In our weekly seriesAnatomy of a Nude Scene, we're going to be taking a look at (in)famous sexscenes and nude scenes throughout cinema history and examining their construction, their relationship to the film around it, and their legacy. This week, Caddyshack features a topless scene from Cindy Morgan, who introduced an entire generation of men to the concept of nudity on film!
Dads. Where would we be without them? From the dawn of home video, Dads have been an endless source of movies with content in them that you "shouldn't tell your mother about," which they'd say before showing you something amazing like Full Metal Jacket. These movies that Dad showed you almost always had violence and profanity in them, and on rare occasions, nudity. Conan the Barbarian is a big quintessential Dad movie, asare The Blues Brothers, Stripes, Predator, Ghostbusters,Rocky, Die Hard, Airplane!, The Jerk, the list goes on and on. If it centers around sports, had explosions, featured stupid jokes, had either an SNL alum or a big name action star, Dad loved it and might watch it with you.
1980's Caddyshack is probably on the Mount Rushmore of Dad Movies. I hope that's not a controversial statement, but it's got everything a Dad wants from a movie. It ticks off a lot of the boxes pertaining to comedies that we just talked about. Dads also almost always forgetthat when, 58 minutes in, lowly caddy Danny (Michael O'Keefe) beds the comely Lacey Underall (Cindy Morgan) in the bed of Judge Smails (Ted Knight), she's nude for a while before the Judge busts in to find him.
Dads get so caught up in quoting the movie and swapping lines of dialogue and Rodney double takes and Carl Spackler impressions that they totally forget that this scene is even in the film. And why would they? It's random, lastsless than a minute, and is followed by a much more memorablescenewith Dannyhaving to confront the Judge in his own bedroom. PoorCindy Morgan's topless sceneseems to exist solely to get nudity in the flick, which was all the rage in raunchy comedies now thanks to Animal House.
As a result of this confluence of circumstances, a great many young men growing up in the VHS era, were exposed to Caddyshack at an early age thanks to forgetful fathers. Sure, the more conscience fathers in the group my have fast-forwarded through the scene, but most didn't. They wanted to see those boobs again for themselves too. So whether you had a Dad who fast-forwarded or one who let it play, here's the scene in all its uncut glory to enjoy once more for the first time...
00:58:33 She and Danny fool around in the Judge's bed. Great golf balls from Ms. Morgan! (1 min 23 secs)
In the Biography Channel documentaryCaddyshack: The Inside Storyfound on the film's Blu-ray and DVD releases, Michael O'Keefe reveals that director Harold Ramis—making his feature directorial debut—ordered the set closed on the day the nude scene was being films. O'Keefethought it would make Cindy Morgan feel more comfortable ifthe crewpresent took off their shirts.It instead had the reverse effect, making her more nervousby surrounding her with shirtless crewmen.
Released forty years agolast month, Caddyshackdid well at the box office, grossing nearly $40 million on a budget of $6 million. It exploded on home video and cable, however, thanks in no small part to the Dads of North America. Perhaps some poor guys maybe only saw it for the first time on basic cable and the topless scene was likely excised entirely. Hell, the whole didDannyknock upMaggie O'Hooligan (Sarah Holcomb) subplot is cut from a lot of cable versions of the flick as well.
So yeah, a lot of guys have likely popped their nudity cherry elsewhere... But a select cross-section of people—late Gen-Xers into early Millennials, who tended to have older, late Boomer/early Gen-Xer parents—can say that Cindy Morgan's were among the first bare breasts they ever saw or certainly that made a big enough first impression.
So while Dads were talking about "Cinderella Stories" and "free bowls of soup" accompanying purchases of hats, men of my generation will always remember Caddyshack for being the first place we saw boobs. It's a memorable scene, one for the record books, for sure, and its myth is perpetuated—intentionally or not—by Dads everywhere. Oh, and also, stick with Dad's advice and steer clear of Caddyshack II. They say "The Shack is Back," but it isn't. It's not back. Don't waste your time.
Catch up withour most recent editions ofAnatomy of a Nude Scene
—Maggie Gyllenhaal Holds Nothing Back in Secretary
—Demi Moore Took a Record Paycheck to HeadlineStriptease
—That Time We All Fell in Love with Kelly Preston inMischief
—What Happened with Marisa Tomei's Nude Scene fromUntamed Heart
—Cybill Shepherd is Uncomfortably Relatable inThe Last Picture Show
—Penelope Cruz Does Very Different Nude Scenes Playing the Same Role inOpen Your EyesandVanilla Sky
—Joyce Hyser Becomes an 80s Icon inJust One of the Guys
—Charlize Theron Lands on the Map with2 Days in the Valley
—SirensMay be Plural, But All Eyes Were on Elle MacPherson
—Eva Green's Star is Born in Bertolucci'sThe Dreamers
—Phoebe Cates Takes a Dip and Becomes a Legend inFast Times at Ridgemont High
—Kim Basinger Gets All Wet for Mickey Rourke in9½ Weeks
—Molly Ringwald Does Her Only Topless Scene inMalicious
—Straw DogsRaises That Pesky Issue of Consent
—No Amount of Plausible Deniability Can Excuse What's Going On inCaligula
**Click Here to Read All Past Editions of Anatomy of a Nude Scene/Anatomy of a Scene's Anatomy**
