Saint Jack is an American film shot entirely on-site in Singapore in 1978. Today, it serves as a time capsule of a city that has changed beyond recognition. The movie captured places long vanished: the inside of the General Post Office, Paya Lebar Airport’s arrival hall, the hawker stalls beside the Singapore River, Chinatown’s back alleys—and, most memorably, the vibrant nightlife of the original Bugis Street.
The film follows Jack, a streetwise American who runs a prostitution ring for Western tourists, yet shows deep loyalty and affection for his “family.” Initially banned in 1980, it was only released in Singapore in 2006 with an M18 rating. One striking sequence shows Jack taking friends to Bugis Street, where peddlers hawk sex toys, tout albums of call girls, and where transvestites parade in dazzling fashion before being booked for the night. What made Saint Jack remarkable was its casting: locals played themselves, making the film an unfiltered record of 1970s Singapore and a raw reminder of Bugis Street’s colourful past. The full film is now available on YouTube.
Bugis: Traders and Settlers
The name “Bugis” comes from the Bugis (or Buginese) people of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Long before the British founded modern Singapore in 1819, Bugis traders were already plying the seas in their sturdy pinisi boats. They dealt in spices, gold, forest products and textiles, establishing networks across Sulawesi, Riau, Johor, the Malay Peninsula, and beyond.
When Stamford Raffles declared Singapore a free port, the Bugis were quick to seize the opportunity. Among the earliest settlers, they built homes, docks, and warehouses, anchoring themselves around Victoria Street, Rochor Road, and Middle Road. Their reputation was twofold: skilled, shrewd merchants—and, at times, feared pirates. Over time, the area they lived and worked in became known as Bugis Village, leaving a name that still shapes the district today.
From Brothels to “Little Japan”
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Bugis Street earned another reputation—this time as Singapore’s “Little Japan.” As Chinatown’s population swelled, Japanese brothels spilled into the Bugis area. By the 1860s, European prostitutes had already crowded the streets, described in The Straits Times as “florid, blowsy… foul-mouthed harridans,” often seen loitering in doorways or brawling in the streets.
By the early 1900s, Japanese prostitutes (known as karayuki-san) dominated the area. At its peak between 1904 and 1905, more than 130 licensed Japanese brothels operated here. When licensed prostitution was abolished in 1920, the trade faded, but Bugis continued to thrive as a hub of Japanese-owned shops and eateries, a bustling spot for locals to dine and shop.
Bugis Street in its Heyday
After World War II, Bugis Street transformed to become one of Singapore’s liveliest thoroughfares. By day, hawkers sold souvenirs, pirated records, clothing, and street food. By night, the street transformed into a carnival of colour and energy.
In the 1960s and 1970s, with Singapore serving as a rest-and-recreation stop for Vietnam War soldiers, Bugis Street became world-famous. At its heart was the flamboyant nightly parade of transgender women and transvestites. Clad in dazzling gowns, stilettos, and bold make-up, they flirted, joked, performed, and mingled with crowds of both locals and foreign visitors. Western tourists—especially soldiers and “ang mohs”—were their favourite customers, often eager to join the fun.
Writers and travellers waxed lyrical about the street. Dutch writer Francis Downes Ommanney once called Bugis Street “one of the most beautiful streets in the world,” with an “irrepressible vitality.” To many, it was better known by its nickname: Boogie Street.
The Clean-Up and Redevelopment
By the late 1970s, Bugis Street’s notoriety clashed with the image Singapore’s leaders sought to project. With plans for new housing, commercial projects, and an MRT line, the government began clearing the area. In the early 1980s, hawkers were relocated, the old streets were demolished, and Bugis Street’s famed transgender nightlife vanished almost overnight.
By the mid-1990s, Bugis Junction rose on the site—an air-conditioned retail complex that preserved restored shophouse façades under a giant glass canopy, billed as the world’s largest “air-conditioned street mall.” It enveloped the former Bugis, Malay, Malabar and Hylam Street. It attempted to evoke the atmosphere of old Bugis, though in a much sanitised form.
By the mid-1990s, Bugis Junction rose on the site—an air-conditioned retail complex that preserved restored shophouse façades under a giant glass canopy, billed as the world’s largest “air-conditioned street mall.” It enveloped the former Bugis, Malay, Malabar and Hylam Street. It attempted to evoke the atmosphere of old Bugis, though in a much sanitised form.
Today, the Bugis Street Market at the New Bugis Street is a magnet for youth and tourists, offering cheap fashion, snacks, and souvenirs in narrow, bustling lanes. In the 1990s, the now-defunct Boom Boom Room cabaret, where comedian Kumar began his career, carried on a piece of the Bugis Street spirit in one of the shophouses.
Bugis Today
Bugis has evolved into one of Singapore’s busier shopping and lifestyle districts, anchored by Bugis Junction, Bugis+, the InterContinental Hotel, and the National Library. To most visitors, there is little trace of its wild, colourful past. Yet, films like Saint Jack peel back the layers, reminding us that beneath today’s gleaming malls lies a history that was messy, vibrant, and unapologetically alive.
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