Carol Doda Topless at the Condor

This has a slightly misleading title, because while this documentary does indeed cover the uncovered Carol dancing at this club, its not 100% focused on her.

Carol for those who didn't know was a topless and then bottomless dancer in 1960's who became semi-famous based on the fact she was interviewed a number of times by the press due to her exploits. Of course there were many other girls doing the same but she had a higher public profile.

One of the reasons she became so well known was for being one of the first American girls to have breast augmentation, a practice copied from Japanese girls to attract the attention of American soldiers. However at this time this was industrial grade silicon which was simply injected without any thought of the consequences.

She was also involved in a number of indecency court cases which centred around first topless and then bottomless dancers, who knew that in the 60's some women's bathing suits had no top?

However it really the nightclub that is the core of the documentary, partly because Carol isn't around and that some of the other club staff are. And these clubs were as sleazy as you would expect.

Its an interesting snap shot of 60's American sleaze, however it still has a contemporary edge. Because like many young women today who opt to sell their bodies for cash, she also struggled to find love, due to her profession. It seems not much has changed when it comes to "adult entertainment" and the girls who provide it.

As "Carol Doda Topless at the Condor" (2023 release; 101 min) opens, we are in "San Francisco, 1964", and it is clear this is a swinging town. We get to know Carol Doda, as she starts at the Condor night club as a waitress. George 'n Teddy was the musical act (we get to see a picture when George 'n Teddy meet the Beatles, yes THE Beatles). At this point we are 10 minutes into the documentary.

Couple of comments: I found this documentary super entertaining and enjoyable for a number of reasons. First and foremost, the film makes stopped no efforts to dig out archive footage form that era, and as a result do a great job what life was like in San Francisco in the early 60's. At one point, we are reminded that the 1964 Republican Convention (a/k/a the Barry Goldwater Convention) took place at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. Can you imagine? Another interesting thing is that apparently topless went mainstream following Carol Doda's breakthrough, and you could find topless everything, even a topless band (called the Ladybirds). Absolutely crazy.

"Carol Doda Topless at the Condor" apparently was released in 2023. If it was in theaters at all, I missed it. I happened to stumble on it the other night while browsing Amazon Prime. The movie is currently rated 96% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and for good reason. If you have any interest in the counter-culture of the early 60s in San Francisco, I'd readily suggest you check it out, and draw your own conclusion.

For a hot subject i couldnt make it past ten minutes. I fast forward talk.talk.talk.we arent interested in managers. The brief clips of Carol topless and dancing are just that-brief. How can you take San Francisco Northbeach and just plod along. Cut this in half. Cut the endless reminiscing. When i turned eighteen and eighteen year olds were now considered adults my friend and i went. The young gogo girls were beautiful and smiling. They looked like they were having fun. Then Carol Doda....not so much. It was like watching my grandmother dance and i dont mean that as a compliment. That evening in late 1973 was like this documentary?....very mediocre.

One of the best documentaries about the 60's! It was like Berlin from the late 30's moving to San Francisco thirty years later with all the Jews... full freedom of "expression" on any level! Marlo McKenzie and Jonathan Parker managed to catch the spirit of the time and it felt right, regardless how wrong it was.

The starting events were taking place in 1964, focusing on Carol Doda, who became the first dancer to perform without a top. Carol Doda was the first to don a "monokini," by the way; designer Rudi Gernreich had just introduced the topless women's swimwear. That created a great deal of buzz and led to several copies as well as lawsuits and arrests. Five years later, she again made history with a "bottomless" performance, however this time she was not successful in court.

Interviews are done with the club owners, employees, and surviving dancers. It's amazing how much these people admire Carol. Her intuitive instinct about what was entertaining demanded respect, and her towering boldness at being the first topless dancer is evident. Her interviews show us how beautiful, charming, and fun she was-always cracking a joke about her good looks. Carol and other characters are also included in the dance and song that Bobby Freeman eventually recorded, which was inspired by "The Swim". Along with learning about the history of Rudi Gernreich's topless swimsuit, "the Monokini," Carol also consents to silicone injections... that cost her dearly at the end...

I have always been interested in the 1960's era which had significant impact on both the moral values of North Americans as well as the right to see the difference of individuals thoughts and beliefs.

Of course where there is money to be made, Americans above all other nations will stretch the limits of both the current laws and moral values.

Carol Doda, was an attractive young woman in the early 1960's who just happened to be the right woman at the right place and at the right time to be expolited. Or, let me rephrase, maybe it was Carol Doda who was doing the exploitation, by taking advantage of the sexual revolution and introducing first the local San Francisco nighy clubbers to her topless strip tease shows at the Condor Club, located at the corner of Broadway and Columbus in the North Beach section of San Francisco. This documentary also touches on the introduction of breast augmentation(s) by public figures (no pun intended) such as Carol Doda both of her risks and her reward$.

Her act included descending from a large hole in the night clubs ceiling while dancing topless on top of a piano. It must have been quite the spectacular show in the 1960's and remained so until arrests were made across the strip shows in San Francisco. The arrests were front page news as was the eventual trial and acquittal of Caro Doda and her co defendants right to continue to strip topless.

This is a documen I give it a well deserved 7 out of 10 IMDb rating.tary well worth seeing.