Wed 7 Jan 2015
A Movie Review by Jonathan Lewis: BEACH BLANKET BINGO (1965).
Posted by Steve under Films: Comedy/Musicals , Reviews[10] Comments
BEACH BLANKET BINGO. American International Pictures (1965). Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Deborah Walley, Harvey Lembeck, John Ashley, Jody McCrea, Donna Loren, Marta Kristen, Linda Evans, Timothy Carey, Don Rickles, Paul Lynde, Donna Michelle, Buster Keaton, Earl Wilson. Director: William Asher.
You’d be hard pressed to get me to describe a coherent plot, at least in any traditional understanding of the term, in Beach Blanket Bingo. Directed by William Asher, the American International beach party movie stars Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello in a celluloid mélange of singing, slapstick vignettes, and comic antics.
In this installment of the popular beach movies series, the romantic singing duo try their hand at skydiving; meet an upcoming female singer, Sugar Kane (Linda Evans) and her agent; and watch in skepticism as their friend named Bonehead (Jody McCrea, son of Joel) gets romantically entangled with a mermaid.
While quite a bit of the humor in Beach Blanket Bingo falls flat, as if the movie’s creators were just trying way too hard to get a guffaw out of teenage movie audiences, some of the borderline absurdist humor works extraordinarily well.
This is in no small part to the fine work of Timothy Carey as South Dakota Slim, a psychotic pool player; Paul Lynde as Sugar Kane’s ruthless agent; and Don Rickles as the owner of a skydiving school. All three men, each of whom was well known to audiences in the 1960s, maintain a singular presence in this silly, although quite enjoyable, little genre-defying film.
And speaking of cameos, look for Earl Wilson as well as the legendary Buston Keaton in one of his last film roles.
Speaking of Buster. What makes Beach Blanket Bingo worth watching, especially for people who truly love cinema, is that the movie is really best understood as a tribute to the silent film era, an homage which reaches its peak in the final scene in which Frankie saves Sugar Kane from the increasingly unhinged South Dakota Slim’s (Carey) clutches. It’s something right out of The Perils of Pauline.
And just in case the audience didn’t get the reference, two of the characters are there to remind you that what you’re watching is a tribute to something very special in cinematic history that existed long before Frankie and Annette came on the scene.
Beach Blanket Bingo may not be a great movie in the traditional sense. It’s unlikely often discussed in film schools. But it is nevertheless kind of a perfect movie for those people who appreciate that cinema, when done correctly, can provide immeasurable, if only temporary, escapism from everyday life.
So, is Beach Blanket Bingo a serious film? Not at all. But is it, provided you’re in the right mindset, an entertaining (if a bit stupid) movie? Definitely.
January 7th, 2015 at 5:23 pm
Say it ain’t so! A review of a Beach Party flick without mentioning Eric von Zipper?
January 7th, 2015 at 5:38 pm
I thought the photo of him on the pool table would speak for itself! He’s a character, alright
January 7th, 2015 at 6:30 pm
I’ve got to admit, I love the beach movies. Saw nearly all of them new at the drive-in and have watched them many times since. Love the cameos by Buster Keaton, Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, etc. And the great closing credits with Candy Johnson! They’re just plain fun.
January 7th, 2015 at 7:03 pm
GHOST IN THE INVISIBLE BIKINI offers sets by Daniel Haller (of the Corman/Price/Poe series) and diverting turns by Karloff, Rathbone and — most delightful — Patsy Kelly
January 7th, 2015 at 8:53 pm
I’ve never seen that one.
January 7th, 2015 at 9:34 pm
These were the definition of good stupid fun, though more thought and talent went into making good stupid fun than most people imagine.
If only Uncle Walt had let Annette wear a bikini.
January 7th, 2015 at 9:58 pm
The original Beach Party (William Asher) is fun.
But I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen later films in the series, like Beach Blanket Bingo.
Really liked the sequel made many years later: Back to the Beach (Lyndall Hobbs, 1987).
A non-series youth comedy that is good:
Palm Springs Weekend (Norman Taurog, 1963)
January 8th, 2015 at 6:14 pm
Basically these are on an intellectual plane with the “Jungle Jim” movies and just as much fun — if you can check your brains at the door.
January 8th, 2015 at 8:32 pm
Yes, intellectually maybe, but Annette was much better looking.
January 10th, 2015 at 12:19 pm
The horrible revelation of the Beach Party movies was that Annette Funicello was beautiful to look at but she could not act. Period.