The First Nudie Musical
| The First Nudie Musical | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Mark Haggard Bruce Kimmel |
| Produced by | Jack Reeves |
| Written by | Bruce Kimmel |
| Starring | Alan Aberlew Leslie Ackerman Diana Canova Bruce Kimmel Stephen Nathan Cindy Williams |
| Music by | Bruce Kimmel |
| Cinematography | Douglas Knapp |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | March 1976 |
| Running time | 97 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $200,000 |
The First Nudie Musical is a 1976 American motion picture directed by Mark Haggard and Bruce Kimmel.
[edit] Overview
The movie is a comedy starring Cindy Williams and Stephen Nathan. Nathan plays Harry Schechter, heir to a Hollywood studio forced to make a musical comedy porno in order to stave off bankruptcy. The movie features a series of farcical lewd musical numbers in the style of classical Hollywood musical comedies including: "Orgasm", "Lesbian Butch Dyke", and "Dancing Dildos." The movie has low-budget feel, with a "musical-within-a-movie" theme in the tradition of Singin' in the Rain but with satirical sexual humor. An early staple of Cinemax, it has become a cult classic since its initial release and was released on DVD in 2001. It was one of several farcical musical-comedy collaborations between Kimmel (who also co-starred in the movie) and Williams, along with The Creature Wasn't Nice in 1981. Originally distributed by Paramount Pictures in 1976, it was picked up by World-Northal in 1977 and re-released to great acclaim, first in New York, where it opened the same week as New York, New York and got much better reviews, played for three months exclusively at the 68th Street Playhouse, and then went into wider distribution - the week it went wide it was the fourth highest grossing picture in the United States.
The film is featured in Danny Peary's Cult Movies II book and also in Peary's Guide For The Film Fanatic. The film has recently been digitally restored for Blu-ray and will be coming out at the end of 2011. There is also a stage adaptation in the works.
[edit] Production Notes
- Diana Canova, who would later star on the sitcom Soap, sang for the film's soundtrack and appeared in the film as "Juanita" ("Eets yust so beeg!").
- Cindy Williams had started appearing in her hit series Laverne & Shirley when she was called back to film an added slapstick scene involving a camera crane. She wore a hat to cover her longer hair which would not have matched her previously filmed scenes. The video cover promoted a guest appearance by Ron Howard, although his contribution was a very short appearance near the start of the film.
- Although the movie does include a good deal of nudity, Cindy Williams does not appear nude in the film, nor do any of the leading players, save for Alexandra Morgan and Alan Abelew.
- The run-down studio used for exterior scenes was Raleigh Studios in Hollywood. The studio, then called Producer's Studio, underwent a renovation shortly after filming.
