Fantasma de Biquini

Sorta fun and at the same time sorta boring. I find myself inexplicably drawn to it. Nancy Sinatra sings "Geronimo". A somewhat pleasant time filler you can talk through.

I have a special affection for this little trifle. I saw it at our post theater twice when I was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. It was a time when we were killing time, just waiting to be discharged, and this film conjures up a time of innocence when I was dying to re-start my civilian life. But most of all, I was (and still am) a tremendous fan of Miss Nancy Sinatra, especially all through my Army days, and it was thrilling fun to go see her movies at the post theater. She also did "The Wild Angels" and "The Last of the Secret Agents." All the other commentators are right. No classic, but mindless, harmless fun ! Oh, Nancy ! We were so young, and it was a different world !

This film was the largest budgeted of the "beach" pictures. But it became a box-office failure and was the last of the genre American International produced. The inane script...is not only tired but borrows from such other sources as the curtain line of Some Like It Hot... This year's crop of boys in this film isn't up to the earlier "beach" cavaliers.ll KARLOFF and the other veterans are only along for the ride....Stanley Cortez's camera...makes good use...in exploring some...fasinating sets evidently left over from the Poe period..a good try but short on script and inspiration.

Representing the (somewhat fatigued) tail-end of the "Beach Party" saga, minus Frankie and Annette, this haunted house comedy has some style in the live-action cartoon vein, but is hurt overall by an unenthusiastic cast and too much chatter. Sleepy Tommy Kirk and distracted Deborah Walley are involved in the reading of a will in a spooky mansion; Susan Hart is a sexy apparition (wearing a dopey-looking blonde wig for F/X purposes); Boris Karloff saunters through, tossing off droll comic lines in a debonair manner; Harvey Lembeck returns as Eric Von Zipper (although he doesn't look happy about it); and Nancy Sinatra is one of the teens there for a slumber party (she sings "Geronimo" poolside in the film's best sequence). Not terribly witty or lively; most of the kids on display are artificially frantic and 'nutty', waving their arms about. The movie desperately needs more music and more special effects. It relies too much on the talk-heavy plot, which is its weakest link. ** from ****

I realize that most people who have seen The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini will look at my rating and decide I need to have my head examined. I readily admit that it's one of the stupidest movies I've seen recently. I am perfectly capable of seeing all of the same problems in the movie that all of the other reviews or comments point out. Yes, the beach movie was on its last leg when The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini was made. Yes, there is no plot. Yes, most of the comedy is incredibly lame. Yes, Tommy Kirk is beyond terrible. Yes, Harvey Lembeck was way too old to play a rebellious motorcycle leader. Yes, Benny Rubin's Chicken Feather character is offensive. Yes, Deborah Walley is no Annette Funicello. Yes, Boris Karloff has little more than an extended cameo that almost appears to have been an afterthought. Yes, I see all these problems and more in The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini, but for whatever reason, the movie is still a lot of fun. I had a blast watching Nancy Sinatra sing "Geronimo". She's just so cool. I also enjoyed watching Basil Rathbone in one of his final performances. He seemed to really be enjoying the chance to ham it up. As goofy as it may sound, I love the fact that The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini takes many of the traditional beach movie trappings and transports them to a big, old haunted house. A swinging 60s style beach party set in Karloff's over-the-top torture chamber is an awesome idea. Finally, I've got to give the movie a bonus point for having a completely unnecessary gorilla. It adds a surreal touch to everything.

So, despite the many, many weaknesses and problems in The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini. I still had a great time watching it. I'll continue to say that the entertainment I get out of a movie is more important to me than anything else. And with that in mind, the 6/10 rating I've given The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini seems about right to me.