There are so many unbelievable elements in this film that had potential that all of a sudden change which makes the film silly when the plot is anything that really should be laughed at. I know nothing about the underbelly of the adult film industry, and certainly it has changed a great deal in the 50-plus years that It has been around. Those elements do not interest me but character development and reality and he films do. That being said, I can certainly understand the frustration of George C. Scott's Calvinist father from Grand Rapids who discovers that his daughter has disappeared from a religious trip and ended up in loops.

After hiring detective Peter Boyle (whose hairstyle screams sleazeball),Scott ends up turning to veteran adult film performer Season Hubley who seems to know a little bit about what happened who's the performers of the film he discovered his daughter in. How does Scott, who knows nothing about the sleaziness of this industry, know how to set up fake auditions for an adult film, and not get beaten up when they all realize that it's a scam? His wig and fake mustache are ridiculous looking, almost topping the hideously bad dialogue.

It's taking me over 40 years since seeing this advertised in the New York Times to finally sit down and watch it, and with George C. Scott the in one of my favorite actors, it turns out to be probably my least favorite of his films, and that includes a few bombs he did in the mid-1970's. I give this a slightly higher rating than a bomb because there are a few convincing moments and Scott's performance up until his fake audition sequence garnered sympathy from me.

There are questionable motivations for the reason this was made, particularly in a sequence where Scott explains his Calvinist views to Hubley. At one point it seems to be anti-smut, then all of a sudden it mixes in the feeling of being anti Christian. This came out during a time when Hollywood was producing lots of sexually violent thrillers that showed aspects of society that had not been shown and that shocked conservative viewers. It gives the impression that every major street in Los Angeles is the entrance to Sodom and Gomorrah, and that every skyscraper office in the city has something dirty going on.

Here, you feel like you're having the finger wagged at you but never sure of why. Had they really worked on creating a more potent and challenging screenplay that didn't from shocking moments into unintentionally funny ones, it might have made more impact. But under the direction of writer Paul Schrader, it's just bad and obviously a film with a multiple personality. Cans of "227" will certainly laugh by the presence of how Williams as one of the auditioners, and "Bewitched" fans will be amused by Dick Sargent appearance at Scott's brother-in-law, also involved in the investigation. While there are a lot of unintentionally funny moments, this can't even be considered camp. The results are a film that outside of a few intense moments with Scott is a complete misfire and one of the worst social dramas ever attempted.

Hardcore is the mirror image of Boogie Nights. Whereas Boogie Nights the pornography industry is seen from the participant's point of view, Hardcore shows it from the outside. It's not a pretty picture.

Though the film itself doesn't come off in many ways, no question that George C. Scott's performance in the lead is strong dynamic stuff. He's a Midwest businessman of conservative values from Grand Rapids, Michigan whose daughter runs off during a church youth convention out in Southern California.

It would have been very easy to have made Scott's character something of ridicule. This was right around the time of the founding of the Moral Majority and Scott's church seems just the kind to have signed up for that. Instead Scott creates a sympathetic and totally believable character as the father who dominates the film.

In order to accomplish his mission he has to invade a world he hasn't a clue about, but he proves surprisingly resourceful.

Also look for a good performance by Peter Boyle as a private detective who operates on both sides of the moral and immoral.

Hardcore is not a great film, but it's a great performance by George C. Scott.

Jake Van Dorn (George C. Scott) is a furniture manufacturer and a leader in a religiously conservative community. His teenage daughter goes on a church youth trip to California. Then she goes missing. He's beside himself. The cops can't do much. So he hires sleazy private investigator Andy Mast (Peter Boyle). Andy finds a porno film with her in it, and Jake goes on a quest to find her in L.A.

This is an ugly movie. There is no rose-colored glasses. This is not 'Boogie Nights'. The sex trade is dirty. The porno film industry is a business and not a family. George C. Scott is especially compelling as the distraught father, and Season Hubley as the sex trade worker who helps to track her down. Writing/director Paul Schrader has certainly been involved in some iconic movies in that era.