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John Ashley had been acting in juvenile delinquent and horror films for several years before being cast as Frankie Avalon's sidekick in Beach Party. |  |
Singer Frankie Avalon had acted in several films prior to Beach Party and went on to star in four of the seven AIP beach films. |
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Yvonne Craig was a former ballet dancer who embarked on an acting career in the late 1950s and made a big splash in Ski Party. |  |
Perennial favorite Annette Funicello transitioned from Disney to AIP with the release of Beach Party and acted in most of AIP's later beach entries. |
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Fabian switched from singing to acting in such films as Ride the Wild Surf, Fireball 500, and Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs. |  |
Bubbly Joy Harmon made a big splash in 1960s films in Village of the Giants and One Way Wahine before starting her own successful bakery in southern California. |
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Tab Hunter had enjoyed a long career as an actor in such films as Damn Yankees before starring in Operation Bikini and Ride the Wild Surf. |  |
Handsome Aron Kincaid's surfer boy looks got him cast in such films as Beach Ball, The Girls on the Beach, Ski Party, and The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini. |
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Disney child actor Tommy Kirk matured in several beach movies in the 1960s, including Pajama Party, Village of the Giants, Catalina Caper, and It's a Bikini World. |  |
Donna Loren sang in a number of AIP's beach films, including Muscle Beach Party, Bikini Beach, and Pajama Party and was one of the only actual teenagers cast in beach films. |
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Jody McCrea starred in a number of westerns early in his career before providing comic relief in six of the seven AIP beach movies. |  |
Gorgeous Chris Noel acted in several beach-themed films, including Girl Happy, Beach Ball, and Wild Wild Winter before she embarked on USO tours during the Vietnam era. |
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Scottish beauty Quinn O'Hara livens The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini as Sinistra, the evil daughter of Basil Rathbone. |  |
Starting her career as Gidget, Deborah Walley continued in youth-oriented films including Beach Blanket Bingo, Spinout, and It's a Bikini World. |
beach party movie pages | |||
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Muscle Beach Party Starring Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, John Ashley, Jody McCrea, Luciana Paluzzi, Don Rickles, and Peter Lupus |  |
Bikini Beach Starring Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Jody McCrea, Harvey Lembeck, John Ashley, Meredith MacRae, Donna Loren, and Candy Johnson |
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Pajama Party Starring Tommy Kirk, Annette Funicello, Jody McCrea, Elsa Lanchester, Don Rickles, Jesse White, Buster Keaton, Dorothy Lamour, and Dorothy Kilgallen (cameo) |  |
Beach Blanket Bingo Starring Annette Funicello, Frankie Avalon, Deborah Walley, John Ashley, Donna Loren, Linda Evans, Marta Kristen, Paul Lynde, Buster Keaton, Don Rickles, and Harvey Lembeck |
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How to Stuff a Wild Bikini Starring Annette Funicello, Dwayne Hickman, Brian Donlevy, Harvey Lembeck, John Ashley, Buster Keaton, and Mickey Rooney |  |
Ghost in the Invisible Bikini Starring Tommy Kirk, Deborah Walley, Patsy Kelly, Aron Kincaid, Boris Karloff, Francis X. Bushman, Basil Rathbone, Jesse White, Nancy Sinatra, and The Bobby Fuller Four |
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Village of the Giants Starring Tommy Kirk, Beau Bridges, Ronnie Howard, Joy Harmon, The Beau Brummels, Toni Basil, Freddie Cannon, Tim Rooney, Jim Begg, and Mike Clifford |  |
C'mon, Let's Live a Little Starring Jackie DeShannon, Bobby Vee, Eddie Hodges, Kim Carnes, Jill Banner, Russ Conway, John Ireland Jr., and Pasty Kelly |
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It's a Bikini World Starring Tommy Kirk, Deborah Walley, Suzie Kaye, Bobby "Boris" Pickett, The Animals, The Gentrys, The Toys, The Castaways, and Pat and Lolly Vegas |  |
Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine Starring Vincent Price, Frankie Avalon, Dwayne Hickman, Deborah Walley, and Susan Hart |
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Fireball 500 Starring Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Fabian, Julie Parrish, and Harvey Lembeck |
a brief history of beach party filmsAmerican International Pictures (AIP) put the beach party genre on the map with the release of Beach Party (1963; with Robert Cummings, Dorothy Malone, Frankie Avalon, and Annette Funicello). However, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, seeds had been sewn for the genre in such youth-oriented films as Gidget (1959; with Sandra Dee, Cliff Robertson, and James Darren), Where the Boys Are (1960; with George Hamilton, Yvette Mimieux, Jim Hutton, Paula Prentiss, and Barbara Nichols), Blue Hawaii (1961; with Elvis Presley, Joan Blackman, and Angela Lansbury), Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961; with Deborah Walley and James Darren). However, AIP was responsible for the rise of the genre. In total, AIP released seven beach party films between August 1963 and April 1966. These titles are listed in order of release:Beach Party (1963) Muscle Beach Party (1964) Bikini Beach (1964) Pajama Party (1964) Beach Blanket Bingo (1965) How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965) The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966) With the popularity of beach films starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello, AIP released a number of films closely related to AIP's beach party series both in style and spirit, and often similar in cast listings. The following films were produced by AIP: Ski Party (1965), with Frankie Avalon, Dwayne Hickman, Deborah Walley, Yvonne Craig, Aron Kincaid, and Robert Q. Lewis; Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965), with Vincent Price, Frankie Avalon, Dwayne Hickman, and Susan Hart; Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs (1966) with Vincent Price and Fabian; and Fireball 500 (1966), with Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Fabian, Julie Parrish, and Harvey Lembeck. That said, other studios were quick to copy AIP's formula and success be releasing dozens of beach-party-inspired 1960s drive-in films released by major studios (MGM, Columbia, Paramount) and low-budget independents, such as the following titles: Ride the Wild Surf (1964) with Susan Hart, Fabian, Shelley Fabares, Tab Hunter, and Barbara Eden; The Horror of Party Beach, (1964) directed by Del Tenney and featuring John Scott and Alice Lyon. Beach Ball (1965) with Aron Kincaid, Chris Noel, Edd Byrnes, and The Supremes; The Girls on the Beach (1965) with Aron Kincaid, Noreen Corcoran, Lori Saunders, Lana Wood, and Sheila Bromley; A Swingin' Summer (1965) with James Stacy, William Wellman Jr., Quinn O'Hara, Martin West, Mary Mitchel, and Raquel Welch; Village of the Giants (1965), directed by Bert I. Gordon and starring Tommy Kirk, Ronnie Howard, Beau Bridges, Joy Harmon, The Beau Brummels, and Toni Basil; Winter A-Go-Go (1965) with James Stacy, William Wellman Jr., Beverly Adams, Jill Donohue, Julie Parrish, Linda Rogers, and Nancy Czar; and Wild, Wild Winter (1966) with Gary Clarke, Chris Noel, Don Edmonds, and Suzie Kaye. The end of the line for beach party flicks came in mid 1966, but a few were late to the party---for good reason, however. C'mon, Let's Live a Little (1967; with Bobby Vee, Jackie DeShannon) was released in March 1967 but had been produced largely in late 1965. The production ran short of funds, so the film was temporarily shelved and then completed in the summer of 1966. The final film in the genre is It's a Bikini World (1967; with Tommy Kirk, Deborah Walley, Suzie Kaye, and Bobby "Boris" Pickett). Shot in December 1965, It's a Bikini World was not released until April 1967 due to budgetary problems. Complete with a terrific cast and great music acts such as The Animals and The Castaways, It's a Bikini World is my favorite beach flick, as it is the film that sparked my interest in the genre. beach film linksBright Lights Film Journal: Beyond the BeachThe Annette Funicello Official Website The Official Donna Loren Website The Official Fabian Website The Official Frankie Avalon Website The Official Tab Hunter Website Tom's Lisanti's Sixties Cinema |
beach party trailers now showingWatch the trailer for the 1965 beach movie Beach Blanket Bingobeach party film now showingWatch the 1965 beach horror flick The Beach Girls and the Monster |
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This page premiered February 1, 1998.
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