Beach Blanket Bingo
Director: William Asher
Year: 1965
Rating: 5.0
This is the fifth
of the teenage AIP films that came to be called the Beach Party series or
could have been called the White Beach Party movies. Nary a minority to be
seen. That was America in the early 1960s. Not really sure why I started
these. Only my analyst knows for sure. I expect it has to do with getting
old and having a bum leg and looking back to when I was young and mobile.
Avalon sings a song called "These are the Good Times" about enjoying life
when you are young and I couldn't help but think, yup. Not to be too depressing
but I checked out the actors in this film and a bunch died too early from
heart attacks or cancer. Poor Annette got MS and spent the last 25 years
of her life battling that. Ok, enough of that.
This was more servings of the same. Beach,
surfing, girl problems, music and bikinis. Guest spots from Don Rickles,
Buster Keaton, Earl Wilson (famous columnist in his day) and Paul Lynde at
his snidest. Sky Diving is the new cool thing here. As a promotion for his
singing star Sugar Kane, Lynde has her sky dive out of a plane. Or pretend
to. It is actually another woman (Deborah Walley) who then does a switch
with Sugar. Sugar Kane is played by Linda Evans who went on to a good career
on TV with The Big Valley and Dynasty and as one of the trophy wives of John
Derek who also did the vows or wows with Bo Derek and Ursula Andress.
The annoying Harvey Lembeck is back with
his motorcycle gang, the Rats and Mice. Bonehead played by Jody McCrea, son
of Joel, falls in love with a mermaid played by Marta Kristen best known
for the Lost in Space TV series. There are no big musical groups like in
the first few - maybe the budget - but Frankie and Annette sing a couple,
Sugar does a few dubbed by Jackie Ward and Donna Loren returns for a nice
song. She had a perfect voice for that musical pop period. The film feels
long because so little happens or because I feel like I have been here before,
but the best part by far is Keaton popping in and out of the film and does
a couple falls that had me worried for him. One thing usually left unsaid
about these films is that they have a great stunt team who do some terrific
work. Still up are Ski Party and How to Stuff a Wild Bikini. Can hardly wait.
