Saint Jack

""People make love for so many crazy reasons-- why shouldn't money be one of them?" - The Gospel According To Saint Jack"

1979 1h 55m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 58

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Jack Flowers is an American hustler trying to make his fortune in 1970s Singapore in small time pimping. His dreams of building a fortune by running a brothel himself and returning to the States is materialized when he is offered the opportunity by the CIA to run a brothel for the R&R activities of U.S. soldiers on leave in Singapore.

“"People make love for so many crazy reasons-- why shouldn't money be one of them?" - The Gospel According To Saint Jack”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Ben Gazzara
Jack Flowers
Denholm Elliott
William Leigh
James Villiers
Frogget
Joss Ackland
Yardley
Rodney Bewes
Smale
Mark Kingston
Yates
Lisa Lu
Mrs. Yates
Monika Subramaniam
Monika

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Writers: Paul Theroux, Peter Bogdanovich, Howard Sackler
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

47 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Peter Bogdanovich, shot by Robby Müller. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor William C. Carruth shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ben Gazzara and Denholm Elliott and James Villiers carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: ""People make love for so many crazy reasons-- why shouldn't money be one of them?" - The Gospel According To Saint Jack".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0079843 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 58 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Peter Bogdanovich directs. Robby Müller behind the camera. William C. Carruth cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
247 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Peter Bogdanovich, shot by Robby Müller. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Editor William C. Carruth shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Ben Gazzara and Denholm Elliott and James Villiers carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: ""People make love for so many crazy reasons-- why shouldn't money be one of them?" - The Gospel According To Saint Jack".
7IMDB entry: tt0079843 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 58 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Robby Müller
Editing: William C. Carruth
Makeup / hair: Graham Freeborn
Runtime: 115 min · 1h 55m
Status: Released
Budget: $2,000,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Saint Jack (1979)

Also by

Peter Bogdanovich

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-05-26
★ 7/10
"Flowers" (Ben Gazzara) reckons there are easy pickings to be had setting up a brothel in Singapore and feathering his nest for a life of luxury back in the USA. Upon his arrival he alights on a collection of ex-pat Brits and befriends "William" (Denholm Elliott) - a decent man, an accountant, with little interest in the goings on in an whorehouse besides balancing the books for it's owners. Needless to say, the local Triad gang don't look too kindly on his interfering enterprise, but events in Vietnam might just provide for the most unlikely of supporters for his increasingly risky venture. Initially I thought Gazzara too lightweight to hold this together, but coupled with quite a poignant effort from Elliott and relying on a solid cast of familiar British faces, the story develops into quite an interesting observation of a man who does, indeed, have some scruples and standards of his own - even if he doesn't mind so much just quite how he makes his fortune! As events proceed, even those priorities begin to be re-thought. It's a bit of a slow starter, this, but to watch the naive cynicism of "Flowers" evolve, mature even, is worth a watch.

Production companies