Meyer's mad documentary about the topless industry, made to cash in on its boom in San Francisco. It features numerous shots of well-endowed models (most memorably Darlene Grey, aka Candy Morrison) in incongruous situations - doing the go-go in the desert, halfway up oil rigs - set against a soundtrack of tape-recorded interviews of the performers talking about the practicalities of working in the industry. All made in Meyer's typical quick-cut and montage style.
When made by Russ Meyer back in 1966, the need for quick cash was paramount in his mind. So this film, Mondo Topless, has sometimes been panned by the unknowing and by... more >
When made by Russ Meyer back in 1966, the need for quick cash was paramount in his mind. So this film, Mondo Topless, has sometimes been panned by the unknowing and by some critics as "not up to the Meyer usual standards", "just a go-go dancer show", etc.
Though plotless, the film has stood up well for two reasons. First, it shows the Meyer style at its most elemental, ie, wasp-waisted girls with oversized breasts in the famous Meyer "cut and run" editing style, all set to blazing, over-amplified 1960s music and mindless narration.
But secondly, it features perhaps Meyer's greatest find, among all his famous female stars. Darlene Grey aka Candy Morrison shot to brief stardom in Mondo Topless. Meyer loved to "discover" potential starlets who frequented the West Coast strip clubs. And that's what happened here.
Getting a call from one of his many buddy procurers one night, Meyer was told to "get down here as fast as you can while I hold off the dogs and bring all the film you can get your hands on!" Meyer did so, arriving at one San Francisco strip club, then to be introduced backstage to Darlene Grey, who had only just arrived on the scene and only briefly danced at this particular club.
One look at Ms. Grey convinced Meyer to immediately make her the star of his impending production of Mondo Topless, for which he had planned to use some old footage of star Lorna Maitland, his earlier lead in the now famous Lorna.
Realizing he had to act quickly, Meyer picked up Ms. Grey at 3am the next morning and drove to the California desert, specifically to the warm (in the Winter months) Chocolate Mountains, where he photographed and filmed her all day. He never saw nor heard from her again after that fateful day, but her great heaving chest made an impact on the buxom loving male public still felt to this day.
In short, her unbelieveable, all-natural figure is the highlight of the film. In her own words, taped
by Meyer, Ms. Grey says she is a 38DD, a fact not to be denied after seeing the film. She further states that she can't find a bra in the usual stores to fit and no less than PLAYBOY had turned her down as a potential centerfold because, as they explained, her bustline was too big!
Her au-go-go dance in the desert, topless of course and with only a very tight fitting pair of blue pants, is not for the faint of heart. Seldom has there been such a splendid figure in any movie from any time, Hollywood or otherwise! Thought she quickly disappeared from sight, her innocence coupled with her fantastic body, sold, by his own accounts, thousands of copies of the movie for Meyer over the years, thereby accomplishing exactly what he had set out to do, raise some quick cash!
No less a critic than Roger Ebert, also a fan of the larger than life buxom models in Meyer movies, stated that Ms. Grey was a "remarkable model" performing in the movie and that in so doing, "gained a measure of immortality" as the most buxom model ever featured in a Meyer movie. That was certainly true then and remained true to the end of Meyer's career, allowing that some of his later stars such as Kitten Natividad and Ann Marie, were full of silicone and anything but all natural.
Shortly thereafter, Darlene Grey, as Candy Morrison, appeared in Arv Miller's FLING magazine, using pictures taken by Meyer. And she appeared in a short b/w and color loop for a now defunct 8mm film company in Los Angeles and New York City. Then, she disappeared from sight, unlike some other Meyer Vixens, such as Kitten, Raven De la Croix, Turu Satana and others who prolonged their careers on stage, in movies and in magazines.
As a period piece, MONDO TOPLESS can be a fun movie to watch, a warm remembrance of those early silicone filled days of Carol Doda topless dancers capturing the imaginations of male fans around the world. They are all on display in MONDO TOPLESS. But among equals, Darlene Grey remains, always, a bit more equal than the other dancing Doda's in the film, an icon of perfection seldom if ever seen by the general public. < less
