Starring Pamela Tiffin, James Darren, Paul Lynde, and Woody Woodbury
Directed by Leslie H. Martinson
Music and Lyrics by various
United Artists dove into the Beach Party waters for the first of two times with this vehicle for then-popular crooner James Darren. Starlet Pamela Tiffin was also being groomed as the next big thing in Hollywood in the early 60's, while Woody Woodbury had a series of popular (and risque for the time) comedy albums and Lynde and Bob Denver were on their way to starring in two of the biggest sitcoms of the mid-60's. How did they all come together for this story of a playboy whose pursuit of a teen girl almost ends with her guardians' night club being shut down? Let's begin with Darren singing the title song over actual footage of kids in the water (and some clever surfboard designs) and find out...
The Story: Gardener "Ding" Pruitt III (Darren) is in hot pursuit of pretty, smart teen Sandy Palmer (Tiffin). His grandfather B.S Cronin (Robert Middleton) doesn't approve and wants to not only keep her from his millions, but shut down the teen club where her guardians Sid Hoyt (Lynde) and Woody Woodbury (Himself) work. Cronin convinces the college administration that Woodbury is selling liquor to minors. They send prim Dr. Pauline Swenson (Ellen Burstyn) in to take notes and figure out what's going on. She ends up getting drunk and falling for Woodbury. Cronin's furious, but it's Sandy, his grandson, and their friends who end up reminding the older man that he had more truck with liquor in his dim, dark past than he'd like to admit.
The Song and Dance: I will say this is infinitely more interesting - and better to look at - than Wild On the Beach. For one thing, they actually get on the beach...and when they do, it's a riot of some truly stunning color. Those bikinis and the weird face man-crazy Karen Cross (Nancy Sinatra) keeps drawing on local goofy guy Kelp (Bob Denver) almost pop off the screen. As smarmy as he is, Darren is also a lot more interesting than most of the interchangeable love interests in these Beach Party imitations. Burstyn (then listed as Ellen MacRae) and Lynde have more fun than they should as the prim professor who learns to have fun and the whiny former vaudevillian who finds a second act in the clubs. Tiffin's also a lot better here than she was playing ingenue in the State Fair remake from two years before.
The Numbers: The film opens with Darren singing "For Those Who Think Love" over shots of the kids on the beach between colorful stylized surfboards in the credits. The club's singer and dancer Topaz McQueen (Tina Louise) is seen performing several instrumental numbers, wiggling with reckless abandon to the crowd. "Oh Daddy" is sung twice, in a big number on the beach for Kelp (with that weird painted mouth) and in the finale. Jimmy Griffith (later one of the founders of the 70's group Bread) sings "I'm Gonna Walk Over This Land" at the club.
Trivia: There's product placement all over this film to nearly modern levels, starting with its title. "For Those Who Think Young" was a slogan of Pepsi at the time, and everyone can be seen slugging Pepsis throughout the movie.
What I Don't Like: First, see the obvious product placement above, especially with Pepsi. If that kind of thing bothers you in modern movies, you won't like it in this one. Second, this movie feels like it was created by the United Artists board of directors to be something that adults assumed would appeal to teens. Woodbury's risque stand-up act may have been hilarious in 1964, but I doubt many college students would find his annoying and dated jokes funny now. Denver and Sinatra barely have anything to do, and Lynde comes off as more creepy than funny. Darren's so smarmy, you honestly enjoy seeing Tiffin attempt to beat him at his own controlling game. The few songs are dull and totally forgettable.
The Big Finale: While infinitely better than the dull Wild On the Beach, this is still mainly recommended for fans of Darren, the Beach Party movies, or the comedians in question.
Home Media: It's also easier to find than Wild On the Beach. It's on DVD and Blu-Ray via Kino Lorber. MGM + currently has it on their site with a subscription.
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