Surf Party
Director: Maury Dexter
Year: 1964
Rating: 4.0
Man, I was so
stoked for this film, but it was a total wet wipeout and that exhausts my
surfing vocabulary. Trying to cash in on the recent Beach Movie fad, this
is produced and directed by Maury Dexter (The Young Swingers, Wild on the
Beach, Helle's Belles) and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is kind of
a drag but is saved by a few decent singers and songs. Bobby Vinton of Blue
Velvet fame has a song, the Astronauts who were one of the top musical surf
groups have two songs, the Routers have one and my favorite Jackie DeShannon
has two songs. The last one - Glory Wave - is a fine romp in the living room.
DeShannon is likely forgotten by most unless you are an oldies fan or were
alive back then but some probably know What the World Needs Now is Love -
but she was a terrific writer of songs and during her career wrote When You
Walk in the Room, Don't Doubt Yourself Babe for the Byrds, collaborated with
Jimmy Page, wrote for Marianne Faithful , Cher and Randy Newman. Here she
just plays a girl in love.
Other than the songs, there isn't much substance
to the film. Three innocent girls from Arizona drive to California to visit
the brother of one of them and to learn how to surf. Soon romance is more
on their minds than riding the waves. Bobby Vinton runs a surf shop and is
happy to teach them how to surf - first wax the board. The brother turns
out to be a jerk being kept by a woman and the three go back home wiser and
still intact. I think. No Annette to brighten things up. 68 minutes in B&W.
