VISIBLE Pre-code nudity in film. Did it exist?

BennyHillFan · January 17th, 2017, 05:15 PM

I'm looking for a definitive analysis of VISIBLE nudity in pre-code (1934) films and/or how extensive it was. I've seen lots of discussions on the 'net claiming it. But when it gets down to examples, they always turn out to be 'implied' rather than visible.

I mean, if I see an actress is in a bathtub and her shoulders and upper cleavage are bare it IMPLIES she's naked. And maybe she was, on set. But *I* want to SEE it, not just believe it.

So far there's the well-known example of Hedy Lamar in ecstasy (1933) but that was an import; I'm not sure it was ever actually shown in US theaters at the time.

And I DON'T mean "underground" films (I KNOW those existed); I mean regular Hollywood-ish films that could be shown in at least some (if not all) theaters in the USA open to the general public.

Did such visible nudity actually exist in pre-code Hollywood?

BennyHillFan · January 17th, 2017, 07:55 PM

Closest I've been able to find (so far) is the swim scene from Tarzan and His Mate (1934) where "Jane" is played by Maureen O'Sullivan but in the scene is body-doubled by olympic swimmer Josephine McKim.

I've gone over it like it was the Zapruder film and... I'm not sure.

Clearly, the studio wants the audience to believe that "Jane" is naked. And there's plenty of butt cheek, more than I've see in any other film of the era... but that could also mean a clever G-string. And when she flips over underwater, a couple of smudges in one or two frames that might or might not be nipples... or just might be due to the underwater lighting.

Close, but not quite. I am not unambiguously convinced.

maxedout · January 17th, 2017, 11:00 PM

Cecil B Demille managed to get a fair bit of nudity into his pre-code movies (e.g. The Sign of the Cross, Intolerance etc.) mostly in historical group scenes. Let's face it, any film set in ancient Rome has to have an orgy somewhere.

The wikipedia page "Nudity in Film" is brief but interesting & gives a few of the more famous examples.

**Mister Fide** · January 18th, 2017, 05:50 AM

Yes is the short answer. However, finding the clips would not be easy.
More than half the movies ever made no longer exist!

There is a very brief topless shot of Jean Harlow, either from Red-Headed Woman (1932) or Platinum Blonde (1931).
She is in a bedroom & as she removes some clothing over the top of her head, her nipples are seen just above the top of her slip!
I know for certain because i have seen it.

**Paddy Bog** · January 18th, 2017, 08:51 AM

Yes. Here are some pics of Claudette Colbert in the famous milk bath scene from C.B. DeMille's "Sign of the Cross"(1932). One modern reviewer said, "He never would have gotten away with it if they were filming in color."

BennyHillFan · January 19th, 2017, 12:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mister Fide

Yes is the short answer. However, finding the clips would not be easy.
More than half the movies ever made no longer exist!

There is a very brief topless shot of Jean Harlow, either from Red-Headed Woman (1932) or Platinum Blonde (1931).
She is in a bedroom & as she removes some clothing over the top of her head, her nipples are seen just above the top of her slip!
I know for certain because i have seen it.

I think I've seen that one. There's a clip posted on ANCENSORED from Red-Headed Woman. She's putting on a pajama top over her head and as the camera pans towards her there's a brief glimpse of either her right nipple or a blemish on the film.

http://ancensored.com/clip/Red-Heade...n-Harlow/19083

Is that as good as it gets? Or maybe I'm just too jaded. I'm not expecting Debbie-Does-Pre-Code-Hollywood or anything but, crap, for all I've read about how pre-code was SOOOO raunchy I was somehow expecting MORE than this.

I've yet to find anything that would be stronger than a PG-13 these days. Heck, I've seen more nudity on the Disney channel.

scorpion_111151 · January 19th, 2017, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maxedout

Cecil B Demille managed to get a fair bit of nudity into his pre-code movies (e.g. The Sign of the Cross, Intolerance etc.) mostly in historical group scenes. Let's face it, any film set in ancient Rome has to have an orgy somewhere.

Certainly it seems you have to go back to the silent era to find the most examples of nudity. Most of it was "artistic" rather than sexual (the same get-out that allowed naturist films in the 1950s). Directors liked to find an excuse for their leading ladies to swim au naturel or pose for painters, sculptors etc.
The first leading lady to appear nude was one Audrey Munson in 1915. She was an artist's model in real life, something she worked into at least two films.
(Info courtesy of the Guinness Book of Movie Facts & Feats)

isambard1803 · January 19th, 2017, 11:56 PM

CAUTION - Something decidedly odd happens with the Ancensored link for the Harlow clip. A page opened which I could only escape by using task manager.

January 17th, 2017, 05:15 PM	#1
BennyHillFan Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 18 Thanks: 11 Thanked 96 Times in 13 Posts	VISIBLE Pre-code nudity in film. Did it exist? I'm looking for a definitive analysis of VISIBLE nudity in pre-code (1934) films and/or how extensive it was. I've seen lots of discussions on the 'net claiming it. But when it gets down to examples, they always turn out to be 'implied' rather than visible. I mean, if I see an actress is in a bathtub and her shoulders and upper cleavage are bare it IMPLIES she's naked. And maybe she was, on set. But I want to SEE it, not just believe it. So far there's the well-known example of Hedy Lamar in ecstasy (1933) but that was an import; I'm not sure it was ever actually shown in US theaters at the time. And I DON'T mean "underground" films (I KNOW those existed); I mean regular Hollywood-ish films that could be shown in at least some (if not all) theaters in the USA open to the general public. Did such visible nudity actually exist in pre-code Hollywood?

January 18th, 2017, 08:51 AM	#5
Paddy Bog Vintage Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Beyond the Pale Posts: 961 Thanks: 44,589 Thanked 56,859 Times in 1,015 Posts	Yes. Here are some pics of Claudette Colbert in the famous milk bath scene from C.B. DeMille's "Sign of the Cross"(1932). One modern reviewer said, "He never would have gotten away with it if they were filming in color." Last edited by Paddy Bog; June 21st, 2017 at 09:50 PM..

January 17th, 2017, 07:55 PM	#2
BennyHillFan Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 18 Thanks: 11 Thanked 96 Times in 13 Posts	Closest I've been able to find (so far) is the swim scene from Tarzan and His Mate (1934) where "Jane" is played by Maureen O'Sullivan but in the scene is body-doubled by olympic swimmer Josephine McKim. I've gone over it like it was the Zapruder film and... I'm not sure. Clearly, the studio wants the audience to believe that "Jane" is naked. And there's plenty of butt cheek, more than I've see in any other film of the era... but that could also mean a clever G-string. And when she flips over underwater, a couple of smudges in one or two frames that might or might not be nipples... or just might be due to the underwater lighting. Close, but not quite. I am not unambiguously convinced.

January 17th, 2017, 11:00 PM	#3
maxedout Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: The People's Republic of South Lancashire Posts: 296 Thanks: 57,673 Thanked 3,230 Times in 288 Posts	Cecil B Demille managed to get a fair bit of nudity into his pre-code movies (e.g. The Sign of the Cross, Intolerance etc.) mostly in historical group scenes. Let's face it, any film set in ancient Rome has to have an orgy somewhere. The wikipedia page "Nudity in Film" is brief but interesting & gives a few of the more famous examples.

January 18th, 2017, 05:50 AM	#4
Mister Fide Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Nearly there Posts: 892 Thanks: 23,075 Thanked 17,987 Times in 890 Posts	Yes is the short answer. However, finding the clips would not be easy. More than half the movies ever made no longer exist! There is a very brief topless shot of Jean Harlow, either from Red-Headed Woman (1932) or Platinum Blonde (1931). She is in a bedroom & as she removes some clothing over the top of her head, her nipples are seen just above the top of her slip! I know for certain because i have seen it.

January 19th, 2017, 11:56 PM	#8
isambard1803 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 122 Thanks: 2,926 Thanked 826 Times in 106 Posts	CAUTION - Something decidedly odd happens with the Ancensored link for the Harlow clip. A page opened which I could only escape by using task manager.