Mondo Topless (1966)

After failing to get a DVD of Mario Bava's Gothic Horror The Whip And The Body to work on any of my DVD players,I decided,the after having spent an hour frustratingly trying to get the DVD to work,that I would instead watch an easy-going movie.With having found auteur film maker Russ Meyer's original Nudie Cutie period to be one that was light and pretty easy to watch,I decided o take a look at Meyer's last ever feature film visit to his Nudie-Cutie era.The plot:Starting in San Francisco and travelling across Eurpore,the film takes a look at some of the most successful/popular go-go dancing/strip clubs in the world,with the movie makers interviewing a number of the club's biggest dancers about what gives them the adrenalin rush to dance.Along with looking at the go-go dancing/strip clubs,the movie also takes a look at the behind the scenes of of the film that led to Russ Meyer leaving the Nudie-Cutie era behind:Lorna.View on the film:Checking a bonus interview on the DVD of the movie,I was surprised to hear writer/cinematography/editor/co-producer/director Russ Meyer say that he hated the film,due to the only reason that he made the movie, (in 5 days!) being that his then-wife (and co-producer) Eve was moaning to him about how their last movie had not made as much at the box office as had originally been hoped.Whilst the 15 minutes or so of re-used footage from Meyer's earlier,near Silent Nudie-Cutie Europe In The Raw shows the very limited nature of the production,Meyer reveals that the titles he has made after finishing his Nudie-Cutie era have had a big impact on his sharp ear for the soundtrack of the film,with the (voiced over) interviews being backed by a terrific Surf Rock score from a band called The Aladdins and a witty narration by John Furlong,which all help to keep the movie moving at a quick pace.Along with the soundtrack,Meyer also includes some very interesting screen test forage from his first non-Nudie-Cutie movie Lorna,that along with acting as a nice behind the scenes section on the film,also displays how much Meyer has excitingly moved from his original roots.

This is a really great movie, hilarious! The narrator is just ridiculous, they keep calling it "the art of the topless" and how the girls are skilled in the art. Its a good movie to pull out when you have people over and need something to entertain everyone. Basically, its just girls who are topless talking about their jobs or other various things in their lives. It's pretty soft core & the most mischievous things one of the girls says is "When I go to bed, I don't wear a brassiere". The things the girls say are stupid but the movie is pretty caked in satire. The narrator actually says "try to concentrate on this girl as she's talking to you", its a joke! Old style movie but definitely worth it. Plus, it's entertaining! O & A party rock!

Although Russ Meyer made this movie in a hurry to make some fast money, he later came to see it for what it is - a classic sendup of the go-go and striptease girls of the swingin' 60's! The movie is sparse, even by Russ Meyer standards - just a music soundtrack accompanied by an announcer who introduces the "girls"!But the "girls" are something else! Most of them are California based professional strippers of the era who jumped at the chance to get in front of a movie camera and do their go-go bad thing. All of them are eye catching, but one stands out, literally, from the rest.Russ was actually ready to run this film through his paces, featuring the already well known Lorna Maitland, when he got a phone call from a great "procurer" friend, one Andy Anderson. He told Russ that he had a major discovery in front of him at a strip club in downtown Los Angeles (San Francisco has been incorrectly reported) and that Russ should "get his body down to a certain club a.s.a.p." in order to be the first to shoot her. Andy said "I'll hold the dogs off until you get here!"Russ complied, went to the club and together, he and Andy went to the dressing room of one Vivian Cournoyer. She had apparently just begun dancing at the club and was new to the art of striptease and the area, temporarily staying with a friend. Identifying himself, Russ asked Ms. Cournoyer to display the goods whereupon Russ got to see, according to him, "the greatest set of breasts I've ever seen or filmed", all the more remarkable on a petite 112 pound body!Realizing he had to act quickly in order to be the first to get this buxotic lady on film, Russ Meyer drove with her to the desert early the next morning and spent the entire day shooting stills and film of the woman he called Darlene Grey for his ode to the go-go era, MONDO TOPLESS. Darlene Grey went on to a short-lived career in magazines such as Arv Miller's FLING, posing as Candy Morrison, Vivian Moyer and Angela Carter.Then, as Russ tells it, she just disappeared from sight after less than a year of posing. Nevertheless, Russ Meyer still claims that MONDO TOPLESS has been one of his best selling videos over the years "simply because of Ms. Grey's great heaving chest".If for no other reason, enjoy this movie for the "girls", but especially for the extended "desert boogie au go go" done by Darlene Grey near the beginning. No less a film critic than Roger Ebert felt compelled to specifically comment on the voluptuous Ms. Grey in MONDO TOPLESS. Seeing her cavort, topless in the desert, holding a tiny AM transistor radio in one hand is an experience never to be forgotten!

Hilarious double-entendre narration (subtle as a sledgehammer) over "mod rock" music. Thoroughly pneumatic cast and hypnotizing choreography.