Berlin’s Elke Schletz was a true pioneer. As Elke Sommer, she did nude scenes in the early 60s, even in 1961 and 1962, when she was the only game in town. Her 1963 nude scene in Seduction by the Sea was arguably the nude scene of the year, since it included a distant full frontal, but it would not have won our hypothetical poll for that honor since Jayne Mansfield was better known. One nude scene, possibly her best, is lost. There was a European version of The Victors in which she did full rear nudity and exposed her pubic area in a scene with George Hamilton. That was in 1964. Unfortunately, nothing remains of that version except a couple of stills. No print is known to exist. Such a shame! She appears in a bra and jeans for the American version.
If our annual poll had existed at the time, and if the Euro version of The Victors were available to view, Elke would have been at or near the top in every single year, 1961-1964. Although Elke was the queen of nudity when no other actresses were doffing their duds, there was some irony in the fact that she kept her clothes on when cinema nudity became more acceptable in the mid 60s. As far as I can determine, she did no film nudity of consequence in the period 1965-1973, although she did pose for Playboy in 1967 and 1970.
She did make a nice, if too brief, nudity comeback in 1974-75, and she still looked great in her final nude scene at age 34 in The House of Exorcism, but she chose to keep her clothes on for the rest of her film career, which lasted several more decades.
1961 – Daniella by Night
1962 – Sweet Ecstasy, AKA Sweet Violence
1964 – Seduction by the Sea
1964 – The Victors (European version)
1967 – December Rabbit Mag
1968 – The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz
1970 – September Rabbit Mag
1974 – Einer von uns Beiden
1975 – The House of Exorcism
