Nude on the Moon | |
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Directed by |
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Written by |
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Produced by |
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Starring |
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Cinematography | Raymond Phelan |
Music by | Daniel Hart |
Distributed by | J.E.R. Pictures Inc. |
Release date |
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Running time | 83 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Nude on the Moon is a 1961 science-fantasy nudist film co-written and co-directed by Doris Wishman and Raymond Phelan under the shared pseudonyms "O. O. Miller" and "Anthony Brooks".
Nude on the Moon is the second of eight nudist films produced and directed by Wishman. While most nudist films of the time were set within a conventional nudist camp, apparently as a way to "get past" censorship, [1] Wishman decided to set the story in a nudist civilization on the Moon. [2]
Scientist Dr. Jeff Huntley inherits a fortune of US$3 million (equivalent to $30.59 million in 2023) from his uncle and invests it in the development of a rocket ship, built with the assistance of his mentor, Dr. Nichols.
After landing on the Moon, the pair discover a civilization of topless extraterrestrials led by a Moon Queen with telepathic powers.
Enamored of Dr. Huntley, the Moon Queen allows the men to take photos of the nudists during their everyday activities.
Their oxygen running low, the two are forced to return to Earth, realizing in the process that they've left their camera behind and have no proof of the aliens' existence.
Jeff is dispirited to learn that nobody believes their trip succeeded, but his spirits are lifted when he sees the resemblance between Dr. Nichols's secretary, Cathy, and the Moon Queen.
The movie ends as the two embrace, signaling the beginning of a new romance.
Nude on the Moon features the original song "I'm Mooning Over You (My Little Moon Doll)" sung by Ralph Young (who also plays a principal role in Wishman's Blaze Starr Goes Nudist under the pseudonym "Russ Martine"). Young would soon meet Belgian singer Tony Sandler and form Sandler and Young, a successful easy-listening duo, with him. The lyrics and melody were written by Wishman's niece, Judith Kushner. According to Wishman, future Tonight Show bandleader Doc Severinsen arranged the orchestration but is not credited.[ citation needed ]
The Moon sequences in the film were shot at Coral Castle in Homestead, Florida. [3]
In a review for AllMovie, Fred Beldin wrote:
"Charming and bubble-headed, Nude on the Moon is a good-natured fantasy for bawdy kitsch lovers." [3]
Nude on the Moon is considered a cult film. [4]
References to the film in pop culture include:
Naturism is a lifestyle of practicing non-sexual social nudity in private and in public; the word also refers to the cultural movement which advocates and defends that lifestyle. Both may alternatively be called nudism. Though the two terms are broadly interchangeable, nudism emphasizes the practice of nudity, whilst naturism highlights an attitude favoring harmony with nature and respect for the environment, into which that practice is integrated. That said, naturists come from a range of philosophical and cultural backgrounds; there is no single naturist ideology.
Robert Michael Schneider is an American actor, comedian and anti-vaccine activist. After several years performing stand-up comedy, Schneider achieved wider success as a cast member and writer for the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1988 to 1994, which earned him three Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
Coral Castle is an oolite limestone structure created by the Latvian-American eccentric Edward Leedskalnin (1887–1951). It is located in unincorporated territory of Miami-Dade County, Florida, between the cities of Homestead and Leisure City. The structure comprises numerous large stones, each weighing several tons, sculpted into a variety of shapes, including slab walls, tables, chairs, a crescent moon, a water fountain and a sundial. It is currently a privately operated tourist attraction. Coral Castle is noted for legends surrounding its creation that claim it was built single-handedly by Leedskalnin using reverse magnetism or supernatural abilities to move and carve the stones.
Doris Wishman was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. She is credited with having directed and produced at least 30 feature films during a career spanning over four decades, most notably in the sexploitation film genre.
Lionel Charles Jeffries was an English actor, director, and screenwriter. He appeared primarily in films and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his role in The Spy with a Cold Nose.
Charles Richard Webb was an American novelist. His most famous work is the 1963 novel The Graduate, which was made into a 1967 film of the same name.
A sexploitation film is a class of independently produced, low-budget feature film that is generally associated with the 1960s and early 1970s, and that serves largely as a vehicle for the exhibition of non-explicit sexual situations and gratuitous nudity. The genre is a subgenre of exploitation films. The term "sexploitation" has been used since the 1940s.
Happy Madison Productions, Inc. is an American film and television production company founded in 1999 by Adam Sandler, which is best known for its comedy films. Happy Madison takes its name from the films Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison, written by Sandler and Tim Herlihy, and distributed by Universal Pictures.
In film, nudity may be either graphic or suggestive, such as when a person appears to be naked but is covered by a sheet. Since the birth of film, depictions of any form of sexuality have been controversial, and in the case of most nude scenes, had to be justified as part of the story.
Herschell Gordon Lewis was an American filmmaker, best known for creating the "splatter" subgenre of horror films. He is often called the "Godfather of Gore", though his film career included works in a range of exploitation film genres including juvenile delinquent films, nudie-cuties, two children's films and at least one rural comedy. On Lewis' career, AllMovie wrote, "With his better-known gore films, Herschell Gordon Lewis was a pioneer, going further than anyone else dared, probing the depths of disgust and discomfort onscreen with more bad taste and imagination than anyone of his era."
Invasion of the Animal People is a 1959 Swedish-American black-and-white science fiction-monster film released to Swedish cinemas on August 19, 1959. The film was produced by Bertil Jernberg and Gustaf Unger, directed by American Virgil W. Vogel, and stars Barbara Wilson, Robert Burton, and Stan Gester. Written by Arthur C. Pierce, the film had most of its dialogue in English.
Goldilocks and The Three Bares is a 1963 nudie-cutie film from the legendary exploitation team of Herschell Gordon Lewis and David F. Friedman. The plot of the film has nothing to do with the famous fable which inspired the title. it was billed as the "first nudist musical".
Each Time I Kill is the final film that was written and directed by Doris Wishman. It was shot in 2002 shortly before Wishman's death from lymphoma, and post-production on the teen horror thriller was completed in October 2006. Tiffany Paralta stars as Ellie Saunders, a shy high school senior who finds a magical locket which will allow her to exchange one physical feature with anyone she murders.
William Reginald Beckwith was an English film and television actor, who made over one hundred film and television appearances in his career. He died of a heart attack aged 56.
Barry Mahon, born Jackson Barrett Mahon was an American film director, cinematographer and producer.
Man in the Moon is a 1960 comedy film directed by Basil Dearden. The film stars Kenneth More and Shirley Anne Field.
Blaze Starr Goes Nudist is a 1962 nudist film, produced and directed by Doris Wishman. The film stars legendary burlesque queen Blaze Starr and crooner Ralph Young.
Bikini Airways is a 2003 American made for cable erotic film written and directed by Fred Olen Ray.
One of eight nudist camp features that Wishman produced during the Kennedy years, it has ensured itself a camp following with its cockeyed vision of the lunar surface as a subtropical paradise (actually the Coral Castle in Homestead, FL).