Mondo Topless
Encyclopedia
Mondo Topless is a 1966 pseudo documentary directed by Russ Meyer
, featuring Babette Bardot
and Lorna Maitland
among others. It was Meyer's first color film following a string of black & white "roughie nudies", including Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
While a straightforward sexploitation
film, the film owes some debt to the French new wave
and cinéma vérité
traditions, and is known to some under the titles: 'Mondo Girls' and 'Mondo Top.'
Its tagline: "Two Much For One Man...Russ Meyer's Busty Buxotic Beauties ... Titilating ... Torrid ... Untopable ... Too Much For One Man!"
The film was banned in Finland
.
Movement somewhat similar to the Beatnik
or Hippie
movements that were highly prevalent during the same era. The "Topless" movement as it is called by the narrator could also be perceived as an allegorical subsect of the Sexual Revolution
of the 1960s.
The Philadelphia, PA based garage-rock group Mondo Topless
named themselves after the film.
of the early 1960s. The first and most successful of these was Mondo Cane
(A Dog's World). The purpose of these films was to bypass censorship laws by presenting both sexual and graphically violent material in a documentary format.
Mondo Topless shares some stylistic similarities with Jean-Luc Godard
's collaborative effort, Le plus vieux métier du monde (The Oldest Trade in the World). Mondo Topless, like most other Meyer films, drew much of its inspiration from the more relaxed European attitudes toward sex, and was followed by a host of imitators.
Russ Meyer
Russell Albion "Russ" Meyer was a U.S. motion picture director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, actor and photographer....
, featuring Babette Bardot
Babette Bardot
Babette Bardot is the stage name of a Swedish actress who appeared in Russ Meyer's films, including Common Law Cabin and Mondo Topless....
and Lorna Maitland
Lorna Maitland
Lorna Maitland is a film actress noted mostly for her large-breasted figure and appearances in three Russ Meyer films: Lorna, Mudhoney and Mondo Topless. Her given name is Barbara Popejoy...
among others. It was Meyer's first color film following a string of black & white "roughie nudies", including Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! is a 1965 exploitation film directed by Russ Meyer, who also wrote the script with Jack Moran. It stars Tura Satana, Haji, and Lori Williams....
While a straightforward sexploitation
Sexploitation
Sexploitation, or "sex-exploitation", describes a class of independently produced, low-budget feature films generally associated with the 1960s and serving largely as a vehicle for the exhibition of non-explicit sexual situations and gratuitous nudity. The genre is a subgenre of exploitation films...
film, the film owes some debt to the French new wave
French New Wave
The New Wave was a blanket term coined by critics for a group of French filmmakers of the late 1950s and 1960s, influenced by Italian Neorealism and classical Hollywood cinema. Although never a formally organized movement, the New Wave filmmakers were linked by their self-conscious rejection of...
and cinéma vérité
Cinéma vérité
Cinéma vérité is a style of documentary filmmaking, combining naturalistic techniques with stylized cinematic devices of editing and camerawork, staged set-ups, and the use of the camera to provoke subjects. It is also known for taking a provocative stance toward its topics.There are subtle yet...
traditions, and is known to some under the titles: 'Mondo Girls' and 'Mondo Top.'
Its tagline: "Two Much For One Man...Russ Meyer's Busty Buxotic Beauties ... Titilating ... Torrid ... Untopable ... Too Much For One Man!"
The film was banned in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
.
Plot
The film presents a snapshot of '60s San Francisco before shifting its focus to strippers. The strippers' lives are earnestly portrayed as they reveal the day-to-day realities of sex work, talk bra sizes, relate their preferences in men, all voiced over while dancing topless to a faux "rock" soundtrack. Throughout a large portion of the film, the narrator talks about the women as if they are a Sub-Genre of the Counter CultureCounter Culture
Counter Culture is a 2005 compilation double album by English folk/rock singer-songwriter Roy Harper featuring 25 classic Roy Harper songs, cherry picked according to his mood in April 2005. This collection spans 35 years of song writing and is intended as an introduction for anyone who's not sure...
Movement somewhat similar to the Beatnik
Beatnik
Beatnik was a media stereotype of the 1950s and early 1960s that displayed the more superficial aspects of the Beat Generation literary movement of the 1950s and violent film images, along with a cartoonish depiction of the real-life people and the spiritual quest in Jack Kerouac's autobiographical...
or Hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
movements that were highly prevalent during the same era. The "Topless" movement as it is called by the narrator could also be perceived as an allegorical subsect of the Sexual Revolution
Sexual revolution
The sexual revolution was a social movement that challenged traditional codes of behavior related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships throughout the Western world from the 1960s into the 1980s...
of the 1960s.
Cast
- Babette BardotBabette BardotBabette Bardot is the stage name of a Swedish actress who appeared in Russ Meyer's films, including Common Law Cabin and Mondo Topless....
as Bouncy - Pat BarringtonPat BarringtonPat Barrington is a dancer and actress who appeared in The Agony of Love and Mondo Topless .-Filmography:-External links:...
as Herself (as Pat Barringer) - Sin Lenee as Lucious
- Darlene GrayDarlene GrayDarlene Gray is a stripper and actress who appeared in Russ Meyer's 1966 film Mondo Topless. Roger Ebert reportedly said that Gray, a natural 36H-22-33 from Great Britain, was "undoubtedly the most voluptuous actress [Russ] Meyer has ever used in a film," .-Filmography:-Magazine Appearances:*...
as Buxotic - Diane Young as Yummy
- Darla Paris as Delicious
- Donna X as Xciting
- Veronique Gabriel as Herself (Europe in the Raw footage)
- Greta Thorwald as Herself (Europe in the Raw footage)
- Denice Duval as Herself (Europe in the Raw footage)
- Abundavita as Herself (Europe in the Raw footage)
- Heide Richter as Herself (Europe in the Raw footage)
- Gigi La Touche as Herself (Europe in the Raw footage)
- Yvette Le Grand as Herself (Europe in the Raw footage)
- Lorna MaitlandLorna MaitlandLorna Maitland is a film actress noted mostly for her large-breasted figure and appearances in three Russ Meyer films: Lorna, Mudhoney and Mondo Topless. Her given name is Barbara Popejoy...
as Herself (Lorna screentest footage)
In popular culture
Mondo Topless became the focus of a brief comedy bit on The Opie and Anthony Show on XM Radio in 2006. Since that time, the introduction to their morning radio show plays a clip of Meyer saying "But enough of this palaver! Let's get the show on the road!"The Philadelphia, PA based garage-rock group Mondo Topless
Mondo Topless (band)
-History:Mondo Topless formed in 1992 in Philadelphia, and take their name from the 1966 film of the same name. The group's Stooges-inspired garage rock is distinguished by their use of a Vox Continental electric organ. Their debut single was the 1995 7" release, "I Want You To" b/w "Real Gone...
named themselves after the film.
Documentary traditions
The title Mondo Topless derives from the series of "mondo" filmsMondo film
A mondo film is an exploitation documentary film, sometimes resembling a pseudo-documentary, usually depicting sensational topics, scenes, and situations...
of the early 1960s. The first and most successful of these was Mondo Cane
Mondo cane
Mondo cane is a documentary written and directed by Italian filmmakers Paolo Cavara, Franco Prosperi and Gualtiero Jacopetti. The film consists of a series of travelogue vignettes that provide glimpses into cultural practices around the world with the intention to shock or surprise Western film...
(A Dog's World). The purpose of these films was to bypass censorship laws by presenting both sexual and graphically violent material in a documentary format.
Mondo Topless shares some stylistic similarities with Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is often identified with the 1960s French film movement, French Nouvelle Vague, or "New Wave"....
's collaborative effort, Le plus vieux métier du monde (The Oldest Trade in the World). Mondo Topless, like most other Meyer films, drew much of its inspiration from the more relaxed European attitudes toward sex, and was followed by a host of imitators.