Customer Reviews

Palm Springs Weekend [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This film is great teenage fun and fun for the whole family. It's all about a group of college kids and other adolescents all converging on a resort town during Spring break thanks to Director Norman Taurog, Screenwriter Earl Hamner Jr. and a solid cast.

This was another Warner Brothers vehicle for Troy Donahue, who had just completed four quality productions with director Delmar Daves. This is not a bad film and is quite fun to watch. Troy even sings the title song behind the credits! It is chockfull of character actors and many television veterans from the 60s all the way up through the 90s. See if you can pick them out. They were all pretty young!

Troy Donahue also appeared on TV in "Surfside 6" and "Hawaiian Eye." Troy Donahue, born Merle Johnson, Jr. studied journalism at Columbia University and began appearing in stock productions. He entered into films with Universal and Warner Brothers.

Thanks, Troy Donahue! The good-times cast includes Connie Stevens, Robert Conrad, Ty Hardin, Stefanie Powers, Andrew Duggan, Jack Weston, Jerry Van Dyke, Billy Mumy and Carole Cook. Don't forget Troy!

This is one of the best VHS prints I have ever seen. It is excellent.

This was a fun 60's movie that captured the essence of the times. The cast was very well put together, although I had to chuckle at Troy Donahue with his obvious false eyelashes. He was prettier than Stephanie Powers! Tina Cole should have had a bigger part but boy was she ever grounded after those "leather jackets" trashed her parent's house. Jerry Van Dyke looks and acts so much like his brother, Dick, that it was hard to tell the difference. What a comic talent! Connie Stephens did exceptionally well playing the high school kid pretending to be the sophisticated "tease". Her character was very lucky that she didn't get raped by the bad boy of the movie, played by Robert Conrad, in contrast to what happened to Yvette Mimieux's character in "Where the Boys Are". But she manages to come clean in the end and finds true love in hero Stretch (Ty Hardin). Little Billy Mummy was a scene stealer, particularly in the scene where Jerry Van Dyke falls in the pool with the laundry soap and the pool turns into "the biggest alka seltzer I've ever seen". What a hoot! I was a bit disappointed in the underlying message at the end when Stephanie Powers leaves it up to Troy Donahue to make the decision whether to go all the way, in fear that she will lose him to "knowing other girls in that way". I cringe at the thought of the girl letting the boy make that decision for her, then or now. All in all, this was a blast from the past- a great movie to watch again and again.

What a great film. Not as kitchy as the Avalon/Funicello films but lots of fun bits and great characters. Zeme North is just great as the "plain girl" Amanda; Jerry Van Dyke is a terrific goof ball, and Robert Conrad plays the bad rich boy with gusto.

The VHS quality is very good and the film is wonderful fun for the whole family -- although my kids can't believe college kids actually wore jackets and ties to a party. Probably the most fun is watching Troy Donahue and Stephanie Powers do their crazy version of the twist. Gotta love this film.

Often overlooked in the accolades given this film is that it marks the (uncredited) feature film debut of Tina Cole, who later starred in the classic television series "Hawaiian Eye", "My Three Sons", "John Davidson's Kraft Summer Music Hall" and "The King Family Show."

Tina's unforgettable potrayal of the betrayed "good girl" Ruth Stewart captures the entire spectrum of teenage angst. Her brief time on the screeen portends a film future which other stars can only hope to emulate.

This film is one of my all time favorites.

Guys, if this is what the 60s was like, dust off the time machine, set it on 62 and press SEND.

This was the first movie I saw when I was a kid. I was almost seven at
the time and it was on a double bill with "The Sword and The Stone." My
mum dropped my two sisters and myself off at the Altantic Theater in
Long Beach, California and this movie played first. I can't tell you a
thing about the Disney movie, but I remember just about every scene
from Palm Springs Weekend. The '63 Thunderbird, Bugs Bunny, Stephanie
Powers, Connie Stevens, the pool with the bubbles and the car chase at
the end. Hard to believe, but this film made me want to work in the
movies.

And so I did. I have worked in film and video most of my career and I
always tell people this was the film that first gave me the notion.

During my career I have been fortunate to meet two of the people
involved with this film, Connie Stevens and Earl Hamner Jr (the man who
wrote this film) When I met with Hamner over lunch, it was to talk
about his classic television show The Waltons, but his eyes lit up when I asked him about PSW. He told me several stories and we had a good laugh. A very special memory.

I too would like to see this film released on DVD. It really captures a
time and a generation and that '63 T Bird!

This film is one of my all time favorites. Guys, if this is what the 60s was like, dust off the time machine, set it on 62 and press SEND.