The green metal-flake VW cruised through the drive-in lot toward the concession stand, its redline tires crunching in the gravel as it prowled in search of the best vantage point. Passing by the Beatnik Bandit, the Deora and the Silhouette, it found its spot, parked and waited for the feature to begin.
The concession stand was a shoebox. The screen was my parents' console TV. And the patrons were my Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars. That's how I saw my first Beach Party flick, "Bikini Beach." And it made quite an impression on a eight-year-old kid from South Georgia: I thought life on the California beaches was really like that. Anyway, I was hooked. And "Bikini Beach" remains one of my favorite films to this day.
At the time of its release in 1964, the critics' nightmares were coming true: the AIP "Beach Party" films were becoming a series. With the third one, "Bikini Beach," they'd truly hit their stride. It's got chicks in bikinis, rail dragsters, Beatle satire, Gary Usher songs, Boris Karloff, Don Rickles, Eric Von Zipper, Bonehead and Candy Johnson. All that, plus a fake monkey.
A masterpiece of Dumb.
Frankie Avalon plays two roles this time. He's Frankie, of course, and he's "The Potato Bug," an obnoxious British recording star. He handles the part surprisingly well, turning in a Terry Thomas-ish performance (aided by fake teeth). He does one satirically Beatlesque tune (complete with yeah-yeah-yeahs), playing a cool doubleneck Danelectro guitar. Of course, the two Frankies compete for the affections of Annette. (I have to stop here to mention that for some people, such as my wife, the Potato Bug subplot is the cinematic equivalent of Chinese water torture.)
Keenan Wynn's out to get the kids this time, using a chimp named Clyde (actually Janos Prohaska in a monkey outfit) to show up the gang by outdoing them at surfing, driving a dragster, etc. Plot-wise, that's pretty much it. But we're not here for the plot, are we?
Don Rickles does a lot for this film, returning as Jack Fanny who's now changed his name to "Big Drag," ditching the bodybuilding scene for dragracing and the arts. "...I got out of the Fanny business. That's all behind me now." (Smart move, Jack.)
Speaking of the drags, check out Clyde's dragster. It's The Showboat, a four-engine Buick-powered dragster owned by "TV" Tommy Ivo. (Ivo was a Fifties TV star who turned to drag-racing in the Sixties and provided technical assistance for this film.) The Showboat has four slicks and when it hops off the line at Big Drag's Dragstrip, it smokes up the entire track. How did anybody see to steer the thing? (A model of the car was available in the Sixties and, luckily, was re-issued in the Nineties.) However, it turned out that four engines were not necessarily an advantage in drag-racing: due to the extra weight, it was slower than Ivo's twin-engine machine. Dig it below, with Rickles.
Dean Jeffries' showcar, the Mantaray, also appears. The Potato Bug cruises up to the dragstrip in it. That's actually Jeffries, in the Bug's duds, behind the wheel. Jeffries is also the creator of the Black Beauty from the "Green Hornet" TV show.
All the racing stuff was shot at Pamona Raceway, with footage from the '64 Winternationals (including a run from "Big Daddy" Don Garlits). It don't get no better than this!
Another highlight is the appearance by The Pyramids, the crazed bald surf band known for their hit "Penetration." They do two songs, "Record Run" and the boss instrumental "Bikini Drag." (Both tunes finally appeared on a Pyramids compilation CD from the good people at Sundazed. Thanks, y'all.) "Little" Stevie Wonder also appears.
Around this time, "Famous Monsters Of Filmland" magazine held a make-up contest with the winner getting the chance to appear in an AIP film—and AIP getting their movie plugged in FM. The winner was Val Warren, which explains why there's a werewolf running around at times. Given the rest of the film, he seems right at home.
Floyd Crosby was "Bikini Beach"'s director of photography. At the time, he was also shooting AIP's Corman/Poe series. And he's former Byrd David Crosby's dad--and grandfather to Melissa Etheridge's kid, I guess.
I watch "Bikini Beach" about once a year, nowdays on a great-looking DVD from MGM. I was reminded of it recently when I happened upon a great blog: checkthecoolwax.blogspot.com. There you'll find some tunes lifted from the film, along with stuff from the rest of the series. You should also check out www.wediditforlove.com/diggers-Bikini-Beach.html for information on the cars in the drag sequences. And if you haven't seen the film itself, by all means do. It's really stupid. And really great.
No comments:
Post a Comment