BIKINI BEACH (1964)
Director: William Asher
MGM

BEACH PARTY (written by William Asher, Robert Diller, Leo Townsend and directed by William Asher) is the third of seven AIP beach films. MUSCLE BEACH PARTY, the second in the beach series, is still unavailable on DVD. (Hint to MGM, my wallet is open!)

Before I go further, let me say that the opening title scene with the song BIKINI BEACH is worth the price of this DVD alone! No kidding gang, this song is the most and the performance, sung by the entire surf gang, is top notch. If you played this song with a tougher somewhat fuzztone guitar you'd have a song more reminiscent to The Ramones beach songs.

As always, the main foil involves an adult who is disturbed by the antics of the beach loving teens. In this installment Keenan Wynn plays Harvey Huntington Honeywagon the third, the owner of a retirement home that he wants to "protect" from the disturbance of the youth. He is also the editor of the local newspaper and runs a series of articles comparing the actions of the surf teens to his trained chimpanzee Clyde. Clyde, most obviously a man in a poor ape costume, surfs, dances, drag races etc.

Eric Von Zipper (Harvey Lembeck) and his motorcycle gang of Rats and Mice arrive on the scene to ironically support Honeywagon because the surfers "are the natural enemy of the Rats and Mice." Von Zippers' "army" also despises the drag race scene led by drag race owner and teen nightclub operator Big Drag (Don Rickles). Rickles delivers a primo performance and it was a delight to see him in action here… classic Rickles!

The greatest plot twist of the movie is that the beach is suddenly the camp site of the rock star teen idol the Potato Bug, a character representing the British invasion -- Beatles, Herman's Hermits etc. The character is played brilliantly by no other than Frankie Avalon himself, probably the finest acting I've ever seen from the guy. There's no doubt that some of the influence for The Rutles as well as Austin Powers comes from Avalon's portrayal of the Potato Bug.

Frankie and the Potato Bug are vying for Annette's affection and eventually a drag race competition is set, Von Zipper gets involved, there's a chase scene, there's a fight scene, blah blah blah. You get the picture. It's a howl and an absolute blast to watch.

I always thought that the AIP beach movies displayed a clash of cultures and BIKINI BEACH is a prime example. First, there's the obvious theme of the structured parental world vs. the free spirited world of the surf teens. This is a running theme in the series but there's some extra digs in this one from Dee Dee (Annette Funicello) to her boyfriend Frankie (Avalon) about needing to settle down and get married. Even within the teen world itself the tug for normalcy is palpable.

Of course, Eric Von Zipper and his Rats and Mice motorcycle gang represents the culture clash between the rebellious teens of the 50s, ala Marlon Brando, vs. the late 50s to early 60s beach scene.

The interesting and unique clash of cultures in BIKINI BEACH involves the old-school rock 'n roll teens, easily represented by the musical careers of Frankie and Annette, and the burgeoning British invasion that we know in hindsight changed the face of rock 'n roll forever. The reaction by Frankie and most of the male characters to the Potato Bug seems closer to parental reactions to The Beatles than that of youth.

Of course Deadhead, also known as Goo Goo - played by Jody McCrea, is on the scene for comic relief, although he's beefed up a bit and now just seems a bit creepy as a teenager. The amazing Candy Johnson as herself - the world's fastest twist dancer, gets her best role to date. There are several references to a certain "power" that Candy has to literally knock guys over when she swings her hips. John Ashley is on the scene as Johnny, his typically rude adolescent male self… great performance!

The only major flaw in the film comes early on when there's a beach scene with Honeywagon and chimp Clyde meeting the kids for the first time. The scene embarrassingly switches from a true outdoor shot to an indoor studio shot with mat background for close-ups. The only problem is that the sky in the mat is an entirely different color than the real outdoor sky. Also, it's looks like the scene was done this way because the kids and Wynn were not actually on the set at the same time that day. Sort of charming though in an American International sort of way.

Oh, as always, there's a great cameo by a classic horror movie star, but the gag is too good to ruin (I had to ruin it! -- Your Editor).

I mentioned the stellar performance of the theme "Bikini Beach" but should also mention the rest of the songs. Donna Loren delivers a wonderful surf-spy type tune where love is a "Secret Weapon." Also, all of the Beatles/Herman's Hermits knock-off tunes by the Potato Bug are a scream! Seriously funny stuff here and well done from a musical standpoint. The surf band The Pyramids do a few great numbers along with Exciters Band doing an exceptional watussi number. The film is historical if for nothing else but the great one song performance by the 14 year old Little Stevie Wonder who sings and plays harmonica. Once again, the clash of cultures is obvious. Stevie Wonder, even at this young age, is showing us the soul that would become the music of the 70s.

I'm a huge Les Baxter fan, and I have nothing but praise for the film's musical score. Baxter takes the melody line from several of the films songs and weaves great background themes. Ahhh, thank you Les. Make mine a double.

The source material is top notch both visually and aurally. The film is crystal clear and both widescreen letterboxed (anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1) and full screen versions. Extras include an excellent theatrical trailer as well as Spanish and French subtitles, and Close Captioning.

So there you go beach bunnies. Wax up your board, hop in your Woody and go grab this DVD platter that matters. You'll definitely want to give this one the old O O…. that's once-over Poindexter! (Scott Morschhauser)

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