Bikini Beach (1964) User Reviews

Innocent charms and slapstick gags

[moonspinner55 · 5/10 · 15 June 2003]

Annette Funicello is probably the most over-dressed beach bunny to ever hit the sands, but she's a stitch in her scenes with Frankie Avalon (as surfer Frankie) and pop-singer The Potato Bug (Avalon again, in a Beatle wig, funny teeth and English accent). Their repartee makes this a charming piece of Americana, but the thing is so stuck in a sterile time-capsule it's nearly impossible to believe that teenagers once got a charge from it. Drag-racing is the newest craze, and the beach gang gets shown up once Keenan Wynn puts a chimp successfully behind the wheel of a hot rod. For racing aficionados, we get a glimpse of the Mantra Ray, a $50,000 all-aluminum experimental "dream rod" with a King Cobra Ford engine. Annette poses prettily beside it... ** from ****

Finally! Annette is Smart, Sexy and Slightly Dangerous.

[Bob-45 · 6/10 · 2 May 2005]

We red-blooded males who followed Annette Funicello's career from the time she was a nubile Mousketeer will be especially enamored of "Bikini Beach," a superior entry in the, admittedly, mediocre "Beach Party" series. For once, Annette gets to play smart, sexy and slightly dangerous, possessing more than a passing interest in sex. Gone, thank goodness, is her usual "Doris Day with mild PMS" persona. I have a strong suspicion this is closer to the "real" Annette, here. I certainly hope so. Even Annette's singing is very good. I wish AIP would've sprung for the bucks to give "Bikini" better choreography. Annette, a trained dancer would have impressed even more. Annette's swimsuit is even more revealing than usual, about as close to a bikini as "Papa Disney" would allow her to wear.

While the script, as usual, plays as if it were cribbed from the back of a cereal box, the gentle ribbing of British rock stars, modern art and drag racing are a welcome change from the usual "Beach Party" dross. Martha Hyer is along and provides some classy, mature-sexy glamor. "Bikini" even has a cameo by a very young Stevie Wonder. While Frankie Avalon won't win any acting awards, his alter-ego, "Potato Bug" is certainly a less annoying character than Mike Meyers' execrable "Austin Powers". Even Don Rickles is along, playing a character named "Big Drag," a gentle pun on Don "Big Daddy" Garlits, a well-known drag racer and auto customizer of the era. Too bad, Rickles doesn't get to cut lose with his usual wise guy humor. Guess AIP was too cheap to spring for that.

While no work of art, "Bikini Beach" is more than just watchable. It's actually, at times, enjoyable. I give "Bikini Beach" a weak "6".

Beatle Over a Potato Bug

[wes-connors · 5/10 · 11 April 2008]

It's a colorful southern California summer of 1964.

Frankie Avalon (as Frankie) hears nature calling him to Annette Funicello (as Dee Dee); but, she hears only wedding bells. In short order, the "Beach Party" gang goes ga-ga over popular English superstar Frankie Avalon (in a dual role, as "The Potato Bug"), arriving to fill out a romantic triangle for Mr. Avalon and Ms. Funicello. Newspaperman Keenan Wynn (as Harvey Huntington Honeywagon III) is also on hand; accompanied by his ape "Clyde" (Janos Prohaska); Mr. Wynn sets out to prove the "sexually preoccupied" teenagers are akin to monkeys. Adult beauty Martha Hyer (as Vivian Clements) thinks Avalon and company are just having a good time. Don Rickles (as Big Drag) and Harvey Lembeck (as Eric Von Zipper) help add drag racing and motorcycle fun.

Returning more to the initial entry's "Beach Party" formula makes "Bikini Beach" an improvement over the series' recent dip into "Muscle Beach Party". The script is relatively snappy, and amusing. "Clyde" and "Frieda" have a great scene together; for example, when "Clyde" plays with Rickles' bird, in the dragster's beer joint (strictly for kids, Rickles explains, as he serves only beer and soda). Avalon's dual role is nicely played; and it is a timely, welcome nod to the mid-sixties musical "British invasion". Funicello, with a decent amount of navel displayed, is always charming; however, the added hair was unnecessary. The regular "teenagers" are attractive, and Ms. Hyer performs exceptionally well.

Director William Asher uses bewitching wife Elizabeth Montgomery well; she reads the beginning of a newspaper article, and voices the French "Lady Bug". Despite the presence of Stevie Wonder, the Pyramids, and the Exciters; performing songs by the usual writers, the soundtrack is derivative, and unmemorable. Look for Gary Usher, Roger Christian, and Mike Nader among the "Beach Boys". Mr. Nader once told me he was in these movies, and now I see him.

****** Bikini Beach (7/22/64) William Asher ~ Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Martha Hyer, Don Rickles

Arguably the second best film in the series

[mmarshal · 17 September 2002]

O.K., O.K., I must take some exception with the two prior reviews in this thread. Bikini Beach has a lot more going for it those pieces implied.

First, Frankie Avalon finally earned his AIP pay in this picture. While I really don't care for his 60s greaser college kid character in most of the other beach Party movies, here his dual roles (as "Frankie" the surfer who takes Dee Dee (Annette) for granted and as English invasion artist the "Potato Bug") are enjoyable to watch. He shows his reach as an actor far beyond what one would expect in a B movie like this.

Secondly, for anyone interested in the history of drag racing, the strip scenes are interesting; textbook mid 60s drag environment. Few if any other examples of that are available in American film.

Third, the music. Much better than what was in the movie that preceded it ("Muscle Beach Party" was one of the weakest of the series in terms of music) and many that followed. In Bikini Beach, you get to hear Annette sing a duet of a Styner-Hemrick ballad ("Because You're You") with Avalon that is good (if you have a copy of her Bikini Beach LP, her solo version of this song on it is arguably one of the most hauntingly beautiful recordings she ever made). The "house club band" at Big Daddy's in this film is the Pyramids, arguably one of the better now-forgotten west coast groups that played the role of the house band in these movies. Their instrumental version of "Fingertips" is classic early 60's surf instrumental. And a very young Stevie Wonder actually appears at the end.

Fourth, the infamous Candy Johnson (the fringe-wearing, wild blond go-go dancer character who, with the swish of her hips, could put a man in a daze and send him flying through the air) finally comes of age in this movie, the club fight scenes actually feature her. As do the closing credits, where she fractures the camera lens at the end.

Does all this make "Bikini Beach" a work of art? Heavens. no, but it's a heck of a lot better than Muscle Beach Party, Pajama Party, How to Stuff a Wild Bikini and the Ghost in the Invisible Bikini. In other words, out of the seven AIP Beach Party Movies, this is definitely in the top two or three (only bettered by Beach Blanket Bingo and arguably Beach Party).

With a bit of irony

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 30 August 2018]

I'm sure with a bit of irony Frankie Avalon played dual roles in Bikini Beach. The first is his usual beach loving self and the second with blond wig page boy style is that of invading British rocker. Frankie would go on for years as actor and nightclub performer. But that quartet from Liverpool signaled he and his generation of performers of the Elvis era were passing into history.

Two people invade the beach space in this film. One is the Avalon alter ego, British rocker Potato Bug who makes a play for Annette Funicello. The other is Keenan Wynn who brings a chimpanzee to start a campaign that these beach kids and their music are as intelligent as his simian. Wynn is channeling his Alonzo Hawk character from his Disney films. Wynn enlists the really brain dead Harvey Lembeck and his motorcyclists to assist in turning the beach into a senior citizen retirement community.

Bikini Beach is so old that among the musical guests is listed Little Stevie Wonder. Everybody on the film looks like they're having a good time making it and they bring a nice infectious spirit to the proceedings.

One of the best beach party movies

[funkyfry · 7/10 · 4 October 2002]

One of the funniest beach party movies made by AIP (or anybody), with a great cast and pretty funny script with no story involved. Such as it is involves the arrival of the Potato Bug (Avalon in a double role), a John Lennon-esque Britisher that all the beach girls swoon over. Annette seems to decide the endless summer might never end, and jumps ship to the Bug. Frankie and the Bug have to drag race it out at Don Ricle's aptly named "Big Drag" -- Rickles is anything but a drag, constantly mugging with the lines they throw him and everyone else's too. Frankie Avalon's double performance may not go down in history as the modern equivalent of John Barrymore, but it's all good fun worth a hundred minutes of my lifetime. Looks like Mike Myers might have been watching this one pretty closely too.

Bikini Beach was my first intro to Frankie and Annette at the beach

[tavm · 4/10 · 25 August 2008]

This movie, Bikini Beach, is the first time I've actually seen these Frankie Avalon-Annette Funicello Beach movies in their entirety. Avalon is highly amusing in playing another role as Potato Bug, a British rock singer obviously inspired by The Beatles' invasion of America as evident by Bug's two numbers that spoof many of the Fab Four's early hits with the "oooohs" especially noticeable. There's also some amusing stuff from blond dancer Candy Johnson and Harvey Lembeck as Eric Von Zipper. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for Keenan Wynn as a crusading newspaper publisher (and why is the paper called Bikini Bugle, why ask why?) or especially Don Rickles as a painter/bar owner/drag racing announcer as they have no real punchlines. I also didn't find the gorilla stuff or the chase at the climax amusing either. I did like the songs and instrumentals, the latter of which was provided by a guitar band called The Pyramids. Frankie and Annette have a nice duet at the beach while Ms. Funicello provides a nice solo. Brunette teen Donna Loren also sings an enjoyably catchy song at the beginning here and then there's Little Stevie Wonder providing his number at the end which, while not memorable, is all right. Like I said, the comedy mostly falls flat after about 30 minutes but that said, Bikini Beach remains mostly harmless fun as an introduction to me of the series. Trivia: the director's wife, Elizabeth Montgomery, provides the voice of Lady Bug. Oh, and there's a cameo by a famous horror star near the end...

BIKINI BEACH (William Asher, 1964) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 6/10 · 23 July 2008]

This sequel to MUSCLE BEACH PARTY (1964) is only slightly better: much of the teen cast returns, as well as Don Rickles (but, having now forsaken muscle-men for drag-strip racing) and even Stevie Wonder. We do get a number of new faces – eminent publisher Keenan Wynn (with a practiced simian in tow, he's intent on demonstrating that the youth of today have regressed to pretty much its primitive state!) and schoolteacher Martha Hyer constituting more or less the normal people (they start out as opponents but gradually come to understand and love one another), Harvey Lembeck as the overage leader of a motorcycle gang called Eric Von Zipper (actually, this character had already featured in BEACH PARTY [1963]: here, he's prone to falling victim, by his own hand, of Peter Lorre's paralysis-by-touch technique seen at the end of the previous film) and Timothy Carey (appearing very briefly as a pool-playing eccentric who has a werewolf, fitted with a leather jacket, for a sidekick!).

There's even a second role for Frankie Avalon – doubling as a legendary mop-top and gap-toothed (essentially a cross between The Beatles and Terry-Thomas!) British singer/racer…and, then, there's that great final gag involving Boris Karloff (seen a couple of times from behind throughout but only revealed at the very end as an art dealer interested in Rickles' abstract collection, quipping that he ought to tell his pal Vincent Price – noted for his taste in fine art and at the time also contracted to AIP – about it!). It's these quasi-surreal elements – including the monkey driving Wynn's car (to the recurring consternation of two traffic cops) as well as a dragster, and even doing a bit of surf…but extending to the final credits as blonde-with-powerful-hips Candy Johnson is joined in her wild dance by an aged member of Wynn's old folks' home! – which render the film that much more enjoyable than its predecessor. Otherwise, we get a lot of the same shtick as before – though the beach scenes themselves are thankfully downplayed here; the climax, then, involves a Keystone Kops-type chase which culminates in yet another gratuitous bit of brawling slapstick (this time occurring at Rickles' pseudo-beatnik joint).

Again, the songs are far from classics but, all in all, the film retains some interest (not least in the contribution of cinematographer Floyd Crosby, production designer Daniel Haller and composer Les Baxter – all of them synonymous with Roger Corman's contemporaneous horror films based on the writings of Edgar Allan Poe!) in particular for characterizing the transition between two trends in youth-oriented pictures i.e. the Juvenile Delinquent films of the 1950s and the Counter-Culture efforts (advocating drug use and Free Love) that would prevail soon after

Make it stop!

[mark_kerr-696-748279 · 1/10 · 28 June 2020]

This film should be destroyed and forgotten. I like a cheesy film but this isn't one. It's atrocious. Take your pick of the problems: bad acting, poor writing, , disappointing plot. There simply isn't anything redeemable about this film. Like COVID-19, it should be avoided at all costs.

A mixture of very good and very bad!

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 10 July 2017]

Copyright 22 July 1964 by American International. New York opening at The Palace and other cinemas as a support to The Masque of The Red Death: 16 September 1964. U.S. release: 16 September 1964. U.K. release through Warner-Pathé/Anglo Amalgamated: 25 July 1965. Australian release through Paramount: 27 August 1965. 8,923 feet. 99 minutes. SYNOPSIS: Frankie, Dee Dee and their gang arrive at Bikini Beach for a surfing holiday. Next morning they find on the beach a large Oriental tent, headquarters of the Potato Bug, a British recording star, and his pretty bodyguard, Lady Bug, who is a specialist in French foot-fighting. Since the Potato Bug shows signs of wanting to compete with Frankie for the attentions of Dee Dee, Frankie determines to compete with the Potato Bug at the latter's sport of drag racing.

NOTES: A box-office sequel to "Beach Party".

COMMENT: "Bikini Beach" has four things going for it: Frankie Avalon's remarkable performance in a dual role in which he delightfully spoofs an English pop singer; Harvey Lembeck in a very amusing take-off at the expense of "The Wild One" and Marlon Brando; a smashing free-for-all at the climax; Boris Karloff in a guest spot with inside dialogue ("I must tell Vincent Price about this place!"). Incidentally, many magazines published tributes to Karloff after his death with extensive filmographies, but I don't recall this film being mentioned in any of them . The special effects work involving Frankie Avalon is so skilled I didn't notice it at all (in fact, I didn't even realize until the credits at the end of the film that Frankie was playing a dual role), but other work from that department including the clumsy back projection when Clyde is riding the surfboard has less to commend it. Some poorly matched stock shots and the use of a very obvious double when Frankie is in the surf also militate against the film. But worst of all is the gross and unfunny over-acting by some members of the cast, particularly Jody McCrea and Don Rickles, and the efficient, but tediously dull direction of William Asher to whom may also be sheeted home those laborious sections of the script dealing with the clean-living beach boys and the efforts of a misguided oldie to suppress them.

Light on Substance but Fun Never the Less

[Uriah43 · 5/10 · 25 August 2014]

This third film in the series (after "Beach Party" and "Muscle Beach Party") has "Frankie" (Frankie Avalon), "Dee Dee" (Annette Funicello) and the rest of the surfer gang headed back to the beach to enjoy some sun, waves and music. When they get there they meet a millionaire named "Harvey Huntington Honeywagon III" (Keenan Wynn) who seeks to rid the beach of the surfers so that he can construct a senior citizens home on it. To help him in that regard is a pet chimpanzee named "Clyde" (played by Janos Prohaska) who drives, surfs and dances the Watusi better than anybody there. Another visitor to the beach is a famous British rock star by the name of "Potato Bug" (also played by Frankie Avalon) who has all of the young ladies squealing with delight whenever he sings. Throw in a bar and drag strip owner named "Big Drag" (Don Rickles), a beautiful defender of the surfers by the name of "Vivien Clements" (Martha Hyer), a motorcycle gang known as "the Ratz" led by "Eric Von Zipper" (Harvey Lembeck) and a bevy of attractive young women and the result is a film that is light on substance but fun never the less. What was probably most interesting was the way this movie managed to assimilate the relatively new "surf music" with the brand new sound characterized by the "First British Invasion". On the other hand, while I appreciated the scenery provided by Annette Funicello, Martha Hyer, Meredith MacRae (as "Animal") and a host of other young ladies, I didn't especially care for the amount of time devoted to Clyde or "Candy" (Candy Johnson). Neither did I feel that Don Rickles was given an adequate script to showcase his comedic talent. But that's just my opinion. In short, this wasn't a bad movie but it wasn't that great either. Accordingly, I rate it as average.

Even more fun today than it was some 50 plus years earlier

[Ed-Shullivan · 10/10 · 12 September 2020]

I wish Hollywood would re-think their model of what sells to teenagers such as gangbangers, CGI, blown up buildings and cars, and bring back some more silly and great fun beach bum movies such as Bikini Beach. Mrs. Shullivan and I (both in our sixties now) watched a re-run of Bikini Beach with the familiar beach gang ringleaders consisting of Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Martha Hyer, John Ashley, Donna Loren, Don Rickles,, Meredith MacRae, hot hipster Candy Johnson and Jody McCrea to name a few of the characters that are sure to put a smile on your face, keep your fingers snapping and your hips twisting to the beach songs in the pub. We even get to see the great gams of Danielle Aubry kick some butt.

It's a classic beach swingers film with a camp comedy story line that even includes a surfing ape, a high kicking sexy Danielle Aubry, and a bus load of singing, swinging beach bums doing their thing on the beach.

What's not to like with this fun loving, free swinging, high kicking camp comedy?

I give it a perfect 10 out of 10 IMDB rating.

The Best of the Series

[aimless-46 · 7/10 · 6 June 2007]

One tends to regard all the Frankie and Annette beach movies as interchangeable, but current viewers should find a lot more substance in "Bikini Beach" (1964) than in the others. And not just because the film holds up reasonably well and performs the time capsule function.

Most of the credit goes to the writers who probably realized this thing (as a sequel of sorts) was pre-sold and took a few chances with social commentary and satire that you normally don't see in an American International exploitation film. And "Bikini Beach" features a genuinely good soundtrack; with an absolute minimum of performances by Annette. In the satire and parody department there are a number of nice self-reflexive elements. The best of these being a parody of the Beatles "I Want To Hold Your Hand", performed by Frankie who doubles as a mop-headed British import named "The Potato Bug". Those who recall the British invasion remember that for every two screaming teenage fans there was at least one sulking boy who just didn't get it.

Then there is the "Wild Ones" parody including Harvey Lembeck's entrance on a motorcycle complete with a trophy tied to the handlebars. Finally there is a tribute to "The Hustler's" Minnesota Fats, a pool hall scene with a player named South Dakota Slim.

There are even social commentary themes. Keenan Wynn's "Harvey Honeywagon" drops his crusade against the partying surfer crowd once he starts getting it on with Martha Hyer. The idea being that uptight people are just frustrated at not getting any action. Of course the writers don't let the surfer off completely, as their surfing-dancing-drag racing lifestyle offers so little challenge that a trained ape can beat them at their own games.

As to the soundtrack, highlights include a great title song with the opening credits, the earliest Stevie Wonder performance you are likely to see, some nice stuff by the great Donna Loren (including another parody element-this time a secret agent spoof), and the Beatles parody already mentioned.

The real beauty of the Potato Bug character is that he replaces about half the Frankie/Annette stuff usually found in these movies. It's still Frankie and Annette but this time the scenes have some actual entertainment value.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Low Brow Teen Flick

[atlasmb · 4/10 · 12 July 2022]

This teen-oriented film is not surfing-centric like many others, but it takes place around the beach, as the title suggests. It was released just after the Beatles stormed the U. S. and during the era when drive-ins were still in use. Teens in cars with their dates were probably not the most discerning audiences. And "Bikini Beach" asks little of viewers.

The action is very cartoonish, with pratfalls, chases and fights that are choreographed in a silly style. The humor is juvenile and many of the characters have silly names, like Eric Von Zipper, Big Drag, and Deadhead. This film's idea of funny is a chimp riding a scooter with a bird on its head.

Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello star. In this genre of film, they are iconic, but their performances are lackluster. Compare Annette's solos to Olivia Newton-John singing in "Grease", for example.

What the film does have are Don Rickles, a singer named Potato Bug to parody the Beatles, some frenetic frugging, drag racing, Little Stevie Wonder, Meredith MacRae appearing in her second film about the time she started on "My Three Sons", and an appearance by Boris Karloff. If you listen closely, you will hear director William Asher's future wife, Elizabeth Montgomery, voicing one character.

All of these things are mildly interesting, but the film in its entirety is an assemblage of elements where the plot is superfluous.

The Best of the Beach

[Sargebri · 12 March 2003]

This is probably the best of the "Beach Party" films. The series pretty much hit its peak here and after this it was all downhill. Annette Funicello is her level headed best and Frankie Avalon is still her lunkheaded boyfriend who only can think about surfing. The thing I think is a little ironic about this film is the fact that Avalon in his portrayal of Potato Bug takes a swipe at The Beatles. Many forget that Avalon was one of the hottest singers in America until the "Fab Four" arrived the same year this film was released. After that it was downhill from there. The other shining moment in this film has to belong to Harvey Lembeck as the perpetually dimwitted leader Eric Von Zipper. This was his defining role and this film was his funniest yet.

Feablemania?

[JasparLamarCrabb · 1/10 · 19 November 2009]

The usual inane shenanigans from Frankie, Annette and the Beach Party gang. This time they tangle with creepy Keenan Wynn, a monkey and Don Rickles (as Big Drag). Wynn is convinced he can prove that teenagers are not more intelligent than a chimp. Clearly he's seen BEACH PARTY, MUSCLE BEACH PARTY and PAJAMA PARTY. Sexy Martha Hyer is his girl Friday and Avalon plays a second role (a Beatle-esq British singer named Potato Bug). He's dreadful. A bunch of songs are lip synced in the shoddiest way possible and save for an appearance by (Little) Stevie Wonder, they're all completely forgettable. Harvey Lembeck and his biker goons show up as well adding no laughs.

"The Graduate" at the Beach

[TedMichaelMor · 7/10 · 21 June 2010]

Foreshadowing Mike Nichol's "The Graduate", William Asher's "Bikini Beach" explores the angst of adolescent life in Southern California, though, perhaps, not quite as well as he already had in his outstanding "Muscle Beach Party" and "Beach Party". Written as a vehicle for the Beatles, this film also presages later classic Beatles films.

I did not see these films on their initial release because of my aversion to such popular fare—at the time. I suppose it seemed one-dimensional, though that word is possibly an anachronism. However, Martha Hyer is beautiful here and that provides sufficient dimensionality to see the film. The music is the weakest element.

Added later: I am not quite certain what to say about the Beach Party movies. I did not see them at the time of their release. I was quite serious about watching movies by that time and, for the most part, I would not have seen these movies; I am not certain that I would have even been particularly aware of them. During this time, I was exploring European modernist works. As for sex, my father had introduced me to Bardot movies around the time I was twelve, I think. Yet, these are not bad movies. They are much better than some Bob Hope comedies from that time, though without the witty dialogue one finds in the Hope films.

These movies appear often on the "this" network. I have now seen all of them, a least, in a glancing way. They seem to have provided many gifted people with some income. I suppose a film scholar would find some way to reveal something profound about our society from reviews of the films. The camera work never seems to enter the scene. We are always somehow aware not our not being within the frame or involved in what is happening.

The movies are not bad. They are trite in a way but not entirely mindless. The iconography might be the most important aspect of the films but that would require a long discourse I am not able to provide. They probably do not deserve a lot of attention but probably some attention.

The frantic dancing in most of them is the most dated part. I know that Ms. Funicello was a gifted dancer but you would not know that from these works. I would not have appreciated them when they were released but I was in the wrong demographic at that time.

No one was ever the way characters in the Beach Party films are. And I doubt anyone had fantasies that relate to these stories. But they seem to have done well and made money. They must have meant something so

I think that the films were on the edge of something that the Beatles finally did. The Beatles and the movie "The Knack". I have upgraded my rating. I do love Ms. Funicello. I suspect she had a latent talent for romantic comedy that might have flowered in a better world.

I agree with the positive train of reviews here.

Surf, suds, sand, sex....& stupid

[helpless_dancer · 3/10 · 8 May 2002]

This has to be the worst installment of the series and usually I find something in these beach epics somewhat amusing, but this one fell flatter than a Galveston wave. Even my idols, Eric Von Zipper and his army of Ratz, weren't given decent parts. I could easily have gone without the silvery warbling of Annette as she walked along the ocean's edge; her's and Frankie's mediocre vocals added nothing to the film. Now that I think of it, they took away. This driftwood should be heaved overboard and the lines to the lifebuoys sliced.

Once again A 10 for Me!

[mammamia701 · 7/10 · 25 June 2020]

I just enjoyed this installment of the beach movies with Annette and Frankie. Once again we are treated with Little Stevie Wonder and Donna Loren singing. It's the same typical plot of the teenagers love story. This time they even have Frankie Avalon playing a dual role as the Potato Bug, spoofing the era of the British invasion and the Beetles.

The plot again is typical with Annette and Frankie, in love and making each other jealous. This one has Keenan Wynn as a guest star. He's always been one of my favorite actors, from early movies with Free Astaire, through Disney movies plus many more movies and tv shows. Of course, they end happily 😊

Ok, I'm a huge fan of these beach movies, especially the ones starting Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. It's a terrific way to just escape to a bygone era and simpler time. Plus the innuendo of "the finger" by Eric Von Zipper.

More popcorn and M&M'S ....just sit back and enjoy!

Bikini Blech

[ArtVandelayImporterExporter · 2/10 · 13 September 2017]

Was there actually a time in American history when people thought Frankie and Annette were interesting, sexy, funny or in any way entertaining?

They're blander than WonderBread.

Is there anyone under the age of 30 in this movie allegedly about and presumably for teenagers?

The music. Horrible.

Keenan Wynne. That man cashed a lot of cheques over the years and this is no exception.

Don Rickles. I was embarrassed for him.

My first Beach Party Movie

[akoaytao1234 · 6/10 · 18 December 2023]

A group kids are faced with a problem, a developer with a quirky Monkey friends what to turn their favorite beach into his own private resort. If only his wife, can change his mind. Meanwhile a Beatles Amalgamation is also around the area trying to steal a local beauty but her boyfriend is ready to race her out of his arms.

This film is nothing really but a huge fluff. Even its title is such an empty void that it seems like made to be an afterthought even when it was initially made. Nothing about this film really made a lot of sense AND all the plot beat are mere moments to have characters have quirky reaction against. Apparently, this would be one of the biggest of its kind during this time. The beach party films where a dime a dozen then.

No one really here is noteworthy though Avalon did double roles here. Apparently, the film was initially was to be made with the Beatles but they got really big really fast. Thus, the popstar character left in the film. The funniest thing about it is that they made it so stereotypical that made him look like a Family Guy insert. Otherwise, everyone is just phoning it in with their performance.

Fun but not really recommended.

Bikini Beach (1964) *1/2

[JoeKarlosi · 4/10 · 2 January 2009]

More of the same crapola from MUSCLE BEACH PARTY, with a lot of the same performers. Frankie and Annette are back, though I truthfully had no idea they were so inconsequential in these beach blanket bingo flicks. Don Rickles has given up working with muscle men, and now his character is into drag strip racing (he wears a shirt throughout the movie which pronounces "Big Drag", which sums everything up nicely). Yeah, drag racing and bikinis seem to go hand in hand in these things, though there is precious little of the latter on tap (don't let the title fool you). Things get dopier than ever as we see a prominent man-in-a-suit ape character driving race cars, surfing waves, and whatever else. There's a gang of leathernecks lead by one stupid Eric Von Zipper (a recurring character played by Harvey Lembeck), and ummm... what else? Oh yes, Candy Johnson again wearing her usual unrevealing outfit (was she afraid to show skin, or something?) , and a welcome return song and dance visit by the talented Little Stevie Wonder, who luckily couldn't see what kind of messy melange he was featured in. Last time we had Peter Lorre making a special appearance, so this time it's horror legend Boris Karloff with a brief walk-on. John Ashley's in here somewhere too. No more of these, please. *1/2 out of ****

Onwe of the best in the series

[Skragg · 8/10 · 12 June 2006]

There's one thing it took me forever to notice about this series. In the early movies, they smoke and drink (beer, at least). In this one, "Big Drag" makes a point of saying that he doesn't sell liquor or cigarettes to the surfers. This might be before the phrase "role model" really took off, but maybe they were trying to get on the good side of parents. It might not be mentioned here, but "Clyde" the chimpanzee is played by Janos Prohaska, an actor who specialized in playing apes and monsters (he wore the same suit in a famous Outer Limits episode). One of Don Rickles best moments is when Keenan Wynnn is lecturing him - you really have to watch the frown on his face, because even for Rickles, it's hilarious. And Harvey Lembeck had some of his best moments of the series, when he becomes "strange bedfellows" with Wynn's character, then feels betrayed when Wynn sides with Martha Hyer - "It's a regular Delilah and Simpson!" I don't think anyone here has mentioned the cameo at the end, which, as usual, was by a horror actor. The man whose face is never shown (in other scenes) walks in during the fight between the surfers and the motorcycle gang, and it turns out to be Boris Karloff. He says a few lines, looks around at the fighting and says, "Monsters."

Second Best Beach Party Movie

[utgard14 · 6/10 · 5 January 2014]

British superstar Potato Bug shows up and causes friction between Frankie and Annette. Meanwhile Keenan Wynn and his pet chimp try to put a stop to teens on the beach so he can build an old folks' home there. This is a fun movie with a terrific dual performance by Frankie Avalon. Annette Funicello looks beautiful and sings a couple of nice ballads. I'm not the biggest fan of the Beach Party series but some of them are good fun. This is the second best, I think, behind Beach Blanket Bingo. It's got everything you could want from a beach movie. Girls in bikinis, nice songs, goofy comedy, a guy in a chimp suit, and a great cameo by Boris Karloff. If you like simple, fun, innocent movies then you'll like this a lot.

no Beatles

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 13 August 2023]

Frankie (Frankie Avalon) and Dee Dee (Annette Funicello) lead their friends back to the beach. Dee Dee is still waiting for wedding bells, but Frankie is not willing. British rock star "The Potato Bug" and drag racer Peter Royce Bentley (Frankie Avalon) takes an interest in Dee Dee. While spying with his monkey Clyde, wealthy Harvey Huntington Honeywagon looks down upon the young beach goers.

Apparently, The Beatles were supposed to be the rock stars in this movie, but they got simply too big by then. So the movie replaces them with The Potato Bug. If it actually happened, the cultural significance of this movie would skyrocket. I can't imagine it. It's already crazy that Little Stevie Wonder is a part of the franchise when he was still called Little. It's the third in the series and it's more of the same. It was probably getting tired back in the day. I myself am tired of the stupider villain characters. I do like Frankie getting jealous over the male attention for Dee Dee instead of the other way around. This is nothing great. It is what it is.