams of opening the grandest of whore houses. What may seem like a typically seedy character for cinema, turns out to be one of the most sensitive portrayals that indears rather than repulses. His rather cynical, humourous, honest and lazy approach to life is at times comendable and charming. But after his dream is realized (he does get his whore house!), things start falling apart. It's at this point that his integrity is questioned with the newer business routes he ventures into. The second half of the film is slightly dispairing due to the fact that he no longer has a sense of dream, but only a sense of escape from the world he has created. You get the feeling that people of his disposition are not trully suited for the occupation of pimp. One of the highlights of the film is the friendship he builds with William Leigh (Denholm Elliott). Both are outsiders of Singapore, yet still live there, due to the fact that they're too much of an outsider in their country of origin. The friendship reminds me that of Bruno Ganz and Dennis Hopper in "The American Friend". Both are in countries not their own, but "Saint Jack" retains a friendship of innocence. One will die in both. I imagine that Peter Bogdanovich was influenced to a degree by Hugh Hefner (of Playboy fame), in which he (as well as Jack Flowers) is also in the industry of female objectification. Yet both are still looked upon as fairly descent men. It's no surprise to me that Hugh was also responsible for some of the production along with B-movie producer Roger Corman. Another character (of female objectification in cinema history) that plays a great influence in the film as well...is James Bond. The use of music, epecially the Goldfinger soundtrack (heard while two Singaporean prostitutes are gettin' busy), the theatre poster for the film resembles a James Bond like poster, and the casting of George Lazenby (ironically as a Senator with homosexual leanings) from "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" fame, lend an overwhelming thought that secretly Bogdanovich wanted to make a Bond film. But this may have also been a way of justifying Jack Flowers own arguable career choices of that of our own moral decissions in entertainment enjoyment. Also, comparing to a time (late 1960's) when we (as America) sent troops to Vietnam (another theme in the film), Jack comes off looking quiet harmless, and smelling of flowers (pun intended). But what really makes this film so charming is the warmth that Ben Gazzara radiates in this film, and how it's small scale of a budget offers such a big heart. It's heaviness in topic is always brought off with humour and sensitivity. Highly recommended on all counts! It's a pity that not more people know of this film, and that's great loss to the film watching public. Maybe Bogdanovich will make something as interesting in the future? I give it a 10!

Saint Jack is a film short on plot, but long on character study, at least for the title character Jack Flowers, patron saint of the working girl in Singapore. Ben Gazzara plays the title role and if you can imagine Humphrey Bogart at his most existential running a brothel, than you've got Gazzara's character.

And that's what Jack Flowers does, he served in Korea went to college on the GI bill and tried a hand at writing. He gave that up because he hadn't experienced enough of life in his own words, shipped out on a tramp freighter and wound up in Singapore managing a brothel. If he wanted to know about life, that's as good a place as any to get material for twenty books. And he's originally from Buffalo, New York, probably on the west side, unanglicized name Jack Fiore.

Gazzara's co-star is the city of Singapore in all its aspects, both the high and low end of it. Gazzara's got friends in high and low places, his most unusual friend is Denholm Elliott who is an accountant and sent by the front office in Hong Kong to do a yearly audit. They hit it off believe it or not, Elliott becomes kind of a role model of probity for Gazzara.

Humphrey Bogart, starting in Casablanca did a lot of his films in exotic locations. But mostly he never got there, his films mostly done on studio back lots, The African Queen a shining exception. I'm sure Bogey would have jumped at the chance to do a location film in Singapore which in his day was involved in a nasty civil war after World War II.

There's not much of a story line, in fact Gazzara's not a terribly heroic character until the end when he does have an attack of conscience. For what that is you'll have to see Saint Jack.

Ben Gazzara is not the Jack Flowers I saw in Paul Theroux' novel; he's too self-confident by half. But different in tone as they may be, both Theroux' and Bogdanovich's "Saint Jack" are successes. The location shooting in Singapore and the utter lack of background music are among Bogdanovich's own touches. It's a fine, solid little film, sexy, political and all over bright. Gazzara works as a gofer for a Chinese business to maintain his visa. But his dream is to open his own brothel, which with the backing of a few friends, he does. But the Chinese "mafia" closes him down (the confrontation with a Chinese midget and his musclemen is memorable). And then the CIA, represented by Peter Bogdanovith, subsidizes Flowers in a new brothel for Viet troops on R&R. It lasts as long as the war does (his former Chinese employer rags Gazzara about the Vietnamese victory). Then Gazzara is forced into some sleazy blackmail which, finally, he rejects. A moral decision in a very amoral story. British actor James Villiers has a small but distinctive part as Frogget. In a conversation with bar cronies he says: "The last time I was in UK they made homosexuality legal. I said to my wife, I said let's get out of here before they make it compulsory." This is not on DVD yet. Why the hell not?

6.8/10? This is yet another one of those criminally underrated gems. Easily within one of those top 100 films you should really see before you die, instead of all the crap. Now, this is all you need to know. But since IMDb requires at least 10 lines for comments, I will point out the more obvious. This one has a real story, real locations, superb acting, superb direction. And while Ben Gazzara is as cool as ever, the other dudes are no slouches either. They just do not make movies like these anymore. Yes, perhaps not the biggest cash cow in the box office, but when you see this you know what I mean. Probably the best thing Bogdanovich ever put together. Just see this!