Skaterdater

I host a backyard 16mm film festival every September. For many years we were able to borrow films from a static collection owned by our county library system.While perusing their catalog several years ago, I happened to see that "Skaterdater" was available. I remembered viewing this on TV late one night when I was younger. It had stuck with me. At that time, I was swept up in the initial craze of "sidewalk surfing". We built our own skateboards from discarded roller skate wheels and scrap lumber. There weren't a lot of hills by my house, so sometimes we would get a pal to tow us on a bike. But I digress...

Skaterdater is just a sweet movie with a timeless message. Long story short, I now own the 16mm print and it is the featured presentation at my film festival. I highly recommend it.

I remember seeing this for the first time as a short with Thunderball in 1965. Skater was the 1966 Grand Prix winner at Cannes. Everything about it was great, the movie and the soundtrack. I was able to find a VHS copy a couple of years ago on ebay, (marginal quality), AND, I found the soundtrack in LP format at a vintage record store in Orange county. What a find!! Put out by Mira Records. The music was especially catchy. I've seen a couple of versions of the main tune. One on a Davie Allen album and another by a surf band from Finland, of all places, Laika and the Cosmonauts. (these guys are good). Nothing like the original though.

Yes this was an excellent movie. I had fun making it. The skateboard club was called the Imperials. We won a skateboard contest in Hermosa Beach around 1964 and Noel Black was there looking for some kids. Since most of the other teams were sponsored by Hobie, Jack's Surfboard,etc., he talked with us. Melisda was the only one with prior experience in acting, Noel and Marshall got her from somewhere else. All the rest of the group went to Newton Elementary and then South High in Torrance Calif. The two girls at the end of the film where Molly Macloud (RIP) and Ceilo Weislo (sp) which they usually don't get the credit for.

Bill McKaig

In the mid-1960s there was a skateboard craze that came and went, and has recently been revived to an almost extreme level, and this short film is about a group of kids on the verge of coming-of-age while zooming around on skateboards in mid-'60s California. Dialog is almost non-existent and none is needed, almost everything being on a visual action level which works out just fine. The music is by Mike Curb and Nick Venet, which although dated a bit, remains very much in tune with the times and the location and fits this short film perfectly. There's a lot of nice photography and some fun skateboard sequences that will certainly bring back memories for anyone who ever scuffed their toes and skinned their knees on a skateboard.

In the story, one of the skateboarder pack-leaders keeps accidently running (literally) into a girl on a bicycle. Eventually, the two of them get together and this does not sit well with the rest of "the guys" and before long a ritual contest to see who rules the hill takes place...

Skaterdater remains a memorable short film with great atmosphere and was in fact nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Film in 1966, and was shown in some theaters between features at the time, which is where I first saw it as a kid. Being a rather ambitious skateboarder myself at that time, I never forgot it and it made an impression that lasted to this day. Unfortunately, Skaterdater evidently was never released on video, not even in any short film compilations that I know of. In fact, it hardly ever gets a mention anywhere and it wasn't until just recently that I finally managed to find a copy of this remarkable little film which hopefully, with today's renewed interest in skateboarding, might eventually find its way onto home video soon.

I was in Southern California, at a Marine base when this came out.

Like most of the other reviewers I don't know what the feature film I saw this with was, but I never forgot "Skaterdater"!

Always knew Mike Curb was involved and it was, for me, the only redeeming moment in his career.

It was close to being a silent film, there is NO dialogue, only some laughter at one point. So pleased that one of the other reviewers knew the locations; Torrence and Rolling Hills. Thanks for that, I love location info.

Today was the day I left a message on IMDb about this little gem, and then had the thought to check YouTube.

There it was, it's been put up at least twice.

Would any skaters be able to tell us what the wheels were made of in 1965?