Documentary Cult Classic

A 1932 globetrot through nudist camps, health fads, and the art of volleyball—socks optional.

THIS NAKED AGE

Q: What is This Naked Age about?

This Naked Age is a 1932 American documentary that explores the phenomenon of nudism worldwide, using narration and stock footage to showcase nudist camps in Germany, France, and the United States.

Authentic Trip Through An American NUDIST COLONY!

1932 · 57m · NR · Documentary · IMDB TMDB

Using some stock footage and voice-over narration, this film examines the phenomenon of nudism throughout the world. Beginning in ancient Greece, the film tells of the origins of the nudist movement in the 4th and 5th centuries to the present.

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Quick Answer

What is This Naked Age about?

This Naked Age is a 1932 American documentary directed by Michael Mindlin that examines the phenomenon of nudism around the world, using stock footage and narration to explore nudist colonies in Germany, France, and the United States.

Programmer's Pick

Come for the 'probing questions,' stay for the extensive footage of volleyball played the way nature intended. This Naked Age is a time capsule of 1930s health fads and continental attitudes toward nudity—more interested in spectacle than sociology, but all the more entertaining for it.

— SassyFlix Programmer

Overview

This Naked Age (sometimes referred to as "This Nude World") is a 1932 documentary that takes a cheeky, globe-trotting look at the practice of nudism across several countries. Framed as a moral inquiry into the origins and customs of nudist colonies, it mostly serves as an excuse to showcase long shots of nude recreation—think volleyball, swimming, and group exercises—in Germany, France, and the United States. The film features pre-WWII footage of cities, offers glimpses of well-known resorts like the Lido de Paris, and sprinkles in a dash of health-fad philosophy. With its mix of stock footage, voice-over narration, and a parade of real-life nudist figures, This Naked Age delivers both ethnographic curiosity and period spectacle, all while sidestepping overt controversy to pass censors of its time.

Details & Specs

Director: Michael Mindlin
Writer: Jan Gay
Release: 1932
Runtime: 57m
Country: United States of America
Language: German, French, English
Genres: Documentary
Also Known As: This Nude World, Back to Nature, Original title: This Naked Age

Cast & Crew

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Director: Michael Mindlin Writer: Jan Gay

LD Leo Donnelly Narrator (voice) AK Adolf Koch Self AD André Durville Self GD Gaston Durville Self ID Ilka Dieball Self MK Marcel Kienné de Mongeot Self VB Vincent Burke Self

Explore More

Sexploitation Mondo Female Nudity Nudity Camp New York City Boat 20th Century France Swimming Vacation 1930s Physician Travel Germany Nudist Nudism Nudist Camp

Why Cult

Pre-WWII Nudist Footage

Rare glimpses of nudist camps and resorts in Germany, France, and the U.S. before World War II provide historical curiosity and travelogue flair.

Mondo-Style Exploitation

The documentary's real aim is to get naked people on screen under the guise of moral inquiry, laying early groundwork for the mondo and sexploitation genres.

International Health Fads

Witness the era's fascination with nudism as a health movement, with scenes of exercise, swimming, and group activities across multiple countries.

City Portraits

Enjoy wonderful prewar footage of cities like Paris, Normandy, and New York City, capturing a lost world alongside its bare-skinned inhabitants.