American Gigolo (1980)

Julian makes a lucrative living as an escort to older women in the Los Angeles area. He begins a relationship with Michelle, a local politician's wife, without expecting any pay. One of his... See full summary »

Director:

Paul Schrader

Writer:

Paul Schrader

Stars:

Richard Gere, Lauren Hutton, Hector Elizondo

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Gere	...	Julian
Lauren Hutton	...	Michelle
Hector Elizondo	...	Sunday
Nina van Pallandt	...	Anne (as Nina Van Pallandt)
Bill Duke	...	Leon
Brian Davies	...	Charles Stratton
K Callan	...	Lisa Williams
Tom Stewart	...	Mr. Rheiman
Patricia Carr	...	Judy Rheiman (as Patti Carr)
David Cryer	...	Lt. Curtis
Carole Cook	...	Mrs. Dobrun
Carol Bruce	...	Mrs. Sloan
Frances Bergen	...	Mrs. Laudner
Macdonald Carey	...	Hollywood Actor (as MacDonald Carey)
William Dozier	...	Michelle's Lawyer

Storyline

Julian makes a lucrative living as an escort to older women in the Los Angeles area. He begins a relationship with Michelle, a local politician's wife, without expecting any pay. One of his clients is murdered and Detective Sunday begins pumping him for details on his different clients, something he is reluctant to do considering the nature of his work. Julian begins to suspect he's being framed. Meanwhile Michelle begins to fall in love with him.

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Plot Keywords:

framed | detective | love | gay man | gigolo | 

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Taglines:

His business is pleasure!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Swedish German

Release Date:

8 February 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

An American Gigolo

Filming Locations:

100 N Oakhurst Dr, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,800,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Deborah Harry has said the film's main title song "Call Me" is about driving. She visualized the film's opening sequence when writing it. She said: "When I was writing it, I pictured the opening scene [of the movie], driving on the coast of California". Harry was first given an instrumental rough track titled "Man Machine by Giorgio Moroder and was asked to write the melody and lyrics for the song. Reportedly, this took her only took her a few hours to do.

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Goofs

When Julian and Anne are talking on the beach, the positions of the sun and shadows on them change between shots, indicating that the shots were taken at different times.

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Quotes

Julian Kaye: I've got to go to the health club.

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Connections

Featured in Indie Sex: Censored (2007)

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Soundtracks

"Call Me"
by Giorgio Moroder and Deborah Harry
Performed by Blondie
Courtesy of Chrysalis Records

User Reviews

Gere is terrific!

Enjoyable and different character study works better as a romance than as a thriller. Julian (Richard Gere) is a male prostitute who falls in love with one of his clients (Lauren Hutton, who is well-cast), the wife of a famous politician. About the same time, Julian realizes that he is being framed for a kiky S&M murder, and is wanted by the police. Hutton is the only one who can give him an alibi, but can't without putting her husband to shame.

Although the thriller element doesn't really work, the film still excels because of Richard Gere's wonderful performance. He creates a character that is intense and somewhat sleazy, yet amazingly vulnerable and naive. His performance (and the chemistry he shares with Hutton) holds the film together and makes it work. Gere created one of the most interesting chracters of the last two decades.