esrosedotblog

DELAYED REACTION

When I wrote about I Am Curious--Yellow (1964) below, I mentioned the film I saw in 1955 or so that had the first on-screen nudity in a feature to be shown in the US.

I remember it now.

Hon dansade en sommar / One Summer of Happiness (1951)

It has one nude scene, a couple swimming. And then there is some sex but not very explicit. The man over the woman then fadeout. Moon, grass, water.

The film is a classic "the parents don't understand" love story between two young lovers who do not match socially. Or something.

This film was obviously not the first film to have a nude scene but it was the first to be imported for the purpose of exhibition and, thus, became a test case.

I saw it in 1954 or 55 after it had cleared its hurdles. Like most films of this type, it was only shown in art film houses. A limited audience. Somehow that kept the local censors off the theater's back but still, it caused a furor in each city in which it appeared.

In those days, there was no rating system such as there is today. Each jurisdiction could set up its own rules and regulations and, in some cases, a censorship office.

In Boston, there was a lot of censorship because of the Roman Catholic predominance. But this was the first sign of slippage in their tight control of society there. Numerous colleges and universities as well as a much more liberal electorate and the end of RC dominated mayors helped break the embargo.

There is a DVD but Netflix does not carry it. The only review on IMDb is in greek. End of an era. I guess it has been superseded by more satisfying fare,

The geezer thinking process.

It is funny. My memory is pretty good if I give it some time and have the motivation.

24 hours isn't bad. The trouble is that, by this time, everyone I was talking to went home.

But here, you are stuck. You can't go home.

Labels: films