 |
Welcome to CinemaToast(June 2004) Summer Movies -
1964! How these movies were cranked out! The first one in 1963- Beach Party: from a budget of a little over $300 thousand, it grossed more than $4,000,000! American-International knew they were onto something. Beach Party set the formula for all the rest- scads of pretty girls in bikinis, rock and roll music from hot new musicians (Dick Dale and The Del Tones), established stars somewhat pass their prime (Robert Cummings and Dorothy Malone), very funny character actors- Harvey Lembeck as Eric Von Zipper- a leather-clad, Brando-like biker bad-boy without a brain or a clue – and of course Annette and Frankie, the most chaste lovers on god’s green earth. In 1964 AIP produced three more beach party movies. That’s three feature films in one year! It makes us tired just to think about it.
2. Bikini Beach was released in July 1964. Yes, yes, girls in bikinis. Stevie Wonder providing the pop and Harvey Lembeck back as Eric Von Zipper and even funnier than before. Perhaps this is a good point to talk about the beautiful Annette Funicello with the centerfold figure who never, ever wore a bikini. Annette’s story is that Walt Disney, who gave her her first job and was like a second father, had ‘suggested’ that it would be best for her career to remain demurely covered and Annette had promised. The truth is Annette was still under contract to Disney who gave permission for her to work for AIP with the contractual agreement that she would not appear in a bikini or expose her navel. Bikini Beach was also the first of two appearances by Timothy Carey as the very scary South Dakota Slim. Carey had a dead-pan demeanor that, combined with his imposing bulk, provided a truly frightening counterpoint to the comedy and music. 3. Pajama Party came out for the holiday season in November 1964. Harvey Lembeck continued as the hilariously dumb Eric Von Zipper, the mean biker from booboo land, Donna Loren was back to sing, and the over-the-hill actors were Dorothy Lamour, Buster Keaton and Elsa Lancaster. This movie was a little different in that it had a slight science-fiction tinge with Tommy Kirk as a Martian sent to scout Earth for invasion, and instead of bikinis- all the gorgeous gals were in baby-doll pajamas!
These beach movies were silly, innocent fun.
They were quickly made and poorly acted. However, they were great summer
entertainment and gave some talented musicians their first national
exposure. Annette Funicello and Frankie
Avalon became national icons, especially Annette who went on to
raise a family and pitch peanut butter. In 1987 Frankie and Annette
reunited in the delightful and nostalgic Back to The Beach. They
returned as their old beach characters, now married and settled down
with a grown daughter having some beach experiences of her own. This
movie is a wonderful send-up of the old American-International flicks
with even an appearance by Dick Dale and ‘some’
of The Deltones. It was during the making of Back to The Beach that Annette first noticed the symptoms of what she would discover to be multiple sclerosis. She has been struggling for years now with the ravages of this disease but in the face of pain and the reality of limited mobility, she has shown great courage and high spirits. In fact, she’s down right inspirational and has helped raise funds for research into degenerative diseases. She has brought us all years of grace and entertainment and we here at The Toast love her dearly and wish her the very best. If you love the sweet entertainment Annette has given us over the years then we urge you to visit her site and consider giving something back. New Stuff To Our Fans |
Copyright © 2000-2012 CinemaToast |
After
beginning show business careers; Frankie Avalon as
a child prodigy trumpet player and then as one of the first “manufactured”
rock and roll teen idols, Annette Funicello as the
prettiest, sweetest and sexiest thing to come out of the original Mickey
Mouse Club. Together they made six very popular beach movies for American-International
Pictures (AIP).
1.
Muscle Beach Party in March 1964 with more
beautiful, bikini-wearing babes, music from Dick Dale,
Donna Loren, and a youngster with an enormous
future; Stevie Wonder, then known as Little Stevie
Wonder. Peter Lorre, the established star from
earlier era, had a brief cameo as Dr. Strangdour. And Frankie and
Annette.
The
last two in the AIP beach series with Annette and Frankie were Beach
Blanket Bingo in the spring of 1965 and How to Stuff a Wild
Bikini released that summer. The highlights of Bingo included,
besides girls in bikinis, Linda Evans, before her Big
Valley and Dynasty days, Harvey Lembeck,
as funny as always, Timothy Carey, as scary as
ever, and Don Rickles, insulting everyone and Paul
Lynde, before Bewitched. Wild Bikini had, as the
old actors, Brian Donlevy and Mickey
Rooney. Music was by The Kingman. And
Annette and Frankie.