Nude on the Moon (1961)

Nude on the Moon (1961). 1h 23m | Unrated

“If there were an Oscar category for most sincere performance in a ridiculous movie (and there should be!), Lester Brown and William Mayer would surely have been nominated for their work in Doris Wishmanu0026#39;s u0026quot;Nude on the Moon,u0026quot; a jaw-dropping sci-fi u0026quot;nudie cutieu0026quot; in which Brown and Mayer play a pair of intrepid astronauts who discover the first interplanetary nudist colony.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBrown, a handsome Wishman veteran who also appeared in Dorisu0026#39;s u0026quot;Blaze Starr Goes Wildu0026quot; (1960), u0026quot;Gentlemen Prefer Nature Girlsu0026quot; (1962), and u0026quot;Behind the Nudist Curtainu0026quot; (1964), plays dedicated young scientist Jeff Huntley, who decides to use his $3 million inheritance to finance a trip to the Moon along with mentor and colleague William Mayer (i.e., the u0026quot;Professor.u0026quot;)u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOne of the amazing things about the film is the amount of time and care devoted to its exposition and set-up. The extended opening sequence is surprisingly well written, and is easily on par with any sci-fi u0026quot;Bu0026quot; movie from the early sixties. Brown and Mayer are credible and convincing throughout, which only makes the lunacy (no pun intended) all the more surreal. Their straight-faced, deadpan performances help make the film the giddily preposterous gem that it is.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTop billing is afforded nudie model u0026quot;Marietta,u0026quot; who appears in the double roles of Brownu0026#39;s secretary, Cathy, and the Moon Queen. She was obviously cast on account of her physical attributes, yet sheu0026#39;s actually a decent actress, and her brief scenes as Brownu0026#39;s lovestruck secretary are sincere and believable. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film opens with a cheesy and inexplicably lengthy shot of the twinkling heavens as might be viewed from the moon, accompanied by Judith J. Kushneru0026#39;s catchy title song, u0026quot;Moon Dolls,u0026quot; sung by Ralph Young, who would later partner with Belgian singer Tony Sandler to form the famous recording duo of Sandler and Young. (Another interesting footnote: Doc Severinsen of Johnny Carsonu0026#39;s u0026quot;Tonight Showu0026quot; not only contributed to the musical score but also appears in the cast list, though I challenge anybody to recognize him as one of the half-naked u0026quot;moon men.u0026quot;)u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOne of the great things about this movie is the sunny, Florida-travelogue photography. And there are one or two beautiful and almost breathtakingly unconventional shots of our heroes driving along rain-slicked Miami blacktop under a menacing canopy of thunderheads. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThereu0026#39;s also a clever in-joke that occurs whilst our intrepid astronauts drive through Miami Beach on their way to the launch pad. Just as Clint Eastwood walked past a movie marquee advertising the Eastwood-directed u0026quot;Play Misty for Meu0026quot; in Don Siegelu0026#39;s u0026quot;Dirty Harry,u0026quot; Brown and Mayer drive past Miami Beachu0026#39;s Variety Theater, the marquee of which is emblazoned with the title of another Doris Wishman film, u0026quot;Hideout in the Sunu0026quot; (in u0026quot;Nuderama!u0026quot;)u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe great drive-in movie critic Joe Bob Briggs listed u0026quot;Nude on the Moonu0026quot; as one of his u0026quot;Sleaziest Movies in the History of the World,u0026quot; however I would respectfully disagree. For sheer sleaze, the film hardly measures up to Wishmanu0026#39;s u0026quot;Bad Girls go to Hellu0026quot; (1965), u0026quot;The Amazing Transplantu0026quot; (1970), or her latest offering, u0026quot;Satan was a Ladyu0026quot; (2001). In spite of the liberal above-the-waist nudity, u0026quot;Nude on the Moonu0026quot; is one of the least sleazy movies Iu0026#39;ve ever seen. Iu0026#39;ve seen many films with far fewer bared breasts that were a thousand times sleazier. If anything, this most famous of Wishmanu0026#39;s films strikes the viewer not with its venality but its astounding innocence.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOne of the most interesting things about the film was that it was shot at the oddball south Florida tourist attraction, Coral Castle, the bizarre history of which is detailed in Florida journalist Eliot Kleinbergu0026#39;s entertaining book u0026quot;Weird Florida.u0026quot; Coral Castle was also used as a location in James L. Wolcottu0026#39;s u0026quot;Wild Women of Wongau0026quot; (1958) and Herschell Gordon Lewisu0026#39;s obscure fantasy opus, u0026quot;Jimmy, the Boy Wonderu0026quot; (1966).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCult fans will immediately recognize blonde cutie Shelby Livingston in a non-speaking part as one of the fetching u0026quot;Moon Dolls.u0026quot; Shelby is best remembered for her role as disaffected housewife Bea Miller, who gets her arm hacked off in H.G. Lewisu0026#39;s southern-fried gorefest, u0026quot;Two Thousand Maniacs.u0026quot;u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eA delirious mixture of campy humor, harmless nudity and Florida kitsch, u0026quot;Nude on the Moonu0026quot; is a priceless cinematic gem from a more innocent time. A silly, wonderful, charming little film.”