Skin, sand and surf

Everyone's young and beautiful in the beach movies of yore.

by Norene Cashen
5/3/00

Give summer a proper, dimwitted kickoff.

Even though filmmakers in the late 1980s and ‘90s haven’t missed a beat when it comes to coming-of-age goof-ups and gross-outs, the era unfortunately hasn’t offered much in the way of beach flicks to give summer a proper, dim-witted kickoff.

If you’re looking to gear up for the warm weather with skin, sand and surf, you might have to venture into the old (or really old) releases section of your local video store to find a decent selection.

In the mid-’80s, it was clear that the no-brainer beach movie trend was taking its last breath. In 1984, a hardly memorable remake of Henry Levin’s 1960 classic Where the Boys Are drew the line in the sand between the charmingly repressed sexuality of that previous era and the explicit nature of movies that followed. 1984’s Where the Boys Are was updated with nudity, atrocious ‘80s bondage fashion and a wild house party. Preoccupied with its own gratuitous sex, it barely made a splash at the box office.

All the charm of the original swingin’ beach party was hopelessly lost in the remake’s lame plot and string-bikini butt shots. The 1960 version didn’t have a compelling story line either, but it did have the naïveté, understated sensuality, easy stereotypes and characters that weren’t developed outside their bathing suits. The pure feel-good fix gave us Connie Francis, Dolores Hart, Yvette Mimieux and Paula Prentiss as boy-crazy beach bunnies wearing enough swimsuit material to outfit the entire cast of "Baywatch." It may be a feminist’s nightmare, but it has an enduring allure.

This fascination with fun in the sun can be traced back to Gidget (1959). Before Sally Field took the role of the American sweetheart to television, Sandra Dee appeared on the big screen as Frances "Gidget" Lawrence, an overly peppy teen with her head in the clouds and her bright eyes set on mastering her surfboard.

As Gidget goes after the attention of a suburban heartthrob named Moondoggie (James Darren), the repressed sexuality is enough to make this movie and its low-budget fake ocean scenes worthwhile. After being spurned by Moondoggie at a wild luau, the innocent Gidget takes off with a middle-aged, perma-tanned surf bum, the Big Kahuna, who’s become a wayward role model for the boys at the beach.

Besides their charm and frivolous appeal, the old beach movies were great venues for making and showcasing iconic stars. Elvis played a philandering Hawaii tour guide in Blue Hawaii (1961) and a water-skier in the even hotter Clambake (1967). Both movies feature fawning femme fatales (Shelley Fabares and Angela Lansbury, respectively), who can’t seem to resist the King’s impromptu crooning and deadly smile.

One of the most unforgettable couples to kick up the sand in the 1960s was Dee Dee (Annette Funicello) and Potato Bug (Frankie Avalon) in Bikini Beach (1964) and Beach Blanket Bingo (1965). These two movies are part of a series of musical beach party movies that also includes How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965), which features The Kingsmen and a cameo appearance by Brian Wilson.

Each of these vintage flicks exceeds the standard of cutely inane acting and ridiculous plots dressed up in paradise scenery. In Bikini Beach, a wealthy miser tests the intelligence of his pet chimp against the teens he wants to ban from their hangout at the beach. Beach Blanket Bingo offers up plenty of tunes in between scenes that involve a kidnapping.

Funicello and Avalon showed up again in 1987’s Back to the Beach as parents of bleached-blonde rebels. Not even a cast of classics – Stevens, Jerry Mathers, Bob Denver and Dick Dale – could save this one from drowning.

For a summer escape to a place where the heads are cloudy, the skies are clear, and the surf’s always up, check out the oldies but goodies, including Pajama Party (1964), Surf Party (1964) and the hallmark of dwindling innocence, Malibu Beach (1978).

Don’t forget your sunblock, but leave your critical sensibilities at the door.

Norene Cashen writes about all things fun for the Metro Times.