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!
Are you ready for a real visual trip? Then strap on in and check out 1968's Candy. The cool soundtrack, the fashion, the hot leading lady, and a star-studded cast round out this '68 cult classic.
This film IS a comedy, but it is a comedy about sex that shows us the sexual journey of an innocent young lady. The script was written by Buck Henry and the movie was directed by Christian Marquand. Marlon Brando, John Huston, James Cobourn, Ringo Starr, and even Richard Burton all star in this odd film.
Candy takes us on a journey through Candy Christian's life. She starts off as a simple, innocent blonde babe with dreamy blue eyes. The film starts with her daydreaming at her desk in a classroom where her teacher played by John Astin (Gomez! Addams!) is yelling at her. She finally answers him by saying "yes daddy" - it's not a sexual thing. It turns out the teacher really is her dad, so Candy can't be free anywhere.
Candy is played by Ewa Aulin is does the whole doe-eyed doll act perfectly. She looks a like Sharon Tate and she speaks in a seductive whisper throughout the film. Where exactly did Ewa come from? She is a Swedish model who actually won Miss Teen Sweden in 1965.
The film shows Candy innocently trying to expand her surroundings and have new experiences, but they all wind up being a sexual mess. Even when she sleeps with Ringo Starr! Ringo, by the way, plays a gardener even though he is absolutely dressed like a Beatle. He speaks in a really bad Mexican accent and his part is probably something he wishes could be forgotten forever. That being said, he does strip our starlet down to her skivvies.
After their sex scene, it is revealed that Ringo's character was a virgin who was studying to be a priest. His sisters arrive on motorcycles to fight for their brother's honor. Catfight! Sadly, none of the three foxy dark-haired dames go nude...but Candy goes nude shortly after this. She can't stop taking off her clothes!
Candy, her father, her uncle, and other people they take with them along the way all go on this wild adventure to find the meaning of life...but Candy keeps getting into very sexual situations. Hey, she can find purpose through that, too.
In one scene, Candy is pinned against a wall by Anita Pallenberg who wears a sexy nure's outfit. She is in love with a doctor that Candy is looking for - honestly, there is way too much to explain and this is literally only halfway through the movie - and it is eventually revealed that Anita's character is SO gaga over the doctor that she carved his initials into her breast.
The actors in the movie seemed to have mixed feelings about the final product which also answers why so many of them agreed to this film in the first place. The answer? The script and the director didn't really see eye-to-eye. Coburn said he felt that, "the film could have been a lot more funny. Unfortunately, the director's timing was of a European nature. The jokes were always a beat behind. They were often a beat off."
Well, the movie certainly did make people beat off. But I see what he means. The script's jokes were meant to be faster-paced than the director realized.
My take is that the jokes are just fine. It's the humor itself that might be the problem. Almost nothing about the humor in this movie ages well, but it's possible audiences in the 1960s simply didn't find it funny either. Marlon Brando said of his experience in the film that this was "the worst movie I ever made in my life". He only agreed to do the movie because he was longtime friends with the director.
While the movie got a little bit lost in the sea of other psychedelic movies at the time, Aulin did earn a best new actress nomination at the Golden Globes. Far out!
Ewa Aulin barely acted after this film because she found herself being stereotyped. She only acted in one other American movie, a comedy with Gene Wilder called Start the Revolution Without Me, and then she went to Europe to act in several Italian films. She wound up marrying an Italian man, retiring from acting, and going to university to become a teacher. It's safe to say all of her students were likely hot for teacher.
Candy, like a lot of other psychedelic films at the time, later became more of a cult classic. But it still isn't as well-known as other movies like this. Candy reminds me A LOT of the Ringo Starr vehicle The Magic Christian. It has that same fast pace and leads its characters on a series of adventures, much like the classic Voltaire novel Candide. In fact, the film was described as a psychedelic Candide.
The movie also utilizes rock music from Steppenwolf and The Byrds as well as jump-cuts that 60s filmmakers borrowed from The French New Wave. Most of all, it uses sex and the loss of a square girl's innocence to tell its story. That's the hippie way!
Watch one of Ewa's sexy scenes here where all of her clothes are torn off of her body by a guru:
