Starring James Stacy, William Wellman Jr, Quinn O'Hara, and Raquel Welch
Directed by Robert Sparr
Music and Lyrics by various
After the wild success of American International's Beach Party films, every studio in Hollywood wanted in on that teenage party action. Actor Dale Robertson created United Screen Arts to release B-films and his own westerns...and the first movie he released was a "beach party" film. Actually, this is more of a lake party, as it's set at a dance hall at Lake Arrowhead, California. Nowadays, it's best remembered for introducing Welch to audiences, but does it have more going for it? Let's begin away from the lake, as best friends Rick (Wellman Jr.) and Mickey (Stacy) are offered jobs by Rick's wealthy girlfriend Cindy (O'Hara) and find out...
The Story: Rick originally turns down a job with Cindy's dad (Allan Jones), fearing she's doing it out of charity. He and Mickey end up working at the dance hall, which is on the verge of shutting down. They come up with the idea of a week-long rock festival to save the pavilion and their jobs. Head lifeguard Turk (Martin West) is jealous of the attention they get and does everything he can to sabotage them. He tries to lure Cindy away, then hires goons to wreck the festival.
Rick's upset when he learns Cindy's dad intends to finance the pavilion, as he sees this as charity. They argue, but Cindy finally brings him around. There's also Jeri (Welch), the beautiful intellectual who spends the summer wandering around the lake shore, taking notes, until she finally lets her hair down at the Festival.
The Song and Dance: This is almost a summer version of the ski-themed Winter-a-Go-Go from later in 1965, with a lot of the same cast. Wellman and Stacy play essentially the same roles as the stoic leader and his girl-crazy buddy. There's also two goons who attack the duo later in the film and a glamorous older woman (in this case Lili Kardel as Sandra) who makes a play for Wellman. Welch's psudo-psychological gibberish and her elegant cats-eye glasses does mark her as something a little different. There's also some surprisingly good acts for a low-budget B fodder, including a rare film appearance by the Righteous Brothers.
Favorite Number: Our first number, the title song, is heard over the credits as Cindy and the boys drive to Lake Arrowhead with obvious backscreen projection behind them. We get two big instrumental dance routines for the teenagers performed by Gary Lewis and the Playboys. "Out to Lunch" is heard right after Gary and his group arrive; "Nitro" is the chorus number later in the film at the festival. Donnie Brooks gets a really strange song about a swinging lady called "Pennie the Poo" as the festival begins. The Rip Chords' song is "Red Hot Roadster." Jeri finally tosses away her glasses and lets her self go wild with her "I'm Ready to Groove"...and she's not half-bad. The movie ends with its biggest act, the Righteous Brothers, singing the bluesy "Justine."
Trivia: Linda Evans originally had the Cindy role, but bowed out to do a western.
What I Don't Like: This has a lot of the same problems as Winter-a-Go-Go. Stacy and especially Wellman just aren't that interesting. They don't seem much like teens or college students, either. They're so interchangeable with the goons and Tank, it's hard to tell them apart in fight scenes. Speaking of, the robbery in the second half almost literally comes out of nowhere. The boat chase in the finale was seemingly added just to pad out the end of the film and give the leads something to do besides dance badly.
Once again, the emphasis is on action and romance. Other than Jeri's attempt at psychologically evaluating sex-crazed Mickey, it lacks the satire inherent in the AIP Beach Party films. There's also the poor filming, which does the lovely scenery no favors. (The fact that the copy at Shout! TV is badly washed out and in need of restoration doesn't help.)
The Big Finale: Only for the most ardent fans of Welch, the singers involved, or the Beach Party imitations of the mid-60's.
Home Media: Doesn't currently seem to be on disc, but it can easily be found pretty much anywhere on streaming, usually for free.
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