The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart

The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheartra
Official release poster, 1970
Directed by	Leonard Horn
Produced by	Martin Poll
Written by	Robert T. Westbrook
Based on	novel by Robert T. Westbrook
Starring	Don Johnson Dianne Hull Michael Greer
Music by	Michel Legrand
Cinematography	Victor Kemper
Edited by	Nick Archer Ted Chapman
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	May 26, 1970
Running time	117 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart is a 1970 American film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) about a confused college student's experiences with sex, relationships, and drugs in late 1960s New York City. Produced by Martin Poll and directed by Leonard J. Horn, the film was based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Robert T. Westbrook, who was also an associate producer of the film. It was the film debut of Don Johnson, who appeared in the title role.

Stanley Sweetheart (Don Johnson) is an aspiring filmmaker and junior at Columbia University who moved to New York City from Beverly Hills. His father is dead, he is not close to his mother, and his family is running out of money. He lives alone in a Manhattan apartment on the Upper West Side across from a noisy construction site, and seems to have no friends. Bored with his classes and seeking a sexual outlet, he fantasizes about a beautiful blonde classmate. Later, he visits a local bar where he runs into a talkative hippie acquaintance, Barbara, who has recently changed her name to Shayne. He has a one-night stand with Barbara, and in the night he sees and is attracted to her beautiful roommate, Andrea. On a later visit to the bar, he meets their friend Danny (Michael Greer), an older and more sophisticated underground musician.

Back on campus, Stanley finally meets and dates the classmate who is the object of his fantasies, Cathy (Dianne Hull). Cathy and Stanley fall in love, but she is a virgin and initially refuses his sexual advances, leaving him frustrated. Finally she agrees to sleep with him and the two settle into happy domestic life for a time, but Stanley soon becomes bored with the relationship and fantasizes about Andrea. When Cathy expresses concern about the promiscuous behavior of her chubby roommate Fran (Holly Near), Stanley invites Fran over under the pretext of filming her for an underground movie called "Masturbation." He gets Fran drunk and films her in a variety of sexual positions, culminating with her masturbating in a bathtub, after which Stanley and Fran have sex. He initially feels guilty, but Fran comes to his apartment when Cathy is away and entices him into continuing the affair behind Cathy's back.