IMDb > Bikini Beach (1964)

Bikini Beach (1964) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 12 | slideshow)

Overview

User Rating:
5.0/10   386 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 62% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
William Asher (writer)
Robert Dillon (writer)
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Bikini Beach on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
22 July 1964 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
It's where every torso is more so, and bare-as-you-dare is the rule! more
Plot:
A millionaire sets out to prove his theory that his pet chimpanzee is as intelligent as the teenagers who hang out on the local beach, where he is intending to build a retirement home. full summary | add synopsis
User Comments:
BIKINI BEACH (William Asher, 1964) **1/2 more (15 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Frankie Avalon ... Frankie / Potato Bug

Annette Funicello ... Dee Dee
Martha Hyer ... Vivian Clements

Don Rickles ... Big Drag
Harvey Lembeck ... Eric Von Zipper
John Ashley ... Johnny
Jody McCrea ... Deadhead
Candy Johnson ... Candy
Danielle Aubry ... Lady Bug

Meredith MacRae ... Animal
Delores Wells ... Sniffles
Paul Smith ... Cop #1
James Westerfield ... Cop #2

Donna Loren ... Donna

Stevie Wonder ... Himself (as Little Stevie Wonder)
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Runtime:
99 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Pathécolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Danielle Aubry's voice was dubbed by director 'William Asher (I)''s wife Elizabeth Montgomery more
Quotes:
Frankie: Baby, I think we associate with a very unstable group. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Drive-in Movie Memories (2001) more
Soundtrack:
Happy Feeling (Dance and Shout) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful.
BIKINI BEACH (William Asher, 1964) **1/2, 23 July 2008
6/10
Author: MARIO GAUCI (marrod@melita.com) from Naxxar, Malta

This sequel to MUSCLE BEACH PARTY (1964) is only slightly better: much of the teen cast returns, as well as Don Rickles (but, having now forsaken muscle-men for drag-strip racing) and even Stevie Wonder. We do get a number of new faces – eminent publisher Keenan Wynn (with a practiced simian in tow, he's intent on demonstrating that the youth of today have regressed to pretty much its primitive state!) and schoolteacher Martha Hyer constituting more or less the normal people (they start out as opponents but gradually come to understand and love one another), Harvey Lembeck as the overage leader of a motorcycle gang called Eric Von Zipper (actually, this character had already featured in BEACH PARTY [1963]: here, he's prone to falling victim, by his own hand, of Peter Lorre's paralysis-by-touch technique seen at the end of the previous film) and Timothy Carey (appearing very briefly as a pool-playing eccentric who has a werewolf, fitted with a leather jacket, for a sidekick!).

There's even a second role for Frankie Avalon – doubling as a legendary mop-top and gap-toothed (essentially a cross between The Beatles and Terry-Thomas!) British singer/racer…and, then, there's that great final gag involving Boris Karloff (seen a couple of times from behind throughout but only revealed at the very end as an art dealer interested in Rickles' abstract collection, quipping that he ought to tell his pal Vincent Price – noted for his taste in fine art and at the time also contracted to AIP – about it!). It's these quasi-surreal elements – including the monkey driving Wynn's car (to the recurring consternation of two traffic cops) as well as a dragster, and even doing a bit of surf…but extending to the final credits as blonde-with-powerful-hips Candy Johnson is joined in her wild dance by an aged member of Wynn's old folks' home! – which render the film that much more enjoyable than its predecessor. Otherwise, we get a lot of the same shtick as before – though the beach scenes themselves are thankfully downplayed here; the climax, then, involves a Keystone Kops-type chase which culminates in yet another gratuitous bit of brawling slapstick (this time occurring at Rickles' pseudo-beatnik joint).

Again, the songs are far from classics but, all in all, the film retains some interest (not least in the contribution of cinematographer Floyd Crosby, production designer Daniel Haller and composer Les Baxter – all of them synonymous with Roger Corman's contemporaneous horror films based on the writings of Edgar Allan Poe!) in particular for characterizing the transition between two trends in youth-oriented pictures i.e. the Juvenile Delinquent films of the 1950s and the Counter-Culture efforts (advocating drug use and Free Love) that would prevail soon after…

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (15 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Bikini Beach (1964)

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
How to Stuff a Wild Bikini Muscle Beach Party Beach Blanket Bingo Beach Party Pajama Party
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
News articles IMDb Comedy section IMDb USA section
Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.