It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals. In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals. This week’s musical: Beach Blanket Bingo (1965) – Musical #277
Studio:
American International Pictures
Director:
William Asher
Starring:
Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Deborah Walley, Linda Evans, John Ashley, Jody McCrea, Michael Nader, Donna Loren, Paul Lynde, Buster Keaton, Don Rickles, Marta Kristen, Donna Michelle, Bobbi Shaw, Mary Hughes, Linda Bent, Salli Sachse, Patti Chandler, Timothy Carey
Themselves: Earl Wilson, The Hondells
Plot:
Singer Sugar Kane (Evans) sky dives on to the beach for a publicity stunt — via her a stunt double Bonnie (Walley) — the female surfers worry that their boyfriends are paying too much attention to her. Dee Dee (Funicello) is especially concerned about Frankie (Avalon), who suddenly is interested in sky diving. When Frankie starts jumping, Dee Dee proves that girls can skydive too. Skydive instructor Bonnie also has a crush on Frankie, much to the chagrin of her boyfriend Steve (Ashley). Meanwhile, biker gang leader Eric Von Zipper (Lembeck) decides he adores Sugar Kane and Bonehead (McCrea) falls in love with a mysterious, beautiful woman of the sea.
It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals. In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.
Starring:
Annette Funicello, Dwayne Hickman, Brian Donlevy, Buster Keaton, Frankie Avalon, Beverly Adams, Harvey Lembeck, John Ashley, Mickey Rooney, Michael Nadar, Sheila MacRae, Marianne Gordon, Len Lesser, Bobbi Shaw, Stephanie Nader, Sue Hamilton (as Sue Williams), Michele Carey (uncredited)
Themselves: The Kingsmen
Cameo: Elizabeth Montgomery
Plot:
While Frankie (Avalon) is away in the Navy on an island, he worries Dee Dee (Funicello) is being as unfaithful as he is. He works with witch doctor Bwana (Keaton) to use magic to spy on Dee Dee to see if she’s faithful. Bwana also creates a sexy distraction, Cassandra (Adams), to keep all the boys away from her. Advertising representatives Peachy Keane (Rooney) and Ricky (Hickman) arrive on the beach to pick an all American girl for their ad campaign with B.D. MacPherson (Donlevy) to change the image of motorcycles, and Ricky falls for Dee Dee.
It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals. In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.
Starring:
Esther Williams, Howard Keel, Minna Gombell, Rita Moreno, Charles Mauu
Plot:
Half-American, half-Tahitian Mimi (Williams) dreams of getting off the island-where she lives with her rich aunt (Gombell)- and going to the United States. Ohio school teacher Hazard Endicott (Keel) moves to the island to run a small plantation his uncle left him and is happy to relax and be lazy on the island. Will Hazard convince Mimi to change her plans?
Trivia:
-Esther Williams was pregnant while filming Pagan Love song, which made her especially concerned about filming a scene in an outrigger, according to Williams’ autobiography, The Million Dollar Mermaid.
-Howard Keel broke had a broken arm during part of the film, and his cast is covered with a towel during a bike riding scene, according to Keel’s autobiography “Only Make Believe: My Life in Show Business.”
-Originally was supposed to star Cyd Charisse and Van Johnson, but Charisse got pregnant, according to Esther Williams autobiography.
-Originally supposed to be directed by Stanley Donen, but after having a difficult time with Donen in “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” Williams requested otherwise, according to her autobiography.
-Esther Williams sings two of her own songs but is dubbed by Betty want in “The Sea of the Moon”
-Produced by Arthur Freed
-Based on the book “Tahiti Landfall”
Howard Keel and Esther Williams in Pagan Love Song
Notable Songs:
None. They were all lousy.
My review:
From the adorable, colorful poster you think “Oh this film has so much potential!”….But this isn’t one of Esther Williams better films. I’m not sure if it’s as bad as “Jupiter’s Darling,” but it’s up there. And the fact that Williams is made up in tan makeup as a part Tahitian isn’t even the worst of it.
Everyone in the film laughs non stop and smiles like an idiot for most of the movie–I guess to show that everyone-even the Ohia school teacher- loves Tahiti. But non-stop laughing in a 72 minute movie can get pretty annoying.
If you read the plot above, you can see there is absolutely nothing to this plot. As I was watching it, I even found myself thinking, “So…what’s the point of this story?” (And that’s coming from someone who has watched and enjoys silly fluff films).
The filming of this movie was about as unhappy as the viewing experience, according to both Williams’ and Keel’s autobiographies.
The director had never shot on location, Keel and Arthur Freed had a falling out, Keel was unhappy with the score and songs, Williams was nervous about sailing in an outrigger over jagged reef while pregnant, Keel had a broken arm, and it rained a large portion of the filming, according to their autobiographies.
For a film set at the beach, starring Esther Williams who is wearing a sarong 40 percent of the film, you would think there would be swimming galore. In reality there are only two swimming scenes:
-Esther Williams singing a tune while a group (her swimming class) swim in a diamond behind her.
-Williams and Keel swim in a lavish dream sequence in the last 10 minutes of the film.
For me, the most notable feature in this film is that you get to hear Esther Williams’ own singing voice in a couple of songs, while she was usually dubbed. For the more serious ballad, Betty Wand dubbed Williams but from what little we hear, Williams sounds decent.
Films that came out of the “Freed Unit” (produced by Arthur Freed), are generally glittery, fantastic forms of entertainment. Which is why I find it so shocking that “Pagan Love Song” is a real stinker.
It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals. In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 500. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.
This week’s musical:
“Girls on the Beach” (1965)– Musical #519
Studio:
Paramount Pictures
Director:
William Witney
Starring:
Noreen Corcoran, Aron Kincaid, Lana Wood, Gail Gilmore, Martin West, Linda Marshall, Steven Rogers, Sheila Bromley, Lori Saunders
Themselves: The Beach Boys, Lesley Gore, The Crickets
Plot:
Sorority sisters try to save their sorority house when they realize their nest egg has been spent by their house mother. In order to raise the money, they try a number of money making schemes from cake baking, newspaper puzzle contests, beauty contests and baby sitting. Three surfer boys trying to get in with the girls tell them that they are personal friends of the Beatles to perform at their benefit concert. The girls advertise The Beatles are coming, but when they learn they aren’t coming, they have to dress up like the Fab Four.
Trivia:
-The only beach film that the Beach Boys appearing, according to Risky Business: Rock in Film by R. Serge Denisoff, William D. Romanowski.
-Originally was going to be titled “Beach Girls,” according to Hollywood Surf and Beach Movies: The First Wave by Thomas Lisanti.
-The film was shot in three weeks, according to Lisanti.
-The Beach Boys wrote “Girls on the Beach” and “Little Honda” specifically for this film.
-Actors didn’t receive residuals for this film for several years, because the film was still listed under its working title of Beach Girls rather than Girls on the Beach, according to Lisanti.
Sorority sisters plot money making schemes in “Girls on the Beach.”
Highlights:
-The female stars dressing up as the Beatles, though it’s goofy.
Notable Songs:
-“The Girls on the Beach” performed by the Beach Boys
-“Leave Me Alone” performed by Lesley Gore
-“Little Honda” performed by the Beach Boys
-“Lonely Sea” performed by the Beach Boys
-“We Want To Marry a Beatle” performed by the female leads
My review:
By the same writers of “Beach Ball,” comes “Girls on the Beach”– one of many beach films made in the 1960s trying to copy the success of the Frankie and Annette American International Picture films.
Compared to some of the other copycat beach films, this one is fun. It has everything that makes up the beach film formula: pretty girls in bikinis, popular musical performances in the day, and scenes on the beach.
Noreen Corcoran as a blonde.
It’s fun to see teenage Noreen Corcoran, former child star and sister of Kevin Corcoran, as the lead in a grown up role after watching her as a little girl in so many other films. However, Noreen’s hair was bleached for the role and she didn’t feel comfortable or like herself. Though Noreen proved to be a capable teenage actress, this was one of her last roles.
The sorority girls’ money making schemes are fairly entertaining and funny such as Lori Saunders doing a snake dance at a beauty contest or one girl making a cake using chemistry and it continuously explodes.
However there are some silly moments. The worst part was when the girls realized The Beatles aren’t coming and dress up as the Beatles. However, every time the Beatles are mentioned, people say “yeh yeh yeh,” referencing the song “She Loves You.”
Apparently they couldn’t get any rights to Beatles music and all they did was say “yeh yeh yeh” and “woooo.”
Once the girls are found out, they start seeing a terrible song called “We Want to Marry a Beatle.”
Though this film has a simple premise, it is pretty entertaining and cute.
When I first started getting interested in classic films, my mom would get excited about movies she wanted to introduce to me. “Gidget” (1959) was one that she could hardly wait to show me.
Views of Sandra Dee in some of my favorite swimsuits and dresses from “Gidget.”
Sitting there on a Sunday night at age 14, I fell in love with this film. It’s an explosion of color on the gorgeous backdrop of Malibu beach. It features awesome surfing shots and has excellent cast filled with one-liners that are real gems. It’s the perfect fun-in-the-sun Southern California travelogue. To date, it also has one of my favorite film wardrobes.
The movie was pivotal in my film love and got me further entrenched in 1960s pop culture. I read up on famous surfers, researched surfer lingo, listened to the Beach Boys, plastered 1960s surf images around my room and hunted for bathing suits that gave off a 1960s vibe. Of course, I wanted to learn how to surf, which has still never happened since I live four hours away from the beach on the east coast.
Annette Funicello has always been a source of happiness in my household. Her films, the Annette mystery book series, her music- she has always been a favorite of the Pickens’ family.
Though I didn’t grow up in the 1960s, I grew up with Annette. My mom was a huge fan so I was introduced to “The Shaggy Dog” (1959) and “Babes in Toyland” (1961) at a young age.
“I had Annette books, coloring books and paper dolls growing up,” my mom, Lisa Pickens, said. “I really liked her a lot. Since she was only in movies while she was young, we didn’t see her age. There was something special about Annette.”
Annette was an original Mousketeer on the Mickey Mouse Club. She autographed a photo for me in 2008
Even in the past two years, summer afternoons were spent downloading her songs on iTunes and watching old Mickey Mouse Club episodes and the Annette series. In the serial Annette was a “country cousin” who moves to the city to live with her wealthy aunt and uncle.
“Throughout all the years we were friends she never changed from that sweet person who cared so much about others,” said Mousketeeer Sharon Baird, on the Official Disney Fan Club. “She always had time for everyone; family, friends and fans alike. It’s no wonder she was America’s sweetheart.”
In the 1950s, Annette Funicello stood out as a Mousketeer on the Mickey Mouse Club. Her background was Italian and she looked different than the other, Anglo-Saxon children.
She even suggested that she change her last name to “something more American,” but Walt Disney disagreed, saying her own name made her more unique, according to IMDB.
And her uniqueness is what made her the most popular of the original Mousketeers.
“The Disney studio wasn’t like other studios. It was just like home – it always had a small-town, family atmosphere,” she said.
Along with The Mickey Mouse Club, Annette starred in Disney films such as “The Misadventures of Merlin Jones” (1964) and “Babes in Toyland.”
Her fame brought her to recording career, with records like “Hawiaannette,” “Itallianette” and “Danceannette,” but Miss Funicello didn’t think she could sing.
“The Sherman Brothers wrote a song for me for the Annette series called ‘How Will I Know My Love,’” she said in an interview. “They told me we have to put this on a single. People are writing us like crazy wanting to buy it. I told them I don’t sing. And they said, ‘Well I’m signing you to a recording contact, young lady.’ And I said yes sir, and that’s what started my singing career.”
Composer Tutti Camarata was the one who created “The Annette Sound.” This is where she would sing the song once. She then would listen to the song with headphones, while trying to sing along as exact as she could, she said.
“It gave me that larger sound that I needed, because my voice is very small with a range of about of three notes,” she laughed. “It worked. I think my favorite song was ‘Pineapple Princess.’ I was lucky enough to have five songs that made the Top 10.”
Stevie Wonder, early in his career, with Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon in “Muscle Beach”
Annette was also one of the first performers to sing with the Beach Boys as they were growing in fame.
“I really shouldn’t put down my singing career, because I’m so appreciative of everything that came my way,” she said.
In interviews and in her autobiography “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes,” Annette seems like somebody you would run in to at the store. Annette was sweet and down to Earth, making her more relatable for her fans.
With Tommy Sands in “Babes in Toyland”
Even while she was in movies, her father still worked at a gas station, and Annette wasn’t allowed to date until she was 16, according to her New York Times obituary.
In real life, she stayed friends with fellow teen stars Frankie Avalon, Shelley Fabres and fellow Mousketeers Doreen Tracey and Cheryl Holdridge, who passed away in 2009. She was good friends with Jimmy Dodd from the Mickey Mouse Club until his death in 1964.
While she was 21-years-old and still under contract at Disney, she was approached about roles in beach films. Walt Disney approved Annette doing the films as long as she didn’t show her belly button in bathing suits, according to the New York Times.
Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon in “Beach Party”
Annette retired from films, only making a few appearances, after she married her first husband in 1965 to raise her family.
“She was always there for car pools, Hot Dog Day and the P.T.A,” her daughter said in 1994.
After they divorced, she remarried in 1986 to Glen Holt. They remained married until she passed away.
Annette returned for a few appearances in the 1980s including “Back to the Beach” (1987) with Frankie Avalon, and an appearance on the TV Show “Full House” where Michelle pronounced her last name as “Funny-Jello.”
It was in 1987, she learned she had Multiple Sclerosis and established the Annette Funicello Research Fund for Neurological Diseases.
Miss Funicello passed away today at the age of 70, and the world seems a little dimmer.
“Everyone who knew Annette, loved and respected her,” said Walt Disney’s daughter Diane Miller. “She was one of the loveliest people I’ve ever known, and was always so kind to everyone. She was also the consummate professional and had such great loyalty to my father. Annette will always be very special to me.”
Rest in peace, Annette. You will always remain in our hearts as you chant “Meeska-Mooska-Mouseketeer” and surf the beaches of California.
This week’s musical:
Comet Over Hollywood 