Diamond Stud (1970), an offbeat softcore dramatization of Gilded Age figure Diamond Jim Brady, gained an eerie postscript not because of its plot but because of where and with whom some scenes were shot. Producer Jim Fineberg and director Greg Corarito — fresh from The Fabulous Bastard and later collaborators on Hard on the Trail (1971) — filmed sequences for both films at Spahn Ranch. Spahn Ranch was by then intimately associated with Charles Manson and his followers, and modern exploitation archivists at Something Weird Video reported that a nude catfight sequence in Diamond Stud was performed by two women who were members of the Manson Family. Corarito himself is quoted recalling, "We got the Manson girls wrestling naked. And Manson was like in the background but we never messed with him. He was just always in the shadows. I never even said 'hello' to him."
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AI concept artworkArchive Record · 1970s
Two Manson 'Girls' Wrestled Naked on the Spahn Ranch Set of the 1970 Softcore Film Diamond Stud
Diamond Stud / 1970s
Diamond Stud (1970), an offbeat softcore dramatization of Gilded Age figure Diamond Jim Brady, gained an eerie postscript not because of its plot but because of where and with whom some scenes were shot. Producer Jim Fineberg and director Greg Corarito — fresh from The Fabulous Bastard and later collaborators on Hard on the Trail (1971) — filmed sequences for both films at Spahn Ranch. Spahn Ranch was by then intimately associated with Charles Manson and his followers, and modern exploitation archivists at Something Weird Video reported that a nude catfight sequence in Diamond Stud was performed by two women who were members of the Manson Family. Corarito himself is quoted recalling, "We got the Manson girls wrestling naked. And Manson was like in the background but we never messed with him. He was just always in the shadows. I never even said 'hello' to him."
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