The Beach Girls and the Monster

Completed in April 1964, "Surf Terror" had to wait over a year before finally being issued under the more exploitive title "The Beach Girls and the Monster," quickly making its way to TV screens under still another, "Monster from the Surf" (this version featuring about 7-8 minutes of added footage). Former matinée idol Jon Hall, remembered for "The Hurricane," "Invisible Agent," "The Invisible Man's Revenge," and numerous camp vehicles opposite Maria Montez, stars in his final screen appearance, doubling as both director and cinematographer. Following on the heels of Del Tenney's better known "The Horror of Party Beach," both films' reliance on black and white contrast with the sun drenched colors of AIP's 'Beach Party' series. After a nice opening murder done by the titular monster from a cave, the film quickly bogs down with the silly beach antics of the teens, the lowest (or highest) camp moment coming when 'Kingsley the Lion' does his rendition of "There's a Monster in the Surf," joined by super cutie Elaine Dupont, courageously squealing with abandon. The domestic drama finds Richard Lindsay (Arnold Lessing) losing interest in following in his father's footsteps after a car crash that cripples his artist friend (Walker Edmiston). His disapproving father, eminent oceanographer Dr. Otto Lindsay (Jon Hall), suggests that the marauding creature may be an African fantigua fish, which he says is capable of walking on land, and can grow to 100 lbs. Otto believes that those harmless teens are capable of murder, while his wife of five years (Sue Casey) rejects him while flirting outrageously with all the other males around, even her stepson Richard. Judging by these events, the twisted climax is perfectly fitting, almost apologizing for the lame monster suit. Hall still looked fit and trim just seven years earlier in "Hell Ship Mutiny," here nearly unrecognizable, sluggish and overweight. No great shakes in terms of acting or directing, an almost appropriate conclusion to his career, low brow adventure films and the cheesy series RAMAR OF THE JUNGLE, Hall's one last acting credit a 1965 PERRY MASON (he committed suicide in 1979, suffering from terminal cancer). Vanishing from the airwaves by the 1980s, "Monster from the Surf" made its lone appearance on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater June 29 1968, followed by second feature "The Magnetic Monster."

For years I've had the TV version (Monster From The Surf) on VHS off of TV. Despite it's shortcomings, I watch it once in a while. Maybe it's the surfish soundtrack (nice minor key whammy-bar during the monster scenes); I've added the opening credits theme to my surf guitar repetoire. I also enjoyed the character Mark, the sculptor,(Walker Edmiston's finest moment?) who really digs the surf crowd (rather vacuous and dull in this movie) but can't seem to connect with them. I wonder if Frank Sinatra Jr. really composed the music. I also wonder if Jon Hall actually got in the monster suit. I doubt it. For his sake I hope not as the performance of the monster was awful. Note how after 'brutally murdering' the 1st victim he makes sure not to drop her on the ground hard. Anyhow I was surprised to see this on DVD but didn't think it deserved the price it was selling for. Later I found it used and happily picked it up. No outtakes or commentary (I doubt there's a huge public outcry) but some good liner notes about the cast & movie. *1/2 out of *****

Combine some amateurish acting, shoddy camera work, lame script, and a really tacky sea monster costume..and this is the result. A spinning newspaper (the 'Hollywood Star Gazette') screams the headline "Surf Beauty Clawed to Death!"..and that's pretty much how the whole monster mystery begins. The one recognizable name, Jon Hall, directed and portrays a scientist, upset that his son, Arnold Lessing, is spending so much time at the beach with that 'wild bunch'. Hall's much younger wife cheats on him, and his son's strange sculptor friend also shares the beach house.

Most of the beach activity consists of pretty girls dancing around with each other and an occasional song (Frank Sinatra Jr. gets a big screen credit as the writer of one of them). In the midst of the mess is one really good surfing segment.. I couldn't believe the same guy filmed this, and sure enough, it was footage produced by Dale Davis (well known for his surfing shots).

Yes, it's bad, but for those who will tolerate bad just for the fun of it, I guess it's worth a look. At least it's honest--you know it's bad before you ever start watching, and thankfully it's black and white...I can't imagine how much worse it would've been in color.

Pretty cheesy. John Hall directs and stars in this movie also known as MONSTER FROM THE SURF. Pretty girls are slashed to death by a sea monster. Right! I have always liked Jon Hall, but this movie is as interesting as sea weed. Stock footage of surfing and no "real" monster at all. Acting is about as lame as the script. Also in the cast are Sue Casey, Elaine DuPont and Walker Edmiston.

... when you see a boom mike in the trailer!

"The Beach Girls and the Monster" features a clear shot of Sue Casey speaking on the phone during the trailer. With a boom mike above her. And the perch.

The movie itself has a delightful scraping the barrel approach when it comes to exploitation. You can find the two main sub-genres from the 60's b-movies melting: the monster movie and the beach movie. Both aspects are indeed badly done. The monster is everything but frightening and one has to wonder why any of his victims hadn't the idea to kick him between the legs. And the beach part is so cliché ridden it looks like a "Lord Loves A Duck" sequence, except for the fact that "Lord Loves A Duck" was a parody (also featuring boom mikes on screen). There's for instance, for comic relief, a ventriloquist and his lion Kingsley who duets with the girls on a corny song. Actually, he could be the worst ventriloquist on Earth: he carries a false beard to hide his moving lips.

Then, you find all the features of cheap exploitation movies. Washed-out actors playing the parts of supposedly attractive characters. "Teenagers" that were last seen in high school 15 before the shooting. Big names on the credits, like Frank Sinatra. Even if you must add "Jr" as that's his son, Frank Jr, and he merely wrote the score (mostly lounge jazz and a few Beach Boys attempts). Actually, Mark (Walter Edmiston) looks a little like Sinatra as the sculptor that Sue Casey teases. (By the way, his sculptures are not exactly flattering even for a fading beauty like Ms Casey.)

Jon Hall, for his only directing credit, shot the thing cheaply and quickly. His house was a convenient place for inner shots and he tends to use zooming extensively to end a scene without making another shot. It's irritating even when it's Luchino Visconti who's directing and Jon Hall is apparently no Visconti.

And there's the story, or indeed the lack of story. You also know that a movie has got a problem when Robert Silliphant is credited for "additional dialogue". Silliphant took a writing hand in both "The Creeping Terror" and "The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!?". In other words, he's responsible for two of the lamest screenplays of all times! "The Beach Girls and the Monster" is his third and final screen credit. So I have to wonder how much Silliphant improved the original screenplay.

On the plus side, the girls on the beach (actually the dancing troupe from the Whisky-A-Go- Go club) have tight bikinis and giggles as if they were Shakira's mother. Or grandmother. So, every movie has a redeeming quality.