A Praia dos Amores

"Frankie" (Frankie Avalon) and his girlfriend "Dolores" (Annette Funicello) are on their way to the beach for what Frankie hopes is a weekend alone with Dolores. Unfortunately for Frankie, Dolores is slightly more conventional and has invited the rest of their surf gang to meet them there. This results in a spat between Frankie and Dolores. At the same time, a professor by the name of "Robert Sutwell" (Bob Cummings) just happens to have rented a beach house right next to the place where Frankie and the gang are staying so that he can study the primitive mating rituals of American surfers. For his research he needs to make the acquaintance of one of the surfers and Dolores is only too happy to spend time with the professor because she wants to make Frankie jealous. In return Frankie decides to make Dolores jealous by showering his affection on a beautiful foreign barmaid by the name of "Ava" (Eva Six). Throw in some bikers, beatniks, beach music along with some scantily clad men and women into a sexually charged atmosphere and the end result is a fun movie which stretches the boundaries but doesn't quite break them. Now, although this is not the first "beach movie" ever made this particular picture--along with its predecessor "Gidget" a few years earlier--was pretty much responsible for the introduction of a brand-new sub-genre of film. Although it is certainly dated, and some people may not quite understand all the nuances, it's still worth a watch for people who enjoy movies of this type.

Okay, leave your brain behind. After all, this is the first installment of moviedom's biggest celebration of mindless fluff. Okay, no one's expecting Oscar bait from a title like Beach Party, and it certainly doesn't disappoint. Between the sunny swimsuit foreplay and California's sand, sea, and surf, it's the peak of pre-Vietnam hedonism. And a heckuva lot of fun it is for those unashamed to say so. Annette and Frankie, Frankie and Annette, he loves her, she loves him. But first they have to find each other amid all the other shaking' and wigglin' going on.

And, oh yes, there's one-finger warrior Bob Cummings to carry the acting load, along with a perfectly groomed Dorothy Malone to keep him company. Add a goofy Jody MacCrea and a fractured Harvey Lembeck, and there're chuckles aplenty. Then there's perpetual motion Candy Johnson. Hook her up to a power plant and she'll light up LA. And catch those sunsets over the glorious Pacific. Hard to believe there was ever a carefree time like this for teens. But then, isn't this what the Hollywood Dream Machine is for. Here, it's hitting on all eight, and happily so.

(It seems not fair to rate this ad for Surfin' USA on the usual scale. But on the Fluff Meter it rates a '10'.)

This is the first and some would say best(other than Beach Blanket Bingo) of the series.Annette and Frankie are on their way to a cozy weekend beach vacation,but Annette has invited the whole gang!!!Frankie is mad at her rejection of him,and they have a childish fight.Meanwhile,a professor is studying the teens and Annette uses him to get back at Frankie,while Frankie uses an over-endowed girl.Annette sings "Treat Him Nicely" and "Promise Me Anything" as well as the title song with Frankie.Fun pie-throwing things.

A must have for your surfing movie collection, a piece of cinematic kitsch as well.

The surfing scenes (a montage of various places, apparently in SoCal) are all too brief, but worthwhile.

The fake-surfing and stunt-surfing are a hoot and leave you wanting more.

Precious scenes of Malibu and Santa Monica pre-building explosion.

And of course, Eric Von Zipper. Personally, I think Bob Cummings is adorable, and there's such a cheapie, near-porn subtext to much of the film, everyone gets to camp it up a bit.

I find it very difficult not to like Beach Party. While it may seem dated by today's standards, it is interesting to see surfing done this way and how people acted and I thought it added to its charm. My only real problem with Beach Party actually is the banal subplot between Sutwell and Marianne that seemed to come from a completely different movie altogether. Bob Cummings however is very likable, and Dorothy Malone is resourceful with some nice lines. Her character may seem somewhat worthless compared to this subplot, but not because of her performance. The rest of the performances are also fine, Harvey Lembeck seems to be enjoying himself, and the leads Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello(it's easy why anybody would have a crush on her) are really charming and sweet. Vincent Price also has a nice if brief cameo. The film looks colourful, and the soundtrack is very catchy and drives it wonderfully. The pacing is zippy, the characters are appealing and the story is rarely dull. The dialogue has its wit and fun too, if perhaps very of the time. All in all, charming, likable and fun, very difficult not to enjoy regardless of whether it's perfect or not. 8/10 Bethany Cox