PG-Rated Movies That Surprisingly Have Nude Scenes
When audiences buy a ticket to the movies, the Motion Picture Academy (MPA) rating can help inform them of what to expect. When it's rated R, they know it's probably going to be violent or have some explicit sex. In fact, movies are required to be labeled not just with a rating, but with a list of reasons why they received that rating. Nudity is typically one of those reasons, but not all nude scenes require a film to be stuck with an R rating.
In fact, quite a few PG movies over the years have featured nude scenes. More often than not they're quick, but they're not always inoffensive as you might expect. Sure, most of them are flashes of a nude form or involve someone in an otherwise innocent situation. But on a few occasions, a PG movie has even gotten away with a nude sex scene. Many were given a PG rating in the era before the use of the PG-13, when the only option for a movie that went too far was the hard R-rating. Maybe you remember some of these movies, or maybe you forgot they featured nudity at all. Take a look at our list and see how many you can recall.
16 Candles
John Hughes' classic 1984 directorial debut, "16 Candles," made Molly Ringwald an '80s icon. But unlike Hughes' later fare, which was mostly rated PG-13, Hughes' first effort was labeled family-friendly — primarily because it was made before the advent of the PG-13 rating that was first used later that same year on "Red Dawn."
As an edgy comedy with lots of adult themes (and plenty of frank sex talk) "16 Candles" doesn't feel like a family movie, but it is rated PG. There is also one scene that makes the movie wholly inappropriate for younger audiences, when Sam spies on a classmate, Caroline Mumford (Haviland Morris), because she's jealous of her popularity — and her stunning figure. In the scene, Sam and Caroline are both in the school showers, and Caroline is shown fully nude, head to toe, as water streams down her body.
What makes the scene all the more surprising for a PG movie is how it's presented: After a scene between two jocks in the gym, Hughes jump-cuts straight to a close-up of Caroline's breasts, complete with the sound of a bouncing ball. And the shot lingers on her too, with dramatic sunswept lighting to make sure the entire audience gets a good long look at Caroline's naked form.
Splash
In 1984, Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah starred in "Splash," the story of a jaded office worker who stumbles upon a young woman who just so happens to be a real, honest-to-goodness mermaid. Over the course of the story, Madison the mermaid gets legs and eventually, she and Hanks' Allen fall in love.
A truly family-friendly film popular with kids and adults, "Splash" was rightly rated PG. Though there are some moments that skirt the line, most of it is innuendo and beneath the surface. But there are also flirtations with nudity that are head-scratching — mostly because they seem so unnecessary. In several scenes when Madison is still growing accustomed to human society she's shown unclothed, with hair often used to obscure her breasts. But on at least one occasion — when she's swimming in a tank at an aquarium — her naked top can be seen, albeit briefly. Why the filmmakers didn't give her a piece of clothing to wear, a la Ariel in "The Little Mermaid," is anyone's guess.
Even more perplexing, "Splash" is a Disney production, and decades later the studio decided to use CGI to hide at least some of the nudity in the film when it was added to Disney+.
Beastmaster
Alongside "Conan the Barbarian," the 1982 fantasy movie "Beastmaster" was one of several sword-and-sandal adventures released in the early 1980s. Many of them wound up being PG-13 after 1984, but some were handed a PG rating prior, including "Beastmaster." Less violent and not as dark as "Conan," "Beastmaster" starred Marc Singer in the role of a warrior named Dar who can communicate with animals and uses his powers to stop a diabolical madman.
The film's cast also included model and "Charlie's Angels" alum Tanya Roberts in the role of Kiri, a beautiful slave girl. Despite its PG rating — that probably convinced many parents that it was safe for older kids — Kiri and another woman go topless for a scene where the two women go bathing at the mouth of a waterfall. But while some parents may not have minded the relatively tame, non-sexual skin-showing, another scene later in the film goes a bit further.
In a tender and admittedly short love scene, Kiri fully disrobes and embraces Dar in a passionate kiss. Before her body turns to hold him, though, the audience gets a full glimpse of everything Roberts has to offer, in an unexpectedly sexy moment that might seem out of place given the movie's PG rating.
Sheena
Somebody must have liked Tanya Roberts in "Beastmaster" because just two years later she returned to the sword-and-sandal genre. This time she was headlining the film, starring in the title role of "Sheena," an action-adventure based on a classic comic book, "Sheena, Queen of the Jungle" from legendary artist Will Eisner, creator of "The Spirit." In the 1984 live-action adaptation, it's Roberts who's battling evil, and her sidekick is a man — reporter Vic Casey (Ted Wass).
Like "Beastmaster," the film is a mostly bloodless PG-rated action movie that sees Sheena fighting her enemies while clad in a skimpy tattered rawhide bikini of sorts. But even though Roberts is the hero in "Sheena," filmmakers couldn't let the opportunity pass to see her naked. Ironically enough, as in "Beastmaster," that moment also comes when Roberts' character is bathing by a natural spring. But this time around, the actor isn't just topless, she's totally naked, showing every body part she's got, and jiggling for all to see.
It's also an extended scene, not just a momentary glimpse, and the nudity is an integral part of it. That her nakedness is enough to make Wass's character uncomfortable tells you it had to be even more awkward for parents in the audience who brought their kids ... to what they thought was an innocent fantasy romp.
Manon of the Spring
Writer-director Claude Berri's 1986 movie "Manon of the Spring" was adapted from the second of two novels by French author Marcel Pagnol. The first was adapted into "Jean de Florette" earlier the same year, also by Berri, and are set in the South of France between the two World Wars. Emmanuelle Béart stars in the title role as Manon, a young woman whose father was killed by greedy landowners, and is seeking revenge.
One scene finds Béart completely undressed in a full frontal nude scene and frolicking on the rocks by a body of water alongside her horse. To make it even more uncomfortable for any possible families in the audience (not that a French drama would necessarily draw a family crowd), the scene also involves a peeping Tom who is eager to get a closer look at Manon's naked form.
Rather famously, Béart herself wasn't fully comfortable filming the scene, but was convinced to do it when Berri took it all off behind the camera to put her at ease. As a French production, the relatively innocent nudity in "Manon" may not have stood out to Europeans, but it's still surprising that it secured a PG rating when it made its way to the United States.
Logan's Run
The 1970s were home to some of cinema's most groundbreaking sci-fi classics, and one was the dystopian adventure "Logan's Run." Set in a future world where the population is euthanized at the age of 30, the film follows the eponymous Logan (Michael York) and his companion Jessica (Jenny Agutter) as they seek to escape death and flee their artificial biodome. Their hope is to locate a mythical safe haven called Sanctuary where it's said they can live out their natural lifespans in peace.
It may sound like a grim premise, but while "Logan's Run" has some dark themes, it's a colorful and rousing adventure story, and its PG rating seems about right. Nevertheless, even "Logan's Run" has a surprising nude scene, though fans of Jenny Agutter probably weren't all that shocked after the 1971 drama "Walkabout." In "Logan's Run" her braless costuming leaves little to the imagination and she takes it all off at one point, in a scene where she's changing her outfit.
Also in the film is a surrealistic love scene involving a group of nude men and women engaged in a kind of sensual dance meant to symbolize sex. It's hardly explicit, with shadows covering up much of the nudity, but its strange nature does fit with the movie's themes and futuristic setting.
Airplane!
Spoof movies burst onto the scene as their own genre in the early '80s with the now-classic "Airplane!" from brothers David and Jerry Zucker. The pair's later films would mostly be rated PG-13, allowing for nudity and more explicit depictions of sex and violence, but their directorial debut in 1980 on "Airplane!" received a PG in the days before PG-13 was introduced. Today, the movie feels pretty safe for all ages, with wacky humor, while most of its more adult gags are likely to fly right over the heads of most kids who are watching.
Nevertheless, there's at least one moment in the film that is impossible for children to ignore — a shot of the ample bosom of a random woman. What makes the scene hard not to notice is that it's literally right in your face: During a scene where chaos erupts aboard a flight, screaming passengers run this way and that when out of nowhere a completely naked woman runs into frame. Her bountiful bosom bounces up and down, and for a moment her breasts are practically pressed against the camera. To make it even more egregious, her chest is about all we see, as the frame not only cuts off at her waist at the bottom, but her head at the top.
Monster in the Closet
It probably won't come as much of a shock to learn that an old B-movie contains some pointless nudity. In this case, it's "Monster in the Closet," a tongue-in-cheek horror comedy that's probably most famous today for featuring a very young Paul Walker.
The film introduces us to a goofy-looking monster that lives inside people's closets and has been going on a killing spree. Amid the carnage, however, is a gratuitous shower scene where actor Stella Stevens is stripped bare, or at least from the breasts up. A leering shot allows viewers to gaze all they want as Stevens turns back and forth. Stevens was more famous in the 1950s and '60s, starring in "The Nutty Professor" and "The Courtship of Eddie's Father," but she'd already appeared in nude scenes earlier in her career, as far back as Sam Peckinpah's "The Ballad of Cable Hogue" in 1970.
What's truly strange about the whole affair is that it's rated PG — and not only is there a nude shower scene, but that very scene appears on the movie's poster. Plus, the fact that "Monster in the Closet" was made in 1986 — two years after the first use of PG-13 — makes it even more befuddling.
Dragonslayer
Just before "The Beastmaster" arrived, there was "Dragonslayer," a 1981 fantasy starring Peter MacNichol. It tells the story of a 6th-century kingdom besieged by an ancient dragon. To keep its hunger at bay, the king has been sacrificing virgin women to the beast, but now Galen Brandwardyn — a sorcerer's apprentice — believes he has what it takes to put an end to its reign of terror.
Most of the film is focused on action and adventure, with plenty of fantasy violence that never quite gets too graphic, and it hit cinemas with a PG rating. But there is one moment in the film when we get a glimpse of both male and female forms with nothing on. It comes when Brandwardyn finds himself in a pool of water, and decides to take a swim in the nude, joining a young man named Valerian who's already swimming there with no clothes on.
When he dives beneath the water we see both Brandwardyn and Valerian are stark naked, though the murky water obscures most of their naughty bits. What we do see, however, is that Valerian is no man. Beneath the water, Brandwardyn (and the audience) can see her curvaceous figure and buxom breasts, revealing that Valerian is really a woman — a rare case of nudity actually being important to the plot.
Barry Lyndon
It seems period pieces are a common genre among PG-rated films that feature moments of nakedness. Whatever the reason — be it the depiction of an era where nudity was more accepted, or just a deliberate choice to add a touch of salaciousness — the 1975 Stanley Kubrick film "Barry Lyndon" is another example. Based on a novel by William Makepeace Thackery, the film is set in the 18th century in Ireland, where the titular Barry (Ryan O'Neal) seeks to marry his way into status by wooing a wealthy widow.
Throughout the film, Kubrick explores the decadent lifestyle of the upper class in 1750s Ireland, and that includes the private life of noblewoman Lady Lyndon (Marisa Berenson). We see her expansive estate, her royal carriages, and of course, her many servants. Though the film isn't as controversial or scandalous as Kubrick's previous one, "A Clockwork Orange," there is a nude scene featuring Lady Lyndon. In keeping with many other entries on this list, it's not a sex scene, and involves Lyndon in the bath.
With "Barry Lyndon" not likely to be a movie watched by kids, the nudity is less awkward, though it's still interesting because it could have been told just as effectively without it.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Few sci-fi movies have been remade as many times as the 1956 classic "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." In 1978, the first remake hit theaters, starring Donald Sutherland as a public official who uncovers a sinister alien conspiracy to replace humans with emotionless doppelgangers. While the film isn't all that graphic, allowing it to achieve a PG rating, it's a creepy, disturbing story that provides plenty of scares based on its dark tone alone. For that reason, it's really not an all-ages film, and as a result, the filmmakers probably felt comfortable with showing one of its stars in the buff.
At one point, an alien replicant of scientist Elizabeth Driscoll (Brooke Adams) is seen fully nude. More upsetting than the nudity, though, is the cold nature of the replicant's walk and her eerie gaze, which is enough to send chills down even the steeliest of spines. Years later, another remake, titled simply "Body Snatchers," featured far more explicit gore and excessive amounts of nudity, rightly earning itself an R rating.
The Bounty
"The Bounty" is yet another movie released just before the use of the PG-13 rating, and as a result was slapped with a PG because it wasn't graphic or explicit. Based on the remarkable true story of the mutiny aboard the HMS Bounty, it starred Mel Gibson, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Liam Neeson. Early in the story, the ship stops in Tahiti, and the crew comes ashore to enjoy the sights and sounds of the island — and also its women.
During this sequence, nudity is fairly prevalent, with a number of topless women parading around the screen. And it's not just Indigenous people simply and calmly walking around in the buff. There's also a steamy sex scene between Mel Gibson's Fletcher Christian and one of the native women, Mauatu (Tevaite Vernette), who he takes as his island bride. Though it never gets too raunchy or graphic, the scene plays out with little modesty, as the two young stars roll around naked in a romantic moment. Vernette's assets are in full view for the randier audience members to enjoy, probably much to their surprise given the film's PG rating.
Kramer vs. Kramer
"Kramer vs. Kramer" might be one of the most acclaimed legal dramas of all time. Released in 1979, it stars Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep as Ted and Joanna, a married couple going through a bitter divorce. Caught in the middle is their young son Billy (Justin Henry), over whom they battle for custody. "Kramer vs. Kramer" took home five Academy Awards, including best picture and trophies for both Hoffman and Streep.
"Kramer vs. Kramer" isn't a very scandalous film, and its PG rating probably makes sense. But there are a couple of moments where we see a lot more of one of the film's stars than you might expect. It's not Streep or Hoffman, though, but supporting actor JoBeth Williams, who plays Phyllis, Ted's coworker with whom he has a one-night stand. While getting up in the middle of the night during their rendezvous, a totally nude Phyllis bumps into little Billy. She tries to awkwardly cover up with her hands, but to paraphrase the immortal Patrick Stewart from Ricky Gervais' memeworthy "Extras" — we see everything.
Looker
You may never have heard of the 1981 sci-fi movie "Looker," but you've definitely heard of its writer and director, Michael Crichton. The man behind "Jurassic Park" and "Westworld," Crichton crafted the story of Dr. Larry Roberts (Albert Finney), a plastic surgeon whose model patients begin dying under mysterious circumstances. As it turns out, those models were being used as part of an experiment to create lifelike digital recreations of real people.
The movie has a lot to say about the dangers of technology and it gets quite a few details right about the future of CGI. But its PG rating also hides a fair amount of nudity. Because while the film pioneered the use of CGI to create lifelike replicas of people, it's real models who display their fully nude bodies in a few scenes. It's never sexual and is rather plain and matter-of-fact, but in one key moment during the film, a fully nude woman stands before the camera, as part of an examination of sorts. And at least once we get a strange closeup of a woman's naked breasts, seemingly for no other reason than the director's leering eye.