The nudist films of Doris Wishman

Appreciating a badass feminist filmmaker for International Women's Day

When Max Nosseck’s film Garden of Eden (filmed at Lake Como Family Nudist Resort in Lutz, Florida) was released in 1954, it caused a stir: the film was put on the Catholic Legion of Decency’s condemned list and the studio Excelsior Pictures was denied a license to publicly exhibit the film in New York. This led to the court case Excelsior Pictures vs. New York Board of Regents. In 1957, the New York State Court of Appeals ruled that onscreen nudity was not obscene, allowing the film to be exhibited and opening the floodgates for onscreen nudity, which led to the return of the nudist exploitation film, not seen since the 1930’s. Leading that return was a short, middle-aged widow named Doris Wishman who had previously worked as a film booker and knew what kinds of movies people wanted to see.