North of the Border

For some unknown reason, our northbound cousins didn't start producing sex comedies until the 1980s, but when they did...well, the results were impressive to say the least. Screwballs (1983) and its sequel Loose Screws (1985) contain some memorable lingerie scenes, including a full-blown striptease by Cynthia Belliveau at the climax of the second movie.

While there was very little outright nudity in either film, the directors took the humor as far as they could, having eager young starlets falling out of their clothes as often as the script permitted. The ever-popular faux "medical" examination was put to good use in both movies, as suggested by the screencaps posted below:

 

 

Sabadão com Celso Portiolli

The temperatures are on the rise again in Brazil, where the local chicas apparently strip down to their bras and panties to avoid the heat. Not sure whether the "News in Briefs" was a regular feature, but a cursory web search suggested that the girls on Sabadão com Celso Portiolli weren't adverse to revealing their lenceria from time to time.

On first viewing this clip, there was some confusion as to whether the Gatas were wearing bikinis or lingerie, but on closer inspection it became abundantly clear we were getting our money's worth. Evidently, the segment was some kind of competition, in which each girl was judged on how well she reported the news. Why their choice of underwear was relevant to the discussion was anyone's guess, but we sure as heck weren't complaining.

 

Benny Hill: Elsie

Elsie (Abigail Higgins) is the unwitting 'star' of Benny Hill's 1981 Channel Surfing sketch. Preparing to bed down for the evening, Elsie walks into the living room where newscaster Benny ogles her through the television screen. Nonchalantly removing her sheer blue negligee, Elsie strips down to her bra, panties and stockings in front of the stammering anchorman.

 

Unaware this is happening, Elsie moves around the apartment as Benny repeatedly misquotes the news, looks out the back of the set when she crosses behind it and even steals a bite of her pastry through the screen. When Benny later reports that an escaped convict (Bob Todd) is loose in her neighborhood, the criminal immediate bursts into Elsie's apartment and hides in her wardrobe, closely followed by two police officers (Henry McGee and Roger Finch) strolling into the house. 

Seeing all this, the newscaster tries to warn them, but they turn down the volume on the television which he then turns back up. When the criminal is caught hiding, a struggle ensues, and the newscaster is shot through the TV monitor, lamenting that the only casualty was an innocent newsreader. Finally looking at the television, Elsie comments "Look at that - drunk again."

Summary by Thor2000.

Noches con Platanito

Even when they're broadcasting from the United States, our Mexican compadres still find a way to sneak a few gratuitous stripteases into the broadcasting schedule, as ably demonstrated by Sergio Veruzco in his red-light comedy Nights With Platanito.

Each week, a pair of lucky young chicas were chosen to shed their inhibitions in The Frisby Challenge - basically two random dudes throwing frisbies at a plastic target. Not exactly must-see TV, until you notice that whenever a disk hits the mark, one of the girls removes an article of clothing :)

Noches con Platanito ran for 25 seasons between 2013 and 2020. Though not quite as 'spicy' as its hispanic counterparts, the show always featured stunningly beautiful starlets in designer lingerie. We also had the spectacle of a clearly drunken Sergio (dressed as a clown who'd give Pennywise nightmares), spurring the contestants on with shots of tequila whenever the frisbies didn't fly straight.

 

Carry On Cowboy

And now it's back to the Old West in 1965's Carry On Cowboy (Anglo-Amalgamated, UK). Featuring a brief appearance by the Ballet Montparnasse, the film's cancan sequence is one of the best-remembered of the 1960s, due to the overwhelming popularity of the Carry On franchise.

Notorious outlaw Johnny Finger (Sid James), rides into the frontier-town of Stodge City, immediately gunning down three complete strangers and taking over the local saloon. Within a few weeks, Belle's Palace has devolved into a den of iniquity, where a troupe of cancan girls (played by the Ballet Montparnasse) entertains the criminal element.

 

Naturally, the puritanical Judge Burke (Kenneth Williams) is mortified by the sight of pretty young women "showing their underthings" in public ("right up to here") and attempts to close the show down, the ensuing conflict leading to one zany situation after another. 

Las Temibles de Argentina

This sketch is about as silly as they come, but well worth a look all the same. Grandpa is pleasantly surprised (to say the least) when Grandma invites Las Temibles over to sing "happy birthday:"

If we're reading the translation correctly, Las Temibles were an Argentine girl-group that made it big on Peruvian TV during the late 80s. While their repertoire was largely musical, they were also accomplished comedic actresses, appearing in numerous variety shows until they found a home on Risa y Salsa (Panamericana Televisión, 1980-1999). As a general rule, "The Fearsome Ones" usually wore skimpy outfits, they occasionally stripped down to their lenceria on special occasions (as suggested in the vid-clip posted above).

Rede TV: Joao Kléber Show 2

Those saucy Brazilians and their hidden camera pranks - if there's one thing better than two stunning chicas stripping down to their undies in public, it's three of them modeling their intimates for precisely the same reason :D

 

 

In another memorable skit from the Rede archives, four astonished customers get the surprise of a lifetime when the Kléber girls perform an impromptu lingerie parade (driving the female onlookers into a screaming tizzy in the process).

 

Lingerie Soccer Revisited

It's been five long years since the last coin toss, and I still can't figure out why WK in Lingerie never caught on. I mean, who in their right mind wouldn't want to see dozens of beautiful young women running around in their underwear??

 

Judging by the video posted below, Germany was the headlining team, often beating out the opposition by at least half a dozen points. Not that they had it easy, mind you - Korea, Italy and the Netherlands all put up a valiant defense whenever the girls squared off.

 

Afternoon Delights?

More evidence that Japan is home to the most advanced civilization on the face of the planet: while Western kids were raised on a steady diet of Scooby Doo, Groovie Goolies and Everything's Archie, Japanese pre-teens were fed a healthy blend of panty shots and lingerie scenes via the popular media.

Chargeman Ken

 

Yes, it's all completely true: back in the late sixties, Japanese audiences were treated to scenes like this literally every day after school. Japanese Animation (anime, for the uninitiated) had a long history of fan service, particularly where young female characters were concerned. As the years wore on, the cartoons became increasingly more risque, leading to impromptu stripteases in shows like Cutie Honey (1973) and Majokko Megu Chan (1974). 

Majokko Megu-Chan

Sure beats the heck out of Sabrina the Teenaged Witch, doesn't it? All kidding aside however, it's worth noting that live action panchira was extremely popular on Japanese TV, so the transition to anime was probably inevitable. Despite periodic outcries from P&T groups and child welfare advocates, the trend caught on and soon became a staple of the cartoon industry. In the space of thirty years, fan service went from this in 1970:

Mahou No Mako-Chan

 

...to this in 2000.

Gakko No Kaidan

Viewed as cute and harmless (if a little risque), shows like Gakko No Kaidan and Read Or Die were aimed at a young demographic, mainly adolescents and middle-schoolers. Most of the humor was family friendly; kids could laugh at the jokes while their parents smiled at the frequent innuendos.

 

Read Or Die

La Flash Royalê

The Royal Flash is a dance step predominantly featured in the French Cancan, in which the dancer bends over from the hip and throws her skirts over her head, revealing her pantied bottom to the audience. Originally conceived as a way of mocking bourgeois social values, it is now often employed as the climax to the dance.

Lily demonstrates a classic Royal Flash.

In recent years, a similar form of social mockery has emerged in the guise of Twerking. Gaining popularity in night clubs and street festivals, twerking consists of thrusting the hips and shaking the bottom in time to a baseline rhythm. While the routine may be performed in jeans or shorts, many women opt to fold back their hemlines (levanta falda in Spanish) to exhibit their g-strings or tangas.

Ava reveals her best side to the audience.

 

 From:The Two Faces of Doctor Jekyll (1963)

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