freakboy on film: The Films of Doris Wishman: THE DAYLIGHT YEARS (1960-1964)

Here we end this Doris Wishman retrospective at the beginning.  We leave behind her Grindhouse Twilight Years and her Roughie Moonlight Years to bask in the lush sunlight of her Daylight Years.  These six sun-kissed celluloid creations are nudist camp films.  

Yeah, you read that right!  So, slap on the sunscreen, grab a well-placed towel or beach ball, because full-frontal is forbidden, and prepare to go back to nature by going nudist! 

NUDE ON THE MOON (1961) 

written by Jack Caplan & Doris Wishman/directed by Doris Wishman 

Dr. Jeff Huntley doesn’t want to get married because he’s already married to science.  After a rich relative dies, Jeff and his mentor Professor Nichols can finally build a rocketship to fly to the moon.  Once on the surprisingly lush lunar surface, the two men scientifically explore minerals, plants and the topless inhabitants.  Will these Moon Dolls cause Jeff to change his mind about marriage or will he run out of oxygen during his thorough extraterrestrial exploration?  With the debatable scientific jargon, offkilter dialogue, and weirdly effective low budget special effects, this feels like a nudist camp film directed by Ed Wood.  Throw in a swingin’ theme song and the Moon Queen’s haunting voice and it’s not surprising that even I couldn’t resist its early 60’s innocent kitschy charms.  Added bonus is that a chunk of the film was shot at the famous Coral Castle in Florida. 

BLAZE STARR GOES NUDIST(1962) 

written & directed by Doris Wishman 

Where in the world is superstar actress Blaze Starr?  Tony, her fiancé/agent, wants Blaze to attend press events and cocktail parties.  A film studio bigwig named D.W. wants Blaze to renew her contract.  All Blaze Starr wants is some peace and quiet.  After seeing a nudist camp film while escaping into a theater, Blaze decides to go nudist!  Will this brazen display of breasts while playing chess, picking strawberries and doing laundry end her career and engagement?  A swingin’ theme song, some fun dialogue and relentlessly innocent silliness made me enjoy this film.  Unlike Blaze, I do not feel inspired to spend a weekend at a nudist camp, especially if I am forced to attend a nude accordion concert. 

HIDEOUT IN THE SUN (1960) 

written by Eugene Fernett & Doris Wishman/directed by Larry Wolk & Doris Wishman 

Duke Martin has successfully robbed a bank with his brother Steve, getaway car driver extraordinaire.  Well, almost successfully.  They ditch their vehicle and carjack Dorothy’s sweet convertible ride, but the cops have closed all roads out of town.  Dorothy may hold the key to their escape because she is a member of the Hibiscus Country Club.  They can lay low there while waiting for their getaway boat guy to dock.  Of course the club is actually a nudist camp!  Will the brothers go nudist?  Will Dorothy fall in love with one of them?  Will the boat guy dock in time for nude archery?  This is the most low key crime drama ever.  The suspense is barely palpable but the kitsch has a pulse, especially with yet another swingin’ theme song!  However, HIDEOUT IN THE SUN lacks the overall charm of the first two films in this set. 

GENTLEMEN PREFER NATURE GIRLS (1963) 

written & directed by Doris Wishman 

Anne and Tom are secretly married at the office because their boss doesn’t want married couples working for him.  Mr. Bennett is also against nudists and fires Tom when he finds his nudist membership card on the floor.  What are Anne and Tom going to do?  Will Tom find a job at the nudist camp?  Will Anne attempt to convince Mr. Bennett to hire Tom back?  Will Mr. Bennett learn the joy of healthy living through a nude life?  The kitsch cred is knocked down a notch by a lack of a swingin’ theme song, but the amusing swimming pool music almost makes up for it.  Overall, it’s a harmlessly goofy story with yet another nude accordion concert and the new addition of nude teeter-tottering.  All I kept thinking was how those splinters are gonna hurt! 

DIARY OF A NUDIST (1961) 

written & directed by Doris Wishman 

Arthur, the head of a newspaper, gets lost in the woods and stumbles across a nudist camp.  He decides to have Stacy, his blondest reporter, go undercover and expose the shocking facts about nudism.  When Stacy loses objectivity by becoming a sun lover, Arthur must go undercover and write the articles himself.  Will he write the truth about nudism or go for a more sensationalistic angle?  A swingin’ theme song almost makes up for the thinnest of thin plots.  However, there’s still kitsch to go around, especially with the grandmotherly head of the nudist camp, who was playing herself.  I just don’t understand why she didn’t inform Arthur that walking around in swim trunks is not being a nudist. 

THE PRINCE AND THE NATURE GIRL (1964) 

written by Andrew J. Kuehn/directed by Doris Wishman 

According to the Blu-ray liner notes, the plot of this “comedy of mistaken identity” is as follows, “a wealthy handsome ‘Prince’ catches the eye of identical twins who compete for his heart at the office and a nature camp.”  The reason I have to quote the synopsis is because I wasn’t sure what was going on since the film was not in English and my half-blind eyes couldn’t read the subtitles.  According to IMDb, THE PRINCE AND THE NATURE GIRL was a lost film until a German language print was discovered.  There is supposedly a recreated English dub out there, but not in this box set.  Personally, this is the least effective of these films because more than half of it is comprised of scenes from Wishman’s previous nudist camp flicks.  Though I do appreciate the soap opera plot.

All I kept hearing during this box set was Neely O’Hara in VALLEY OF THE DOLLS saying, “Boobies, boobies, boobies.”  Even though nudist camp films come across as innocent propaganda for the healthy, sun-loving nudist lifestyle, they’re really about boobies.  Oh, there are some shirtless men and bare bums, but cinematic nudist camps are mostly populated by perky young women. 

According to the audio commentaries, Doris Wishman has the distinction of being the most prolific nudist camp filmmaker.  Having not seen other nudist films, I can’t contrast and compare.  I can only imagine Wishman’s take on the genre is something special.  I mean, a sci-fi nudist film and a nudist crime drama seem to be proof that Doris truly did her own thing even at the beginning of her career. 

In conclusion… 

The only reason I purchased this box set was because my filmic OCD forced me to complete my Doris Wishman Something Weird/AGFA collection.  I was expecting to just roll my eyes, but I found THE DAYLIGHT YEARS was more entertaining than THE MOONLIGHT YEARS, which I’m sure just caused longtime Wishman fans to collectively gasp.  Who knows though?  Maybe when I rewatch the three box sets, my opinion will change.  However, no matter what I think, the films of Doris Wishman need to be experienced! 

In case you missed it, go back to the future for Doris Wishman’s Twilight Years! 

Freak Out, 

JLH 

P.S. Is Doris Wishman done with me?  I can only answer the question with a question.  Do you really think I can resist experiencing films with such titles as SATAN WAS A LADY (1975) and DILDO HEAVEN (2002)? 

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