Starring Tommy Kirk, Deborah Walley, Bob Pickett, and Susie Kaye
Directed by Stephanie Rothman
Music and Lyrics by various
The Beach Party series continued releasing through 1967, but by that point, the bloom was off the beach plum. The novelty of watching cute teens wriggle around a dance floor in skimpy swim suits had worn off, and hard rock and the Beatles' harder-edged pop quickly replaced surf rock as most teens' favorite music genre. Though most of the studios had lost interest by this point as well, some late-coming entries continued to appear through the late 60's.
Case in point, this release from Trans America, American International's art house and foreign release subdivision. It was meant to come out in 1966, just as the Beach Party wave was cresting, but didn't make it to the theaters until spring of '67. How does this tale of a surfer who would do anything to impress a pretty girl - including be someone else - look now? Let's begin on the beach with local surfer and all-around jock Mike Samson (Kirk) and find out...
The Story: Mike can impress every girl on the beach but newcomer Delilah Dawes (Walley), a scientist and athlete. She thinks he's a stuck-up idiot. Hoping to show that she's not so great, he dresses as a nerd he calls Herbert. Magazine publisher Harvey Pulp (Jack Bernardi) is holding a series of athletic competitions to advertise his new teen publication. Big Daddy (Sid Haig), the owner of the local hangout The Dungeon, gives him custom vehicles for the games. Delilah challenges Mike to play her in these competitions. She keeps losing, but it's no fault of Mike's alter ego, who coaches her. When Delilah figures out what Mike's doing, she's more determined than ever to win. Mike has fallen for her, however, and now he's not so sure that winning is all that important anymore.
The Song and Dance: I give them credit for not only trying something slightly different, but treating its female lead a little better. Even if Deliah doesn't always win, she's determined to try anyway, and she's certainly no passive little doll. I also appreciate that not only does she figure out what Mike is doing well before the end of the film, she doesn't forgive him right away. Most of the other Beach Party movies probably would have let him get away with it. Some of the music is pretty good too, including a genuine hit, "We've Gotta Get Out of This Place" by the Animals. I also love the opening and closing credits that mimic comics of the time.
Favorite Number: Our first number isn't until nearly ten minutes in, but it's "Walk On," performed by duo Lolly and Pat Vegas with dancers gyrating on a nifty dragon stage. Girl group the Toys take us right into the next number, "Attack." The Gentrys get a little more psychedelic as they "Spread It On Thick" at Mike's apartment. "Get Out of This Place" is a lot darker, both in its performance and the shooting back at that wild dragon stage. "Liar, Liar" by the Castaways is our other hit, as a dancer wiggles her way through a song about fibbing in a relationship that is almost a prediction of what will happen with Mike's deception later.
Trivia: Trans America originally distributed this as The Girl In Daddy's Bikini. It was later screened with that title in 2009.
Though the film is supposed to be set during the summer, close inspection of sequences set in Malibu Beach reveals Christmas decorations and December dates on the movie marquees.
The Animals as seen in this film broke up later in 1965. They would regroup as Eric Burdon and the Animals by '67.
The film they see mid-way through is Attack of the Crab Monsters, a real movie by Roger Corman.
Bobby Pickett had his own hit with "Monster Mash."
What I Don't Like: Kirk later said he was embarrassed by the movie and his and Deborah Walley's performances in it. He does have a point. He's too skinny and goofy to be believable as every girl's favorite beach jockey. His Herbert is slightly more realistic, but it's clear that he's even more bored here than he was in Catalina Caper later in '67. The songs have no connection to the plot whatsoever and vanish mid-way through once the competition gets underway.
Pickett and Kaye are supposed to be the rather dim secondary couple, but they both come off as annoyingly ditzy. Pickett's a bad imitation of Jody McCrea's "Deadhead" character from the American International Beach Party films. And there's the finale, with Delilah and Mike taking part in a huge race across Malibu, doing everything from swimming to riding camels. It takes way too long and makes no sense, even by this film's standards.
The Big Finale: On one hand, this is much better than its reputation suggests. It's certainly a lot more fun than Caper or Swingin' Summer. Bland performances and the cheap feel still make it recommended mainly for fans of the stars and musical groups in question.
Home Media: This one is so obscure, the only place it seems to be available at the moment is YouTube.
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