Welcome to my new short series called Hippie Hotties where I plan to talk about a hippie-era movie that stretched the limits of free love and sex by showing off some sexy nudes on the big screen. This era of experimentation led to some pretty far-out films, so let's take a look!
Goldie Hawn has had a skincredible career, but younger audiences might not realize that she made a name for herself as THE hippie heartthrob in her heyday. The blonde ditz started off as a go-go dancer in New York City after she dropped out of American University. She was a trained ballerina, but she got her kicks at the go-go. I would give anything to get a chance to watch Goldie dance, that's for sure. She got swept up in the burgeoning countercultural movement, as well as her own interest in an entertainment career, so she moved to California and found work in theater. She soon became a cast member on a small sitcom that banked on her "dumb blonde" comedic chops. That is essentially where her ditzy persona came from.
That same comedic persona was used and heightened in the sketch comedy sensation Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. She really socked it to us with those big blue peepers of hers. From dancing with a painted body and a bikini to giggling at every other joke, Goldie quickly became the '60s IT girl. She was seen by the mainstream as the leading hippie, even though she was mostly just playing a part. However, this leads to Goldie being cast as the free-spirited romantic lead in a number of movies...which is why we have gathered here today.
My personal favorite of Goldie's grooviest roles is Cactus Flower. She sadly did not go nude in the movie, but it was the beginning of Goldie's magnetism on the big screen and it earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She showed that she can be vulnerable, flighty, flirty, and sweet all in one role. It felt like she was the prototype of what would become known as the "manic pixie dream girl" as the free-spirited girl who changes a square dude's life. Leave it to hippie chicks, man. She essentially played that same type of character in the critically-acclaimed comedy Butterflies are Free. Do you know what else was free? Goldie in her white bra and panties.
She also starred in There's a Girl in My Soup in which she really did go nude. Not only did she star as a nineteen-year-old nymph, but Peter Sellers - remember him from last week? - stars as a girl-crazy dude who meets his match with this pretty young thing who has a reputation of being a man-eater.
Goldie wasn't the only nude chickadee in There's a Girl in My Soup. Geraldine Sherman also goes topless like a real groovy chick, as does Gabrielle Drake who shows her booty. This is another fun hippie-era movie, although it isn't as heavy into the peace as it is into the love. There sure is a lot of free love happening in this movie! That Sellers seemed to know what he was doing in the 1960s and 70s by hitching his wagon to the free love train for the sake of movie comedies.
All of these movies wound up bringing us the Goldie Hawn we know and love today. Her career simply soared from there and she continued to play a "dumb blonde" well into her middle age. It's all thanks to her ability to capitalize on playing a "hippie chick" in these 60s and 70s movies. These comedies are also perhaps the most watchable today compared to other movies like these because of Goldie's fantastic performances. See some of it for yourself here:
