Beach Blanket Bingo (1965)

Director:

William Asher

Writers:

Leo Townsend (written by) and
William Asher (writer)

Release Date:

14 April 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

Any number can play...but it's better with just two!

Plot:

In the fourth of the highly successful Frankie and Annette beach party movies, a motorcycle gang led...

Plot Keywords:

Free Fall | Parachuting | Airplane | Sidecar | Surfboard

Cast

Frankie Avalon	...	Frankie
Annette Funicello	...	Dee Dee
Deborah Walley	...	Bonnie Graham
Harvey Lembeck	...	Eric Von Zipper
John Ashley	...	Steve Gordon
Jody McCrea	...	Bonehead
Donna Loren	...	Donna
Marta Kristen	...	Lorelei
Linda Evans	...	Sugar Kane
Timothy Carey	...	South Dakota Slim
Don Rickles	...	Big Drop
Paul Lynde	...	Bullets
Donna Michelle	...	Animal
Michael Nader	...	Butch (as Mike Nader)
Patti Chandler	...	Patti

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Pathécolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Leo Carrillo State Beach - 35000 W. Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, California, USA

Company:

Alta Vista Productions

Trivia:

Burton Gilliam's film debut.

Goofs:

Continuity: As Buster Keaton chases the beach girl along the shore, the number of rows of footprints in the sand varies from shot to shot.

Quotes:

Frankie: [as the Rat Pack carry Von Zipper away] Toodle-oo, Mouseketeers!
[Annette Funicello as Dee Dee is standing next to him]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Navy NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service: Seadog (#1.3)" (2003)

Soundtrack:

He's My New Love

A fun "Beach Party" outing, but showing some fatigue

"Beach Blanket Bingo" is full of quirky touches (like Annette's face turning green while doing a free-fall out of an airplane or a kidnapped Linda Evans about to be buzz-sawed in half a la "The Perils of Pauline"). It's a colorful entry in the "Beach Party" serial, though oddly missing an exciting musical group (The Hondells in favor of Stevie Wonder or Dick Dale). Also missing is dancing-wonder Candy Johnson, and Annette sings two duets with Frankie Avalon but no solo number (it was cut). The comedy routine by Don Rickles is agonizing and falls flat, but Paul Lynde has some funny one-liners. This series was starting to show its age by now, and the teens are looking a bit long in the tooth (John Ashley no longer plays Frankie's friend, here he's a sky-diving instructor). The mermaid sub-plot featuring a ravishingly sweet Marta Kristen wowing Jody McCrea is the best part of the picture (it tops anything in "Splash") and there's just enough slapstick and visual gags to keep it bubbling. *** from ****