The 1970 softcore dramatization Diamond Stud — written by Maurice Smith, produced by Jim Fineberg and directed by Greg Corarito — carries one of the stranger and darker production footnotes in exploitation cinema. Producers Fineberg and Corarito had just come off The Fabulous Bastard and, in the same rough-and-ready spirit, shot scenes for Diamond Stud (and the subsequent Hard on the Trail, 1971) at Spahn Ranch. By then Spahn Ranch had become notorious as the de facto headquarters of Charles Manson and his followers. According to Something Weird Video magazine and Corarito’s own recollections, the film even staged a naked “catfight” performed by two women who were members of the Manson Family; Corarito later recalled that Manson was “in the background” during the shoot but that the crew “never even said ‘hello’ to him.”
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AI concept artworkArchive Record · 1970s
Diamond Stud shot at Spahn Ranch — two of Charlie Manson’s women staged a naked catfight while Manson lurked in the background
Diamond Stud (1970) — director Greg Corarito, producer Jim Fineberg / 1970s
The 1970 softcore dramatization Diamond Stud — written by Maurice Smith, produced by Jim Fineberg and directed by Greg Corarito — carries one of the stranger and darker production footnotes in exploitation cinema. Producers Fineberg and Corarito had just come off The Fabulous Bastard and, in the same rough-and-ready spirit, shot scenes for Diamond Stud (and the subsequent Hard on the Trail, 1971) at Spahn Ranch. By then Spahn Ranch had become notorious as the de facto headquarters of Charles Manson and his followers. According to Something Weird Video magazine and Corarito’s own recollections, the film even staged a naked “catfight” performed by two women who were members of the Manson Family; Corarito later recalled that Manson was “in the background” during the shoot but that the crew “never even said ‘hello’ to him.”
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