Kipling's Women (1961)

One of the first of the Nudies to gain wide-spread showing in the U.S., although still relegated mostly to the grind houses or, in some situations, long-time schlock distributor Kroger Babb "four-walled" it, by renting the theatre for a flat fee and taking all of the proceeds including, according to one exhibitor, the theatre rental fees. This film purports to be "A Picturization of Rudyard Kipling's Immortal Poem---The Ladies." It starts with retired soldier and world-traveler Tommy Atkins in a pine lodge enjoying his pipe and 4-fingers of Scotch, and there to provide other creature comforts is the voluptuous Cameo Girl, while Tommy opens a Kipling volume that he allows is an account of his own experience with women around the world. The selling point in the ads is that all the women shown "are wearing the wind" and nothing else. Very true. Very naked. In addition to showing some nude shots in the press book, co-producer Harry Smith has inserted a plea to the projectionists to please don't snipe the film frames. Instead, just write him at 6310 Willoughby in Hollywood and he will send them them a complete set of color slides on all six gals...Free. (The offer is no longer valid, so save your stamp. None of your business how we know.) "Sweet Thing of 16" is publicized as actually being a 16-year-old high school junior from New Mexico. The odds are at least 100-1 that she could have produced a drivers license showing she was at least 21 if anybody from Hollywood's Juvenile Division of the police department had come poking around the set. Those who only buy "Playboy" for the stories can watch this and enjoy it for Kipling lines such as "the Colonel's Lady and Judy O'Grady are sisters under the skin." The Smith Brothers (not Mark and Trade) prove it here.—Les Adams