Beach Party (1963) was the first of seven Beach Party films from American International Pictures (AIP) aimed at a teen audience. It was directed by William Asher and written by Lou Rusoff. The main actors included Robert Cummings, Dorothy Malone, Frankie Avalon, and Annette Funicello.
One of the unique aspects of the AIP beach films is the absence of parents or any other authority figures. This gang of independent, fun-loving teenagers (albeit portrayed by actors in their 20s) are free to do whatever they want and live on their own terms in summer houses along the beach. This first film includes a romantic sub-plot about two adult characters (Cummings and Malone), but that formula was not repeated in subsequent films.
Plot
The plot kicks off with an anthropologist, Professor Robert Orwell Sutwell (Robert Cummings) secretly studying the wild mating habits of Southern California teenagers that hang out at the beach and use strange surfing jargon. After he temporarily paralyzes Eric Von Zipper (Harvey Lembeck), the leader of the local outlaw motorcycle gang, who was making unwanted advances on buxom beach bunny Dolores (Annette Funicello), Dolores develops a crush on the Professor. Of course her surfing boyfriend Frankie (Frankie Avalon), the local Big Kahuna, becomes jealous and begins flirting with Ava, a foreign waitress who is even more buxom than his girlfriend. In the words of Deadhead (Jody McCrea), "She's got everything!" Meanwhile Marianne (Dorothy Malone) is also developing a crush on the Professor. Also, to top it all off, Ava develops a thing for Von Zipper. Will true love triumph?
The Eric Von Zipper character (Harvey Lembeck) is mostly a parody of Marlon Brando's role in the motorcycle-gang film The Wild One. The film introduced a running gag throughout most of the rest of the series, when Von Zipper learns a special nerve touch to the head that puts a person into a frozen trance that he calls "giving someone the finger". Unfortunately for Von Zipper, the only person to whom he seems able to give the finger is himself. Along with this and other misfortunes that almost always bestow him, he can frequently be heard lamenting his famous, "Why me? ... why is it always me?" Von Zipper's motorcycle gang appears in all of the beach films except for Muscle Beach Party. Shortly after this film Meredith MacRae went on to join the cast of Petticoat Junction.
Films in the series
Other beach films that imitated the successful AIP formula include: Surf Party, Ride the Wild Surf, and For Those Who Think Young (all from 1964), A Swingin' Summer and Beach Ball (both 1965), Catalina Caper and It's a Bikini World (from 1967).
Cast
- Robert Cummings as Prof. Robert 'Bob' Orwell Sutwell (as Bob Cummings)
- Dorothy Malone as Marianne
- Frankie Avalon as Frankie
- Annette Funicello as Dolores/DeeDee
- Morey Amsterdam as Cappy
- Harvey Lembeck as Eric Von Zipper
- Eva Six as Ava
- John Ashley as Ken
- Jody McCrea as Deadhead
- Dick Dale as Himself (as Dick Dale and The Del Tones)
- Andy Romano as J.D. (Rat Pack member)
- Jerry Brutsche as Rat Pack member
- Bob Harvey as Rat Pack member
- John Macchia as Rat Pack member
- Alberta Nelson as Rat Pack member
- Linda Rogers as Rat Pack member
- David Landfield as Ed
- Bob Payne as Tom (as Bobby Payne)
- Pam Colbert as Surfer
- Delores Wells as Sue
- Johnny Fain as Surfer (as John Fain)
- Valora Noland as Rhonda
- Meredith MacRae as Beach girl
- John Beach as Beach boy
- Lorrie Summers as Lorie Summers
- Roger Bacon as Tour guide
- Luree Holmes as Luree Nicholson
- Michael Nader as Beach boy (as Mike Nader)
- Laura Nicholson as Beach girl
- Mickey Dora as Beach boy
- Donna Russell as Surfer
- Ed Garner as Surfer (as Eddie Garner)
- Candy Johnson as Perpetual motion dancer
- Vincent Price as Big Daddy
TRIVIA: Robert Cummings was already a competent surfer himself by the time he starred in Beach Party as the ungainly Professor. Films of him surfing in Hawaii on the Ken Murray's Hollywood television show feature a buff young Bob cruising along comfortably on an old style long board.
References
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