10 Early Nude Scenes in Films | Pre Code History
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None — 6 years ago(January 27, 2020 11:28 PM)
The Pawnbroker (1964)
After the filmmakers appealed to the MPAA's appeals board to oppose censoring the film, it became the first U.S. film to show a nude woman from the waist up and be granted a Production Code Seal. It was the first of a series of confrontations between filmmakers and the MPAA in the 1960s, that would lead to the abandonment of the Code within five years, in favor of a ratings system. -
MortSahlFan — 6 years ago(January 28, 2020 12:10 AM)
Jayne Mansfield was the first major American actress in a Hollywood film to have a nude scene in Promises! Promises! (1963) and I'm sure there has been more.
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geewizzz — 6 years ago(January 28, 2020 03:58 PM)
I think that's noted because it was made during the time the Hayes code was becoming defunct and the rating system was about to begin, but Mansfield wasn't the first, and her nude scenes in
Promises! Promises!
were shot for the European version…the American version was cut at the time.
The studios were adding nude scenes prior to that for European versions of American made films - Marilyn Monroe had done a nude scene in
Something's Gotta Give
but the film wasn't finished…she was fired then she died.
Natalie Wood did a nude scene for the European version of
Splendor In The Grass- a scene with her running nude down the hallway mostly showing her bare behind.
Jan Sterling bared her breast for the European version of
High School Confidential - the scene is included in the documentary,
Hollywood Uncensored
But there were a few films with fleeting glimpses of nudity that got past the censors before then with major stars.
It goes way back to silent films with Gloria Swanson, Clara Bow, Betty Blythe and Theda Bara.
Claudette Colbert flashed her boobs in
The Sign of The Cross
…a few others since then.
Nudie films were made during the Hayes Code era…they were just made outside the studio system.
Films made outside the country also weren't affected by the Hayes Code unless released in the U.S. - then they were censored for U.S. audiences if they included nudity.
Are you okay?
- a scene with her running nude down the hallway mostly showing her bare behind.
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MortSahlFan — 6 years ago(January 28, 2020 04:11 PM)
Interesting..
I really like the movie "Splendor in the Grass" and must have downloaded the puritanical American version.
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timhood — 2 months ago(January 16, 2026 02:56 AM)
You might want to look up Audrey Munson, star of more than one film beginning in 1915 in which she appears nude. While she wasn't a "movie star" yet (as this was still the dawn of motion picture films), she was well known as the model for multiple statues that appeared in many location in New York City alone.
If that one doesn't qualify, surely Hedy Lamarr in Ecstasy does.