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Just a Gigolo

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4.8/10 • 27

1978-11-162h 27m

Drama

After World War I, a war hero returns to Berlin to find that there's no place for him--he has no skills other than what he learned in the army, and can only find menial, low-paying jobs. He decides to become a gigolo to lonely rich women.

Directors
David Hemmings
Writters
Ennio De Concini, Irving Caesar, Julius Brammer
Editors
Siegrun Jäger

Top Billed Cast

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  1. David Bowie

    David Bowie

    Paul Ambrosius von Przygodski

  2. Kim Novak

    Kim Novak

    Helga von Kaiserling

  3. Marlene Dietrich

    Marlene Dietrich

    Baroness von Semering

  4. Maria Schell

    Maria Schell

    Pauls Mutti Frau von Przygodski

  5. Curd Jürgens

    Curd Jürgens

    Prince

  6. Erika Pluhar

    Erika Pluhar

    Eva

  7. David Hemmings

    David Hemmings

    Captain Hermann Kraft

  8. Sydne Rome

    Sydne Rome

    Cilly

  9. Werner Pochath

    Werner Pochath

    Otto

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Nov 28, 2024

6/10

When the fastidious "Lt. Paul Przygodski" (David Bowie) returns to Berlin society after the end of the Great War, he finds that things have profoundly changed and that his skills - such as they are - are not going to help him make much of a living. What he does have, though, is looks. He can easily turn an head or two when he walks into a room and so quickly realises that he can make some money "entertaining" the wealthier class of lady - already married or not, or even the occasion gentleman. As the Weimar Republic starts to give way to embryonic Naziism, the story also attempts to take a more serious track attempting to illustrate the profound societal changes in the city and the country whilst he and his clientele attempt to stay aloof and immune from the increasing anger and intolerance on the streets. It's really that attempt at the political that spoils this. Had it been left as a seedy story of a man using his beauty and, to an extent, his brains to get on in life then it have made for a decent watch. It doesn't though, it meanders all over the place mixing it's themes and delivering something that doesn't quite seem to know where it wants to go or who it's for. There's a decent enough effort from Sydne Rome as maybe the only honest woman in his life "Cilly" and there's a charming cameo from Marlene Dietrich who just about manages to, almost breathlessly, sing the title song but the rest of the cast seem underused and their characterisations undercooked to the point where I began to wonder if the likes of Kim Novak and Curd Jürgens just owed director David Hemmings a favour. It has it's moments, but just not quite enough of them and it does show up Bowie as rather wooden.

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  • Just a Gigolo poster
  • Just a Gigolo poster
  • Just a Gigolo poster
  • Just a Gigolo poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
German
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
gigolo