THE
BEACH GIRLS AND THE MONSTER (1965)Director: John Hall
Image Entertainment
THE
BEACH GIRLS AND THE MONSTER (1965)John Hall was a somewhat popular
actor in the 1940s, and even starred in some of Universal's "Invisible
Man" sequels. In the mid 1960s he starred in and directed this fun, nutty
Grade Z mix of 20-something "teenage" beachgoers, surfing stock footage,
and a rubbery gill-man creature. The film's credits commence with a lively time
capsule image of gorgeous bikini-clad gals, jiggling to surf music in the sand.
All seems dandy until a pretty blond wanders off (after garnishing her boyfriend's
hot dog with sand), only to be assaulted by a giant sea monster emerging from
a cave. The ridiculous but unforgettable monster has a cone-shaped 
head,
ping-pong eyes, and rubber tassels of seaweed dangling fromhis bulky persona.
Dr.
Otto Lindsay (Hall) is a wealthy marine biologist who wants his "teenage"
son Richard (Arnold Lessing) to follow in his footsteps. Richard however is
more interested in surfing (or at least watching surfing films on a projector),
singing and strumming his guitar on the beach, and wooing his babe. Otto's second
wife, the sexy Vicky (Sue Casey) is a cheating, teasing tramp, the type of woman
that you'd see married to Vincent Price in his William Castle films. Also in
the house is Mark (Walker Edmiston) a friend of Richard's that's crippled (well,
he limps when he remembers to do so) as the result of a car accident that Richard
was responsible for. Mark is also a sexually frustrated sculptor (a nod to the
then hot beatnik trend) whose bursts of rage make him a fitting red herring
to a 
string
of beachside murders--yes, the monster is actually someone wearing a costume,
but just who is it?
The surf/jazz score is credited
to Frank Sinatra Jr.(!) and yes, I would be the first on line to purchase a
soundtrack CD if one was ever issued. One of the highlights is seeing a lion
hand puppet singing about the titular monster ("He tries to drive a woody,
but he ain't no goody.") while the love-smitten kids form a refrain chorus
("Yeah, yeah, yeah"). There's some pretty bloody killings (for the
period), the worst rear-projection driving sequences ever witnessed, and that
infamous stock shot of an automobile racing off a high cliff--the same one used
in hund
reds
of films since the 1930s!
Image has released BEACH GIRLS
AND THE MONSTER as part of "The Wade Williams Collection" but this
DVD has more footage than what's in their VHS edition. In some prints, the surfing
stock footage was in color, but here it's black & white (it's just as well
as the color usually looked faded anyway). This release represents the theatrical
version, as an altered TV syndication version (released by AIP) exists under
the title, "Monster From the Surf." The transfer is letterboxed at
the original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with Anamorphic enhancement--I believe the
first time such treatment has been bestowed upon a Wade Williams title. BEACH
GIRLS AND THE MONSTER in 1.85:1? Well, looking at the cool original trailer
included as an extra, you'll witness an enormous amount of headroom and a boom
mike/pole in full view, so you know the aspect ratio of the feature is accurate,
and it looks quite fitting indeed. Aside from some various print markings and
light lines, the image looks reasonably sharp and black levels are deep. The
mono 
audio
is very clear and only daunted by several occasions where it briefly blanks
out (thankfully, not during dialog).
The excellent liner notes (included
in a booklet insert) are by Tom Weaver and include quotes from several cast
members. Among other interesting items, we learn that the creators' roots were
in children's television (that might explain the film's singing puppet), and
that the creature head is now in the proud possession of Wade Williams himself.
There's a still gallery, and while I was expecting a dozen or so generic stills,
I was delighted to see DOZENS of mostly candid behind-the-scenes shots and rare
publicity photos (a handful of which are in color!). Also included is a script
excerpt, which can only be opened on your computer, using Adobe Acrobat Reader
(which is actually easy to download and free). This is basically the first eight
pages of Joan Gardner's original screen
play
("Surf Terror"), and consists of the opening ("On a breaking
wave. The sound of the wave is heard as it reaches its peak and breaks. As noise
of wave dies, the rhythmic beat of bongos is heard") up until the murder
of the monster's first victim.
There are two "Easter Eggs"
on the disc that you might want to hunt for. One enables access to some trailers
from other "Wade Williams Collection" titles, and the other is a condensed
replay of the monster's first attack scene. (George
R. Reis)