The Bitch (film)
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The Bitch (1979) is the sequel to the The Stud (1978). Based on a novel by Jackie Collins and again starring Joan Collins.
The owner of a trendy disco starts having problems with the men in her life and the Mafia, which is trying to move in on her place. The film is usually considered to be soft-porn. It was one of the most successful films of the late 70's and was one of the first to be released on video.
While the Stud and the Bitch made millions Collins herself only received a small one off fee for doing them so while they made her famous they did little for her financially. In 1986 she eventually managed to sue the producers Brent Walker for damages. Collins later said she regretted doing it and that it was a badly done, amateurish, washed out carbon copy of the Stud. It is probably best remembered now for the publicity poster which showed her posing in a corset and chauffeur's cap with a mink draped over her shoulder. From then on Collins was usually referred to as a bitch in the press and in the 80's she tried to take legal action against newspapers in the UK who were constantly using the bitch term in articles about her.
Both the Stud and the Bitch were panned by critics but were a huge commercial success and they revived Collins's career after more than a decade in the wilderness. When she made the Bitch she was 45 and while everyone laughed at the dire acting, script and plot even the most savage critics had to admit she looked remarkably young for her age. She had been working out at Pilates gyms since the early 70's long before most of her contemporaries were. In 1976 she was actually unemployed. Her husband Ron Kass had lost his job managing a record company that used to handle the Beatles and had become a cocaine addict. The 2 films attracted the attention of Esther and Richard Shapiro when they were looking for an actress to play the part of Alexis in Dynasty a few years later. In that sense the 2 films really saved her career and put her on track to becoming the biggest tv star of the 80's. Both films have since become camp, cult classics.
