Overview
The Users is a 1978 American made-for-television drama film directed by Joseph Hardy. The film, whose executive producer was Aaron Spelling, is based on a Joyce Haber novel released in the same year. The film focuses on the insiders of the Hollywood film industry.
Plot
Elena Scheider (Smith) is a prostitute with class who is hired by film producer Adam Baker (Hamilton) to seduce Randy Brent (Curtis), an actor who is working in Phoenix on his latest film The Last Man, presumably, a post-apocalyptic, dystopian thriller film. Since the death of his wife, who committed suicide by overdose seven years ago, Randy has retired from the screen and he is now seen as a has-been. The Last Man is his first venture since the tragedy, but he has trouble shooting the love scenes. Elena successfully seduces him and he soon falls in love with her. It does not take long before she moves in with him in his mansion in Hollywood.
In Hollywood, she is immediately welcomed by all the insiders, including Randy's celebrity daughter Marina (Phillips) and wealthy socialite Grace St. George (Fontaine). Elena and Marina become close friends and Marina tells her about her disastrous love life, which exists mainly of movie producers, who use her for their own gain. The only man she trusts is a man married to a powerful woman. Elena later learns from her masseur Harvey Parkes (Baseleon) that the married man is Adam, whose intimidating wife Nancy (Nye) is aware of the affair.
It soon becomes clear to Elena that everyone in Hollywood is using each other for their own career. She spontaneously marries Randy in Las Vegas, Nevada and turns to Grace for help to become a Hollywood insider as well, visiting the right parties and wearing the right clothes. Meanwhile, Randy's film is nearing its release. Marty Lesky (Feinstein) is determined on releasing it as a made-for-TV movie, claiming it is too bad for a theatrical release. Elena and Marina try to prevent Randy from fading from the screen again and try to get him his next movie role before the film comes out.
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