Plot: What’s it about?
Sophie Durville (Agnes Laurent) is a beautiful young woman from an upper class background, so she seems to have all the bases covered. But of course, she has problems like anyone else does and in her case, her problem is love and the potential loss of that important element. She has fallen for a handsome medical student, but he is headed to Paris and in leaving town, he also leaves poor Sophie behind. But as her parents have spoiled her rotten her entire life, she simply pouts a little and bends the truth, to follow her hunk. So soon enough, Sophie finds herself on the way to Paris to reclaim her love, but that isn’t all she’ll discover, to say the least. Once she arrives, she is swept into the unique culture of Paris, which includes boys of all kinds, shopping like she’s never dreamed of, and various nightclubs to attend. In these clubs she first learns of girls who striptease and she is quite taken with the practice. But she is able to watch for only so long, as she desires to be on the stage herself, throwing her inhibitions to the wind. Has this country girl lost her morals, or is she just out to have some fun?
I’d never been able to see this film before, but as was the first film released by Radley Metzger’s Audubon Films, I couldn’t wait to finally take in The Nude Set. So was the picture worth the wait? It was well worth the wait and more, as it is a wild and very fun picture that stands as one of the more enjoyable sex comedies I’ve seen of late. I was a little worried it might fall short of my expectations, but The Nude Set surpassed them all and deserves to find a much wider audience, without a doubt. Also known as The Fast Set, this movie stars the gorgeous Agnes Laurent (Sins of Youth, Soft Skin on Black Silk) in the lead and she earns her paycheck, to say the least. She has such a warm, sexy, and likable presence here, she simply lights up the screen at times and really delivers a memorable performance. The film has a light, sometimes bubbly texture to it that makes it so much fun to watch, just a charming and well made picture in all respects. I highly recommend this film to not just those interested in Audubon type releases, but anyone who enjoys a light, entertaining film with lots of beautiful women.
Video: How does it look?
The Nude Set is presented in a full frame transfer, which seems to be an acceptable aspect ratio. I say this because I see no pan & scan and the framing seems on the mark, some product ads would even be covered if widescreen bars were present. The black & white image looks good here, with stable contrast levels throughout, although time has softened the visuals a tad, but not enough to be concerned about. You will see some age related print flaws however, from minor nicks to more serious flaws, but to be honest, I expected much worse here. A full restoration would be most welcome, but given the limited audience involved, I wouldn’t hold my breath and instead, just enjoy this nice, solid visual presentation.
Audio: How does it sound?
The audio here is basic by design and as such, the included track is more than acceptable, though not much more than that. The years have done some damage to the materials, but the elements don’t suffer too much, still more than stable. The music is never distorted and while sound effects have little punch, we shouldn’t have expected them to, given the age & nature of the feature film. This disc sadly only includes an English language version, which means the original French track is nowhere to be found here. I am knocking the score a shade for this omission, but the included track is still listenable, of course.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes some still photos, liner notes, and the film’s theatrical trailer.
