Cult Epics sends us their latest release, American Nudes Volume 1, 2 and 3, complete in a boxed set. Volume 3 is exclusive to the boxed set, which I will say more about later.

These kinds of cheesecake films I am uncertain of how to review them. They are interesting, sometimes curious, sometimes kinky and other times boring. It is one thing to see nudity in the context of a story, but it is completely different when you are inundated by just a nude woman standing on the screen walking around. I felt like I was watching an Edweard Muybridge film. A naked woman does the dishes. Another naked woman waters her garden. Another is reading a book. So we see these ladies in their bare form performing mundane tasks. 

OK, I am being a little cynical here. These are rare films that were originally intended for “educational purposes”. Which we all know was the filmmaker’s way of circumventing the motion picture code of the day.

So, Volume 1 offers black and white films from 1940-1950. These are mostly the educational type of exploitation films where some just strip down to their pasties, and other show you their full skin. Some of them are of the burlesque kind, while others are outright strippers. For about 65 minutes you are treated some beauties of the time take it off for your eyes only. The opening film, I found funny, called “They Wear No Clothes!” and it starts with a disclaimer reading: “The aim of this film is neither to endorse nor to condemn Nudism, but to imparitally present views concerning this sociological problem.” Some of the dialogue is fun to listen to, such as one woman who was interviewed why she became a nudist. She explains its because of her stomach. The voice over asks, “Because of your contour?” She says, “No, it’s the way it felt.” The voice over asks, “You mean it felt good?” She replies, “No, it’s the way it felt when it was empty.” The voice over quickly picks up her point about being nude and finishes her sentence, “So you strip so you can eat”. Many of the girls justify their work as nudists because it pays well. Much like todays stripper bars, the pay is usually good, and the better looking you are, the better the pay. But this is just one episode of the 10 films presented here.

The nudity here is not really a turn-on by today’s standards, but mostly titilation. They are nice to see, but ultimately they are nostolgic pieces of film. The girls are definitely attractive (most of them), and many are voluptuous and well designed. Some of the early films have some sound issues, such as crackling and distortions such as echoing, but that is mostly due to age. Otherwise they are as clean as they can be given the material they are working with. The majority, however, are all silent and so the soundtrack is supplied with some cool Jazz sounds of the 40's.

Volume 2, ranging from 1950-1960, starts off with some angry, fighting women who wrestle until a state of undress. These kinds of footage have a particular audience who like to see cat fights which were popular in the day, especially the works of Irving Klaw (Also from Cult Epics). The disc then settles into a more intimate setting of seeing voluptious women strip. Here you can see, perhaps, some of the first ever breat implants as they were done in the 50’s. This set of films focus more on women actually doing strip teases, rather than mundane stuff, although there is your occasional woman undressing, or going about doing things in the nude. But for the most part you will see the act of stripping itself. The women are more slender as body types change that appeal to the senses of the day. By modern standards, these woman are more robust than the celebs and porn stars of our time. No pornographic or even softcore material here. The emphasis is mostly on the breasts and not much in the way of full frontal nudity. Ultimately there is little variation from the first volume, however, if you enjoy classic nudity, then this is some of the best stuff you will find. The disc is 65 minutes in length with 10 films in total. All the films are silent with hip Jazz sounds of the 50's.

Volume 3, as stated was exclusive to the boxed set, while volumes 1 and 2 can be purchased seperatly. The last volume is an entirely different ball game, which features softcore and hardcore films from 1960-1970 in color. It begins with 1 softcore features of women playfully touching each other and eventually getting undressed. Colors are highly saturated and so are quite vibrant, but equally nice to look at.

After the first softcore scene, it jumps into a hardcore lesbian scene. From there out, it is full blown hardcore action of doubles and triples. You are greeted with some anal, 2 guys and a girl, 3 girls, and a girl with a carrot and further on with a vegetable medley. The girls are not as nice looking as some of the nudes we saw earlier, however, they are certainly more frisky. One woman even looks pregnant judging from the size of her aureolas. But it’s all in the name of hot fun. None of the films have titles to them, so they are anonymous as to who made and starred in these films. No recognizable faces at least.

There are 10 films in that era, and once that is over, you have the pleasure of viewing some bonus material which is classic porn from way back. The first is called “A Free Ride”, which is thought to be the first American pornographic film made. This period of pornographic filmmaking is unique in that they are mostly of a comedic nature and that, sometimes, they actually are funny. They do not resort to the exploitation efforts of the 50’s and 60’s to circumvent a code, but rather are naieve and playful. The second short is a doctor/patient set up which is straightforward, and then lastly a man and woman whose efforts to get it on are thwarted once her husband gets home. She immediately throws him in the closet and in order to distract him, she entices him with sex. I contrast these with today’s porn and wonder why they do not take some tips from these classics. Modern porn is neither humorous, interesting nor meaningful. These short clips show a cuteness and originality where the sex has its place, but within a context of a situation, rather than a gynecological point of view where the sex is extrapolated from space and time and you are plunged into a world where the only reality is the inside of a vagina. With that said, these 3 classic bonus short films are appropriately all American, each from their respective decade of 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. The films are in too high of a contrast to always make out the image, which ultimately the people are washed out, which is unfortunate. I don’t know if anything can be done about it, but given the age, I suspect they are as good as they can get. The short “A Free Ride” is also in the film “History of the Blue Movie”, the classic documentary by Alex De Renzy. I don’t know if that version is any clearer.

Overall, it’s a worthy collection of rarities that has an adequate presentation with the extras a very welcome bonus. The set is a barebones collection (save the last disc) in a digipack. There is no insert or information on the packaging with the exception of a write up on the back and on the inside packaging it states how long and how many features. If naked women is what you are into, and you like that extra bonus of classic hardcore, then this is the set for you.

The difficulty with this set is Ryko’s recent discontinuation of all their hardcore material, and that includes this set. Not even out of the gate for distribution, and it was already announced that it was on moratorium. This does not mean you cannot get a copy. Some copies are floating around, and if you shop hard enough, you should be able to get a copy without much of an issue. All of the companies that currently have pornographic material in their library, including Cult Epics, are currently seeking a new distributor for these kinds of films. Amazon does not directly sell it, but is available through third party sellers as well as eBay.

In addition, if you enjoy classic hardcore, I also recommend Cult Epics line of Vintage Erotica Anno, circa 1920 through 1960, as well as in complete boxed sets. These are all classic French erotica, both soft and hardcore material, each catergorized by decade. Check out their website for more details.