The Stud (1979)

Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

A Masterpiece!

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

THE STUD is a slightly controversial big screen adaptation of one of Jackie Collins' potboiler novels, about the relationship between a nightclub manager and the wife of a bored businessman looking for a little excitement. This film is notable for featuring Joan Collins in an alluring role; in her mid-40s, she's more than happy to strip off as the part requires and her vibrant personality is very much a reason to tune in.Unfortunately, the rest of the film is something of a dated mess, and the most enjoyment I got from it were the various funky tunes placing in the various disco dancing scenes. It's an overlong movie and one that's padded to boot; the sex and dancing takes up a lot of the running time, and the rest of the plot is rather slim. Oliver Tobias is miscast as the wooden lead, and I simply didn't care about his predicament whatsoever. Sue Lloyd and Walter Gotell give good value in support, but the sex feels tepid rather than exciting and the end result tends to be 'is that what all the fuss was about?'.

I can't pretend otherwise, I've always loved this film and it's one of my guilty pleasures for a rainy afternoon, or more likely a night in with a few drinks.It's astoundingly dreary looking: apart from Joan's soft focus entrance there is precious little opulence on display. The film is low-lit and rather seedy looking. The opening credits sequence remarkably switches from day to night and back again! But right from the start, when the incredibly beautiful Felicity departs after a night with Tony, and then the sequence of him dressing and going out to the sound of the irresistible theme tune (watch Oliver Tobias trying to say "you handsome bastard" tro himself as quietly as possible!), this is a classic quotealong movie. Some of the one liners are great: "they ask for comics and a bag of sweets you give 'em penthouse and amyl nitrate" and best of all "there are two sorts of women in this world. The first sort pick you up and screw you, the second sort pick your brains and screw you up." It's rubbish of course, but however good it may or may not be its about the disco scene and shagging so it will always be seen in that way.Whatever happened to the director? Oliver Tobias is rather underused in the film it must be said: he doesn't have much to do and is rather overshadowed by super-bitch Fontaine. But the soundtrack is great, and the film is fun. And the scenes with Tony and his pals are the best in the movie. Those three deserved a series! But why does Ben return the video to Fontaine? Surely he'll need it as evidence?

The R2 double-feature DVD of this film, along with its sequel THE BITCH (1979; see below), had been available for rental through my local DVD outlet for quite some time - and, though I had been tempted to check it out time and again, I finally took the plunge after having watched star Joan Collins in another sexy role in ...CAN HEIRONYMUS MERKIN EVER FORGET MERCY HUMPPE AND FIND TRUE HAPPINESS? (1969).Based on the lurid novel by Joan's own sister, Jackie Collins, the film isn't for anyone looking for quality cinema; cheesy, sleazy trash - set in London and accompanied by a dated disco soundtrack - that's filled with copious but unerotic nudity. Collins, at least, is clearly having fun with her bitchy role; Oliver Tobias is the would-be stud who finds himself to be merely a pawn in her game (and who, predictably, finds real love in the arms of Collins' teenage step-daughter); while Walter Gotell (a regular in the James Bond extravaganzas) is her betrayed but vengeful diplomat husband.

This film, while utter trash from beginning to end, has tremendous camp value along the lines of "The Lonely Lady" and "Showgirls". For one thing, fans of the TV show "Dynasty" are REQUIRED to rent and watch this soft-core porn fiasco to see their beloved Alexis Carrington Colby Dexter (etc.), Joan Collins, boffing in the buff as rich-bitch disco maven, Fontaine Khaled (Fontaine is a forerunner of Alexis if ever there was one!). You could even say Fontaine is a sort of "Alexis Uncensored" -- Fontaine has all the glamorous window dressing of Alexis while tossing-off vulgar quips like, "Doesn't that give you a hard-on?" (Yes, you WILL howl when you hear the lines coming out of La Collins' mouth!). Wealthy wives who are bored silly, Fontaine and her corrupt girlfriend Vanessa spend their leisure time plotting trysts and comparing notes on sex while getting massages and applying make-up. It's all too, too FABULOUS! The so-called "plot" (thanks to Joan Collins' sister Jackie's bestselling novel) is thin stuff at best, almost arbitrarily following the whims and fancies of the rich-and-famous as they use and abuse one Tony Blake, a relatively attractive and ambitious young man who has foolishly resorted to hustling to pay the bills (played by Oliver Tobias, who would also run around naked in another tawdry production, "The Wicked Lady", co-starring Faye Dunaway, some five years later). It's the old "hooker with a heart of gold" story all over again; Tony becomes introspective over the course of the film and starts questioning his lifestyle. Without giving anything else away, your jaw will absolutely drop by the time the orgy scene rolls around. ASIDE: this is almost certainly the inspiration for 1980's "American Gigolo" starring Richard Gere as a hustler whose devil-may-care lifestyle finally catches up with him. Huge points are awarded to composer Biddu for the score to "The Stud". Some well-known songs punctuate the disco soundtrack which is unparalleled and truly captures the shallow, glittery period. I only wish it were available on CD (though the credits state an album was available on the RONCO label...). Good News: both THE STUD and THE BITCH have, as of February 2006, finally been released to Region 1 DVD in a boxed set! I've yet to watch either film, but have them on order, and will edit my comments accordingly sometime in March to say how the release turned out. Bad news: Thorn EMI's rather ancient VHS release (if that's all you can get your hands on, or if that's the level of technology you're currently stuck with) suffers from very bad sound. Dialog drops out from time to time, making nuances of the story irritatingly difficult to follow -- you have to keep adjusting the volume on your TV upward to hear what's being said, then down again so you don't get blasted to death by scenes in the disco. I've checked several commercially released copies of "The Stud" on VHS and they all suffered from the same sound problems, so it's Thorn EMI's fault. Which is too bad. "The Stud" is an example of bad film-making at its most obnoxious and should be witnessed by everyone who is either a fan of "bad cinema" or merely familiar with the work of Joan Collins.