Beach Ball (1965)

Edd Byrnes tries to get an ethnic-music-studies grant to buy instruments for his rock and roll group, the Wigglers. College-finance-committee members Chris Noel, Gail Gilmore, Mikki Jameson... See full summary »

Director:

Lennie Weinrib

Writer:

Sam Locke (screenplay) (as David Malcolm)

Stars:

Edd Byrnes, Chris Noel, Robert Logan

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Edd Byrnes	...	Dick Martin
Chris Noel	...	Susan
Robert Logan	...	Bango
Aron Kincaid	...	Jack
Mikki Jamison	...	Augusta
Don Edmonds	...	Bob
Brenda Benet	...	Samantha
Gail Gilmore	...	Deborah
James Wellman	...	Bernard Wolf
Anna Lavele	...	Polly (as Anna Lavelle)
Jack Bernardi	...	Mr. Wilk
Dick Miller	...	Cop #1
Bill Sampson	...	Steve
Lee Krieger	...	Little Daddy
John Hyden	...	Cop #2

Storyline

Edd Byrnes tries to get an ethnic-music-studies grant to buy instruments for his rock and roll group, the Wigglers. College-finance-committee members Chris Noel, Gail Gilmore, Mikki Jameson and Brenda Benet uncover the scam and tear up the check, but the Wigglers play a Long Beach, California custom-car show in drag and win first prize. The Supremes do "Come to the Beach Ball with Me" and "Surfer Boy;" the Four Seasons sing their 1964 hit "Dawn;" the Hondells sing Brian Wilson's "My Buddy Seat;" the Righteous Brothers do "Baby What You Want Me to Do;" and the Walker Brothers cut loose with "Doin' the Jerk." Gary Kurtz of "Star Wars" fame was the assistant director.

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Plot Keywords:

song | singer | singing | low budget film | stock footage | 

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Taglines:

Those surf ridin', skin divin', sky jumpin', drag racin', beach bashin' boys and their bikini beauties... in a blast of a beach brawl!

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although she made some television appearances, this was the first film appearance of Diana Ross, Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson as The Supremes and for Frankie Valli and his group as The Four Seasons.

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The Early Years (1955-1970) (2000)

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Soundtracks

Come to the Beach Ball with Me
Lyrics and Music Written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland
Performed by The Supremes

User Reviews

"Come on, come on, come on...to the Beach Ball with me!"

Staggeringly bad teen-fracas from Paramount begins with animated opening credits that look as if they were drawn by a ten-year-old...and it gets worse from there. Stock surfing footage, a hot rod show, Edd Byrnes showing off his hairy, flabby chest, four guys in drag--"Beach Ball" makes the modest Frankie & Annette "Beach Party" flicks seem masterful by comparison. Odd that a major movie studio like Paramount got caught knocking-off a B-studio series and still came up with a loser. This has some of the worst cinematography, writing, directing and acting I've ever seen in a major commercial release. "Beach Ball" does earn one lone star simply by featuring the fabulous Supremes at the hot rod show, singing the title track and "Surfer Boy" (Diana Ross, sporting an Annette-like bouffant, is far more accomplished at lip-synching than her cohorts, but they look great together and the two songs aren't bad). Otherwise, this "Ball" is deflated. * from ****

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 September 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Al ritmo del surf

Filming Locations:

Long Beach, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

La Honda Services

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1