10 Types Of Movies You Don't See Any More

Prior to the release of Russ Meyer’s The Immoral Mr Teas (1959), the “tasteful” exhibition of female nudity was confined mainly to Nudist films, which purported to be documentaries about the lifestyles of the naturist movement. Meyer did away with the setting, added a plot and, when the picture grossed over a million dollars, the “Nudie Cutie” craze was born.

Produced for adult theatres in the United States (“Grindhouses”), the films were cheap and primitive, yet incredibly profitable. Several “name” filmmakers worked in the subgenre, including Doris Wishman (Nude On The Moon), Herschell Gordon Lewis (The Adventures Of Lucky Pierre) and Ed Wood, who scripted Orgy Of The Dead (1965).

As social attitudes to onscreen nudity changed, the films became less popular so producers began adding such elements as prostitution, drug use and sadomasochism, giving their films a harder edge. Known as “Roughies”, these violent films dwelt on the darker side of sexuality.