Diary of a Nudist

"Diary of a Nudist" is an exploitation film that was made at a nudist colony. Several similar movies were made and proclaimed that they were educational in nature, but they really were just excuses to show some lovely naked bodies to audiences. And, it's pretty hot stuff for 1961, though like other nudie films of the era there are no crotch shots.

Arthur assigns one of his reporters, Stacy, to go to a local nudist colony and write a spicy exposee in order to drum up readership and get the place closed. But, unexpectedly, Stacy finds she likes the folks there and the nudist lifestyle and joins the place. So, Arthur arrives in order to write his hit piece himself. Will he, too, succumb to the naturalist lifestyle?

There really is little in the way of plot....just lots of naked folks. But compared to many other nudie flicks of the era, this one has a bit better production values and lovely bodies (many were, conversely, not so lovely in other films). A strange but watchable curio.

Diary Of A Nudist was the kind of movie that was extremely controversial and daring 45 years ago. This was the kind of movie that teenagers with fake I.D.'s would go out to see at the drive-ins. For years, mainstream cinema never offered up any skin and seeing the kinds of nudie-cutie quickies from Russ Meyer, Herschell Gordon Lewis, and Doris Wishman certainly were a shock to the system. Today, films like this are considered to be curiosity pieces. There is tons of nudity but very little else. No titillation, no sexual situations, and nothing explicit. Just a group of healthy, beautiful people doing everyday things in the buff.

Still, the movie is a lot of fun to watch; even though there seems to be so much tedium and is slow moving. The scenery is beautiful and you feel you are seeing what Heaven would look like in 1961. There are some fine looking women who always seem to be carrying around hats, towels, and magazines over the more "controversial" private parts. Also, Davee Decker is quite lovely; even though her voice is dubbed.

If you long to see what an "adult movie" was like in the early days and can accept the fact that it is only nudity and nothing more then you will have some fun with this one. It airs occasionally on Drive-In Classics.

Is this a great movie? No. There is no real plot and no acting to speak of. But it's a great reminder of how movies were pre-Deep Throat.

Obscenity laws forced nudie filmmakers to make it appear that these movies promoted public awareness.

Hence, this is done as a pseudo documentary. Not unlike some of Russ Meyer's very early flicks. (Mondo Topless, etc.)

There's plenty of T&A. Full frontal female nudes abound.

The guy's are naked too, only you don't see anything.

What is striking about this movie is how hot the girls are. It's a fun movie to watch, but don't expect anything close to porn. It's really just hot girls lounging around in different places at the nudist colony.

It's so innocent it's great!

An interesting artifact from a bygone era, the "nudie-cutie" move, like the "nudist" movie and magazine arose during the few years between the allowing of nudity in movies and the de facto legalization of hardcore pornography. And then disappeared when hardcore porn became readily available and the skin magazines more explicit. Like "The Raw Ones" and later "Educating Julie" you can take this one as a "documentary" on the nudist lifestyle or an excuse to see naked bodies-girls-but in an un-explicit and more tasteful manner. I am amused to see the "acting" dismissed as "wooden", seen plenty of big budget productions with big names that did not do any better, and appearing in the buff took a bit of nerve back then. So sit back and enjoy it for what it isi.

Ever watch a dull, plotless movie just to see naked women?

Director Doris Wishman is known for pushing genre conventions to the limit, and here she combines wall-to-wall T&A with a phenomenally predictable storyline and a stunningly silly ending. (A few naked men, too, but they're not the focus.) The unrelenting wholesomeness may be shocking if you're familiar with Wishman's later, far seedier work.