Product Details

• Actors: Sandra Dee, James Darren, Cliff Robertson, Arthur O'Connell, The Four Preps
• Directors: Paul Wendkos
• Writers: Dale Eunson, Frederick Kohner, Gabrielle Upton, Katherine Albert, Ruth Brooks Flippen
• Producers: Jerry Bresler, Lewis J. Rachmil
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English
• Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
  PLEASE NOTE: Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click .
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: August 3, 2004
• Run Time: 300 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (141 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000286S2E
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,323 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "The Complete Gidget Collection (Gidget / Gidget Goes Hawaiian / Gidget Goes to Rome)" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

"Just remember, she might be pint-sized, but she's quite a woman." The original surfer girl gets her own three-film DVD collection, dippy fun from a more innocent time. 1959's Gidget made real surfers nauseated, but it's a kicky movie with some great lounge-era lingo. Sandra Dee, perkiness personified, plays the curious teen who breaks the gender line in surfing. She's also got the attention of surf-happy Moondoggie (James Darren) and the big Kahuna (Cliff Robertson), the latter the prototype of the surf bum who roams the globe in search of the endless summer. The film actually kicked off the great boom in surfing popularity (the Beach Boys and the Beach Party movies followed), much to the chagrin of purists. It was based on a novel by Frederick Kohner, who was inspired by his daughter's experiences.

Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961) puts Deborah Walley in the title role. She's no Sandra Dee, but at least there are shots of Walley doing her own surfing stunts. The action's in Waikiki, and Gidge is pursued by a confused Moondoggie and a famous dancer. They are played by James Darren and Michael Callan, and having the two 1960s male ingenues in the same movie suggests a weird collision of matter and anti-matter. The spark goes flat in Gidget Goes to Rome (1963), with yet another new actress (Cindy Carol) paired with a loyal James Darren. It's closer to Three Coins in the Fountain than the sandy beaches of Malibu.

DVD caveat: none of the films is in widescreen. The sequels don't suffer much, but the original Gidget was shot in CinemaScope, and the pan-and-scan approach hurts the summery look of the picture--even if it's just Sandra Dee balancing in front of blue-screen waves. --Robert Horton

Product Description

Gidget
Sandra Dee became a model for countless teenagers in the late 1950's when she played Gidget, a sad-faced youngster who doesn't quite measure up to the chesty, bikinied girls on the beach. Her mom's reassurances come true when two surfers start paying Gidget some attention.

Gidget Goes Hawaiian
Gidget (Deborah Walley, Beach Blanket Bingo) is desperate: her parents want her to come with them on vacation to Hawaii during the two weeks when her beloved Jeff, aka “Moondoggie” (James Darren, The Brothers Rico), will be home from college. When he suggests she go, Gidget panics… doesn't he care to be with her? So she sets out for Hawaii in the worst mood. On the plane, she meets the sociable Abby, who advises her to forget about Moondoggie—advice which Abby regrets when Gidget steals her boyfriend Eddie (Michael Callan, Cat Ballou), a famous dancer. But when Jeff discovers he misses Gidget and makes the trip to Hawaii… the surfing “girl midget” better watch her step! Newly remastered.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

129 of 134 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars AVOID this HORRIBLE DVD set July 28, 2004

By S. Phillips

Format:DVD

GIDGET was shot and released in CinemaScope, and yet the DVD is an unwatchable panned and scanned copy, which crops out 50% of the frame. Unacceptable, especially since TCM airs the widescreen version on cable! The film is ruined; don't bother.

The sequels were not Scope; they do not suffer as much.

Avoid and boycott this DVD until they go back and do it right.

267 of 285 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Butchered movies in a 3 pack August 4, 2004

By Yarby

Format:DVD

I was ready to snatch these up....until I saw those dreaded words on the back of the case: "Full Frame"!

These movies were made in the late 50's, early 60's....so there is NO EXCUSE for issuing them in this format. They were shot in 2.35:1 ratio....so almost HALF THE PICTURE IS MISSING!!!

This is the second time Columbia Tristar has deeply disappointed me on films I wanted in DVD. The first was their butchering of "Where Angels Go Trouble Follows" and "The Trouble With Angels".

Alas, they will remain missing from my film library until they are released in their proper ratio!!

167 of 185 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars WIDE SCREEN GIDGET August 7, 2004

By A Wilson

Format:DVD

I agree with the other reviews. This definately should have been released in it's original aspect ratio. 2.35 and the other two 1.85. If they all were only 1.66 it would not have been so bad. I am certainly waiting till it comes out in wide screen, and hope it does, but will hang on to my video's in the meantime.

It would have been a wonderful set to have, VERY DISAPPOINTING.