Customer Reviews

Hollywood Surf and Beach Movies: The First Wave, 1959-1969

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Tom Lisanti - the author of "Drive-In Dream Girls," "Fantasy Femmes of Sixties Cinema," and "Film Fatales" - expands his horizons from '60s sexpots to covering the entire Beach Film genre which catered to teenagers between 1959 and 1968.

Lisanti profiles the following movies in depth: Gidget and its sequel Gidget Goes Hawaiian; the Elvis films Blue Hawaii and Girl Happy; the Frankie & Annette classics Beach Party, Muscle Beach Party, Bikini Beach, Beach Blanket Bingo, and How To Stuff A Wild Bikini; plus Where The Boys Are, For Those Who Think Young, The Horror Of Party Beach, Pajama Party, Ride The Wild Surf, Surf Party, Beach Ball, The Beach Girls And The Monster, Daytona Beach Weekend, The Girls On The Beach, One Way Wahine, A Swingin' Summer, Wild On The Beach, The Endless Summer, The Ghost In The Invisible Bikini, Out Of Sight, Catalina Caper, Don't Make Waves, It's A Bikini World, and The Sweet Ride. There's also the winter off-shoots Ski Party, Winter A Go-Go, and Wild Wild Winter which merit inclusion due to their use of beach film regulars, musical guest stars, and inane plots which merely substitute a ski slope for the beach. My own favorite beach films are Beach Blanket Bingo (probably the most fun) and Ride The Wild Surf (definitely the best made and owner of the best beach film theme song: the title cut by Jan & Dean).

Lisanti interviewed several of the stars of these films (including Peter Brown, Dave Draper, Shelley Fabares, Susan Hart, Aron Kincaid, Jody McCrea, Chris Noel, Quinn O'Hara, and William Wellman, Jr) and it is their frank and often bitchy comments about the filmmakers and their co-stars in the Behind the Scenes section of each film's chapter that makes this book must reading. I especially enjoyed the commentary supplied by Jody McCrea who played Deadhead/Bonehead in the Frankie & Annette Beach Party series. McCrea has a strong opinion on seemingly everyone he ever worked with, and his high opinion of himself is quite humorous.

After profiling the movies, Lisanti offers substantial bios of several of the stars of these films: actors John Ashley, Frankie Avalon, Peter Brown, James Darren, Sandra Dee, Don Edmonds, Shelley Fabares, Annette Funicello, Ed Garner, Aron Kincaid, Tommy Kirk, Jody McCrea, Yvette Mimieux, Mike Nader, Chris Noel, Quinn O'Hara, Bart Patton, Pamela Tiffin, Deborah Walley, William Wellman Jr., plus surfers Mickey Dora and Johnny Fain. The other female stars of the beach films that aren't profiled here - like Mary Hughes and Salli Sachse - are covered in Lisanti's other books so make sure you check those out as well if you haven't already.

All of you land-lubbers will love this one; surfers are warned not to swim. Anyone who loved watching these moronic movies while necking in a drive-in or doing your homework will be glad to realize that he or she is not missing big plot points! But no one watched beach movies for storylines; fans wanted to see the hunks and honeys shaking like a bee victims to an annoying bonga beat while resisting physical intimacy. All of them are here ... Gidget, Nancy Sinatra, James Darren, Elvis, and, of course, Annette and Frankie! The text is frank about the movies' lifeless plots or mediocre musical talents, but the author is unapologetically enthusiastic about this genre. One complaint: no color pictures!

This book is an excellent reference guide to the surf and beach party movies of the 1960's. For each movie it gives details like release date, box office gross (if known), dvd release date, cast, etc., plot synopsis, and behind the scenes story.

What I especially like is the fact that the author is obviously fond of the subject matter and that comes through in the writing.

I WAS SO YOUNG WHEN I FIRST SAW A BEACH MOVIE. I HAD NO IDEA THAT THERE WERE SO MANY MORE. THERE I WAS FEASTING MY EYES UPON TAB HUNTER IN "RIDE THE WILD SURF". OH, I WANTED TO BE HIS GIRLFRIEND. THEN THE FOLLOWING SUMMER I CAME ACROSS A WEEK OF BEACH FILMS. MOST OF THEM WERE THE FRANKIE AND ANNETTE MOVIES. BACK THEN FRANKIE AND ANNETTE HAD ONLY MADE ABOUT SEVEN OF THOSE FILMS. UNLESS YOU INCLUDE "FIREBALL 500", "THUNDER ALLEY" (WHICH WAS REALLY MORE A DRAG STRIP MOVIE) AND "THE GHOST IN THE INVISIBLE BIKINI". "BACK TO THE BEACH" DIDN'T COME ALONG UNTIL ABOUT 20 YEARS LATER, IN 1987. OF COURSE EVERY YEAR FOR A VERY LONG TIME THE BEACH MOVIES WOULD BE LINED UP AGAIN, PROBABLY TWICE A YEAR, IN EARLY JANUARY, USUALLY TO GET US EXCITED FOR THE SUMMERTIME. THEN AGAIN USUALLY AFTER MEMORIAL DAY, TO OPEN THE SUMMER. BOY I COULDN'T WAIT UNTIL THOSE MOVIES WOULD SHOW, YEAR AFTER YEAR. THANK GOODNESS VIDEO CAME ALONG BECAUSE THEN WE COULD PURCHASE MANY OF THEM. NOW WE'VE GOT DVD'S. SOME OF THE TITLES STILL AREN'T AVAILABLE. AT LEAST I HAVEN'T COME ACROSS THEM. AT LEAST NOT FROM A COMPANY I WOULD TRUST BUYING THEM FROM. I'M NOT INTERESTED IN BOOTLEG. IF THE TITLES I WANT ISN'T BEING OFFERED BY AMAZON, TIME LIFE, OR COLUMBIA HOUSE, I WON'T BUY THEM. SEVERAL OF THE TITLES LISTED IN THIS BOOK I'VE NEVER HEARD OF. MANY ARE STILL UNAVAILABLE. THOUGH I HAVE NOT PURCHASED THIS BOOK, I GAVE IT 5 STARS BECAUSE BEACH MOVIES ARE AMONG MY FAVORITE NONSENSE MOVIES TO WATCH, THOUGH I WONDER IF THE MOVIE "GET YOURSELF A COLLEGE GIRL" IS INCLUDED IN THIS BOOK? THAT MOVIE, I UNDERSTAND WAS/IS CONSIDERED A BEACH FILM TOO. JUST THE SETTING IS DIFFERENT, IN A COLLEGE, INSTEAD OF ON A BEACH. THIS MOVIE FINALLY BECAME AVAILABLE. I DON'T CARE HOW CORNY, NONSENSICAL, SILLY OR RIDICULOUS ALL OF THOSE MOVIES WERE, THEY WERE AND STILL ARE GREAT FUN TO WATCH, THEY ARE CLEAN AND SAFE. NO CURSING, NUDITY, OR OVER THE TOP SEXUAL INUENDO'S. THOUGH THAT WAS A VERY DIFFERENT TIME AND WE ARE NEVER GOING TO HAVE ANOTHER TIME LIKE THAT, WE'LL ALWAYS HAVE THESE MOVIES FOR THE MEMORIES: DRIVE-INS, ICE CREAM PARLORS, AND SODA FOUNTAINS. WOW, SO ENJOYABLE.

This book is great as it documents behind the scenes happenings during all those beach
movies that came along after Gidget. They were all pretty terrible for acting and plot, but
that wasn't the point of the movies anyway. It was all about California surfers and being
teenagers. The book has all the specific data about each movie and then also what happened
during the filming itself. Great for nostalgia buffs.

There is a photo of Barbara Eden (Page 147) and a chapter (Pages 139 thru 150) all about the movie "Ride The Wild Surf".