Ride the Wild Surf
Director: Don Taylor/ Phil Karlson
Year: 1964
Rating: 5.0
One more 1960's Beach Movie. Seen a lot of them
lately though I don't know exactly why. I don't like the beach anymore. Sand
drives me nuts. Going into the water is playing Russian Roulette with sharp
cans and sharks. And I have never been close to a surfboard. But still, there
is something very Americana about these films that speaks to me. Or at least
a younger version of me. The sense of freedom from authority. The nearness
of the opposite sex. The sound of the waves crashing on the shore.
This one is a distant cousin of the Annette
and Frankie Beach movies, but they don't have much in common other than the
beach and girls in bikinis. This has none of the silliness of the AIP films
which may be a blessing or a disappointment depending on whether you found
that charming or torture. This is all about surfing while Frankie and the
boys spent most of their time on land. Of course, the girls never get to
surf. They just get to watch and worry. There are some great shots of guys
surfing the big ones. All from a distance. The actors get close ups with
rear projection. Smart of them.
The trouble with this film is that all the
males are assholes and the girls just ornaments. In the real world, I would
not want to spend a minute with any of them. Watching them for 100-minutes
was soul sucking. Three friends come to Hawaii to surf because that is where
the big waves are and the best surfers in the world. Clearly, surfing either
makes you a jerk or only jerks surf. The three friends do a lot of whining
when not surfing or falling in love. The other surfers just spit venom. Not
much of a plot. There is a surfing competition which is mainly an endurance
contest. Who is willing to get their brains beat out the longest by the waves.
A youthful sparkling clean group of actors with Fabian, Tab Hunter and Peter
Browne as the friends and Shelley Fabares, Barbara Eden and Susan Hart as
the girls and James Mitchum as one of the other surfers.
