Saint Jack

19791979
RR
1h 52min

Saint Jack (1979)

Jack Flowers, an American hustler in early 1970s Singapore, dreams of building a fortune by running a brothel and returning to the States to lead a life of luxury.Jack Flowers, an American hustler in early 1970s Singapore, dreams of building a fortune by running a brothel and returning to the States to lead a life of luxury.Jack Flowers, an American hustler in early 1970s Singapore, dreams of building a fortune by running a brothel and returning to the States to lead a life of luxury.

Director
- Peter Bogdanovich
Writers
- Howard Sackler(screenplay)
- Paul Theroux(screenplay)
- Peter Bogdanovich(screenplay)
Stars

See production, box office & company info

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win & 1 nomination total

Saint Jack (1979)

Saint Jack (1979)

Saint Jack (1979)

Saint Jack (1979)

Denholm Elliott and Ben Gazzara in Saint Jack (1979)

Peter Bogdanovich, Ben Gazzara, and Monika Subramaniam in Saint Jack (1979)

Ben Gazzara in Saint Jack (1979)

Saint Jack (1979)

Denholm Elliott and Bridgit Ang in Saint Jack (1979)

Peter Bogdanovich and Ben Gazzara in Saint Jack (1979)

Denholm Elliott and Ben Gazzara in Saint Jack (1979)

Peter Bogdanovich, Ben Gazzara, and Monika Subramaniam in Saint Jack (1979)

Director
- Peter Bogdanovich
Writers
- Howard Sackler(screenplay)
- Paul Theroux(screenplay) (based on the novel by)
- Peter Bogdanovich(screenplay)
All cast & crew
See more cast details at IMDbPro

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Compelling character study, revolving around Jack Flowers (Ben Gazzara), an American hustler trying to make his fortune in 1970s Singapore in small time pimping. He dreams of building a fortune by running a brothel himself and returning to the States to lead a life of luxury. Savvy but not unsavory he strikes up a friendship with William Leigh (Denholm Elliot), a genial and decent auditor who travels to Singapore every year. Ultimately, the background of the Vietnam War comes into the picture as Jack is offered the opportunity by the CIA to run a brothel for the R&R activities of U.S. soldiers on leave in Singapore. —alfiehitchie

american abroad 1970s reference to fidel castro reference to john f. kennedy senator 92 more

Taglines
- "People make love for so many crazy reasons-- why shouldn't money be one of them?" - The Gospel According To Saint Jack
Genre
- Drama
Certificate
- R
Parents guide

Trivia
Knowing the Singaporean government would never sanction a film that depicted the city as a hotbed of corruption and sleaze, the script that Peter Bogdanovich submitted had been rewritten with all the contentious elements removed. When the film was completed, the Singaporean government was horrified, and banned it.

Goofs
Around 01:20:08, a woman on the left of the screen step out from a building, look at the camera, then goes quickly backward.

Quotes
Jack Flowers: Now, the Chinese, they go for Australian girls, y'know, big-boned. The Germans usually go for Tamils. The English they don't give a damn as long as they're young and boyish, isn't that right, Colonel?
Col. Gunstone: Indubitably.
Jack Flowers: But the Americans, they do a lot of hugging-up in taxis, y'know. When they go home they write letters. Girls are always after me to help them answer 'em.

Crazy credits
We thank the people of the Republic of Singapore, on whose island this picture was filmed.

Connections
Featured in Sneak Previews: The Promise, The Prisoner of Zenda, Saint Jack, Alien, Battlestar Galactica, The Brood, The Passage (1979)

Soundtracks
I Ain't Gonna Give Nobody None of My Jelly Roll
Written by Clarence Williams (uncredited) and Spencer Williams (uncredited)
Sung by Louis Armstrong

Top review

One of those underrated gems

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!

helpful•33

7

JJ-N
Sep 25, 2009

Budget
- $2,000,000 (estimated)

See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

Runtime
- 1h 52min
Color
- Color
Sound mix
- Mono
Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1

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Saint Jack (1979)

Top Gap

By what name was Saint Jack (1979) officially released in India in English?

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