Review by David Baldwin
In 1964, a cocktail waitress named Carol Doda made history as the first topless dancer in America — or more specifically at the Condor Club bar in the North Beach section of San Francisco. She set off an immediate media frenzy, attracting positive and negative attention to the club where she danced atop a white piano that descended from the ceiling. Her fight to entertain the way she wanted influenced many, as did her silicone enhanced breasts that propelled and created an entire industry.
Co-Directors Marlo McKenzie and Jonathan Parker take on Doda’s story and everything that comes with it in the not-so subtly titled Carol Doda Topless at the Condor. The documentary is a loving ode to the 1960s sex positive icon and revolutionary, and features candid footage from her legendary performances, along with talking head interviews discussing not only her legacy, but the legacy of the bar scene in North Beach as well. They get into some pretty salacious, warts and all details about Doda and the people revolving around her, including memories and rumours involving a death involving the white piano that was such an integral part of Doda’s act.
For someone like me with literally zero knowledge of Doda and the North Beach scene, Carol Doda Topless at the Condor was always interesting and at times genuinely shocking. I could not count how many spit-takes I had from some of the details being shared. McKenzie and Parker stick to the facts and the timeline, and compose a mostly entertaining documentary. Where they falter — and this may not necessarily be their fault — is that everything they present is completely surface level. Anytime anyone starts digging a bit deeper, the film cuts to another subject or aspect of Doda’s story or the greater story around her. We see the image and allure of what Doda wanted us to see, and any of the more private details remain shrouded in mystery (despite her having passed away in 2015). They do an admirable job trying to get around this by turning the focus to the likes of silicone enhancements and the clubs that sprung up in the wake of the Condor’s popularity, but sometimes get lost in the weeds trying to capture so much in the film’s 100-minute running time.
Those faults aside, Carol Doda Topless at the Condor is still a worthwhile documentary for those that do and do not know who Carol Doda was. I do not want to call it educational, but it was certainly enlightening. Just do not go in expecting deep, intimate levels of introspection.
Carol Doda Topless at the Condor is playing theatrically
at the following Canadian theatres starting April 5:
Cineplex Yonge & Dundas, Toronto
The Rio, Vancouver
VIFF Centre, Vancouver
The Playhouse, Hamilton
The Metro Cinema, Edmonton
The Mayfair Theatre, Ottawa
The Princess, Waterloo
A “Doda-esque Burlesque” Pre-Show will open select screenings in Toronto and Vancouver for the April 5-7 weekend screenings. For more information, check the documentary website.