Against the backdrop of the 1964 Republican Convention, a San Francisco cocktail waitress became one of the city's most popular entertainers after making her debut as America's first topless dancer. The new documentary feature Carol Doda Topless at the Condor tells the story of the fresh-faced girl next door who defied convention and the law by gyrating atop a white baby grand piano and turning a North Beach nightclub into the city's second-most-popular tourist attraction after the Golden Gate Bridge. Meanwhile, Doda's very public use of silicone to enhance her breasts launched a new industry. Directors Marlo McKenzie and Jonathan Parker share an unprecedented look at Doda's life and legacy, as well as a behind-the-scenes tour of the vibrant, sometimes outrageous and always entertaining world of North Beach.

What I see is a social media influencer before social media, a person who did whatever it took to keep us looking, especially if that meant she didn’t have to look too deeply at herself. - Johanna Schneller, Globe and Mail

A sharp picture of the inimitably cool Doda as more than just a symbol of both exploitation and cultural change, but also as an ambitious entertainer, a caustic wit, and a melancholic enigma. - Marya E. Gates, RogerEbert.com