Zuma Beach (1978)

A fading rock singer goes to the beach to get away from it all and winds up getting involved in the lives of the teenage beachgoers.

Director:

Lee H. Katzin

Writers:

John Carpenter (teleplay), William A. Schwartz (teleplay) (as William Schwartz)

Stars:

Suzanne Somers, Steven Keats, Mark Wheeler

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Suzanne Somers	...	Bonnie Katt
Steven Keats	...	Jerry McCabe
Mark Wheeler	...	David Hunter
Kimberly Beck	...	Cathy
Perry Lang	...	Billy
Michael Biehn	...	J.D.
Biff Warren	...	Norman
Les Lannom	...	Stan
Rosanna Arquette	...	Beverly
Gary Imhoff	...	Frank
Leonard Stone	...	Johnson
Steve Franken	...	Rick
Richard Molinare	...	Frank
Tanya Roberts	...	Denise
P.J. Soles	...	Nancy

Storyline

A fading rock singer goes to the beach to get away from it all and winds up getting involved in the lives of the teenage beachgoers.

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Plot Keywords:

beach party | singer | beach | bikini | teenage boy | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Did You Know?

Soundtracks

Don't Run Away
Written by Dick Halligan and Carol Connors

User Reviews

Suzanne Somers hits the beach...and learns you can't run away from yourself!

Pop singer in Los Angeles is told the record business has forgotten her--she had a hit single two years ago, but her last album lost money. She responds to this rejection by driving to the beach--her childhood sanctuary--to play in the sand and flirt with the impressionable 18-year-olds. History repeating itself: a sun-kissed 1970s update of the beach party genre, which hadn't been in vogue since the mid-'60s. Although written by John Carpenter (in his salad days) and William Schwartz, from a treatment by John Herman Shaner and Alvin Ramrus, this TV-movie has sunshine and wet sand to spare but doesn't have the canny lingo of hormone-crazed teenagers down right. Suzanne Somers, still riding high with "Three's Company", shows polish in the lead, but the younger players are hit-and-miss. Rosanna Arquette needs help rolling a joint, P.J. Soles is tired of playing volleyball, Timothy Hutton is training to be a lifeguard, Michael Biehn (as "J.D.") ruins Suzanne's sandcastle, and Tanya Roberts (with a belly-chain) is a knockout pretending to be just another dateless chick in the crowd. Not credible for one instant, and embarrassing when it tries for seriousness, but at least the scenarists keep it relatively clean. These kids want romance! How's that for a beach come-on?

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 September 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

Playa Zuma

Filming Locations:

USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bruce Cohn Curtis Films Ltd., Edgar J. Scherick Associates, Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1