Nell Shipman's name isn't one of the first ones people think of when conjuring the names of silent starlets, but she is seriously underrated. That's why the Canadian cutie is the topic of today's #TBT article because she deserves a throwback spotlight.
This Beauty from Victoria, BC was born in 1892 and she worked with her hubby to become early pioneers. They wrote and produced Back to God's Country which featured one of the earliest nude scenes in global film history. It's not as prominent as our previous #TBT subject Audrey Munson, but it's certainly worthtalking about because it was the first of its kind.
Nell undressed and shot a scene of herself bathing in a waterfall without a bathing suit or body double - not even Maureen O'Sullivan did that! Look closely and you can see some black-and-white nips as she turns around to get out of the waterfall.
This movie was an incredible success, but the rest of Nell's film career was rocky. She created her own production company to be an indie producer. Her first few films were successful, but due to distribution problems, her company ended up going bankrupt.Naughty Nell passed away in 1970 in California, but we have this historic nude scene to remember her by.
