Heat also known as Andy Warhol's Heat, is an American film written and directed by Paul Morrissey

Paul Morrissey

Paul Morrissey is an American film director, best-known for his association with Andy Warhol.Morrissey attended Ampleforth College, a private Roman Catholic boarding school and Fordham University, both Roman Catholic schools, and later served in the United States Army...

, produced by Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol

Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...

, and starring Joe Dallesandro

Joe Dallesandro

Joseph Angelo D'Allesandro , better known as Joe Dallesandro, is an American actor, and Warhol superstar. Although he never became a mainstream film star, Dallesandro is generally considered to be the most famous male sex symbol of American underground films of the 20th century, as well as a sex...

, Sylvia Miles

Sylvia Miles

-Early life and career:Miles was born Sylvia Reuben Lee in New York City, the daughter of Belle and Reuben Lee, a furniture maker....

, and Andrea Feldman

Andrea Feldman

Andrea Feldman was an American actress and Warhol Superstar. She committed suicide in 1972.-Career:Andrea Feldman was a native New Yorker. She attended Quintano's School for Young Professionals, a high school for the performing arts...

.

The film was conceived by Warhol as a parody of Sunset Boulevard (1950).

Plot

Dallesandro plays Joey Davis, an unemployed former child star who supports himself as a hustler

Hustler

Hustler is a monthly pornographic magazine aimed at men and published in the United States. It was first published in 1974 by Larry Flynt. It was a step forward from the Hustler Newsletter which was cheap advertising for his strip club businesses at the time. The magazine grew from a shaky start to...

 in Los Angeles. Joey uses sex to get his landlady to reduce his rent, then seduces Sally Todd (Miles), a former Hollywood starlet. Sally tries to help Joey revive his career but her status as a mediocre ex-actress proves to be quite useless. Sally's psychotic

Psychosis

Psychosis means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality"...

 daughter Jessica (Feldman) further complicates the relationship between Sally and the cynical, emotionally-numb Joey.

Cast

• Joe Dallesandro
  Joe Dallesandro
  Joseph Angelo D'Allesandro , better known as Joe Dallesandro, is an American actor, and Warhol superstar. Although he never became a mainstream film star, Dallesandro is generally considered to be the most famous male sex symbol of American underground films of the 20th century, as well as a sex...
  
   as Joey Davis
• Sylvia Miles
  Sylvia Miles
  -Early life and career:Miles was born Sylvia Reuben Lee in New York City, the daughter of Belle and Reuben Lee, a furniture maker....
  
   as Sally Todd
• Andrea Feldman
  Andrea Feldman
  Andrea Feldman was an American actress and Warhol Superstar. She committed suicide in 1972.-Career:Andrea Feldman was a native New Yorker. She attended Quintano's School for Young Professionals, a high school for the performing arts...
  
   as Jessica
• Pat Ast as Lydia, the motel owner
• Ray Vestal as Ray, the producer
• Lester Persky
  Lester Persky
  Lester Persky was an American film, television, and theatre producer.-Early life and career:Born in Brooklyn, New York, Persky attended Brooklyn College before serving in the Merchant Navy during World War II. After the war, he worked at The New York Times and later as a copywriter at an...
  
   as Sidney
• Eric Emerson
  Eric Emerson
  Eric Emerson was an American musician, dancer, and actor. Emerson is best known for his roles in films by pop artist Andy Warhol, and as a member of the seminal glam punk group, the Magic Tramps.-Career:...
  
   as Eric
• Gary Koznoch as Gary
• Harold Childe as Harold
• John Hallowell as Gossip columnist