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The Frankie and DeeDee adventures or, as they are better known,
'The Beach Movies', were made between 1963 and 1965, featuring a
group of beach-crazy surfing friends, and were set in the Malibu
Beach area of California on the West Coast of America.
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All
5 were produced by William Asher and starred Frankie Avalon
and Annette Funicello supported by an ever-changing cast, sprinkled
with famous guest appearances and cameo roles with the backing
of the 'West Coast sound' from artists like Dick Dale and The
Deltones, The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, The Surfaris, The Hondells
and many other classic surf groups of the 60s. There were many
similarly styled movies and a lot of them starred Annette Funicello,
which probably gives her the title 'Queen of the Beach Movies'.
Some have become cult films in their own right, but this series
with Frankie and DeeDee remain the definitive examples of the
genre and are 'The
Beach Movies'
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"Beach
Party"
1963
American
International Pictures (AIP)
Producer:
James H. Nicholson
Screenplay: Lou Rusoff
101 minutes colour ( Warner )
Directed
by William Asher
Cast:
Frankie
Avalon, Annette Funicello, Robert Cummings, Dorothy Malone
Vincent Price, Harvey Lembeck, Morey Amsterdam, Jody McCrea
Eva Six, John Ashley, Candy Johnson, Dick Dale and The Deltones
Songs include:
Beach
Party, Treat Him Nicely, Promise Me Anything, Don't Stop
Now
Surfin' And A-Swingin', Secret Surfin' Spot
Storyline:
Frankie
sets up a moonlight beach session with DeeDee only to find
that the whole crowd turns up for a party.
An anthropologist who is writing a book about the tribalism
and mating habits of the Californian surf-dwellers
takes to spying on them for new material. The story is punctuated
by ho-daddy Eric Von Zipper doing his
best to create havoc amongst the surfing pals
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"Muscle
Beach Party"
1964
American
International Pictures (AIP)
Producers:
James H. Nicholson and Robert Dillon
Screenplay: Robert Dillon and William Asher
94 minutes colour ( HBO )
Directed
by William Asher
'When
10,000 biceps go around 5,000 bikinis you know what's gonna
happen'
Cast:
Frankie
Avalon, Annette Funicello, Luciana Paluzzi, John Ashley
Don Rickles, Candy Johnson, Dolores Wells, Donna Loren,
Peter Lupus
Jody McCrea, Morey Amsterdam, Buddy Hackett, Rock Stevens,
Peter Lorre
Dick Dale and The Deltones, Little Stevie Wonder, Brian
Wilson, Gary Usher, Roger Christian
Songs include:
Muscle
Beach Party, Happy Street, Surfers Holiday, Runnin' Wild
A Boy Needs A Girl, A Girl Needs A Boy, Muscle Bustle, My
First Love
Storyline:
A
visiting Italian Countess gets a crush on Frankie and things
get complicated when her boyfriend, the
highly muscled 'Mr. Galaxy' arrives on the scene. During
the film Candy Johnson introduces a new dance,
the Ebb'n'Flow, and Little Stevie Wonder does a gig at Cappy's
Surf Club. All's well that ends well and
Frankie and DeeDee are once again happily entwined by the
end of the show
film poster
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"Bikini
Beach"
1964
American
International Pictures (AIP)
Producers:
James H. Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff
Screenplay: William Asher, Leo Townsend, Robert Dillon
99 minutes colour ( Embassy )
Directed
by William Asher
Cast:
Frankie
Avalon, Annette Funicello, Martha Hyer, Don Rickles, Harvey
Lembeck, Keenan Wynn
Jody McCrea, Candy Johnson, Donna Loren, John Ashley, Boris
Karloff, Meredith McRae
Danielle Aubrey, Paul Smith, James Westerfield, Dolores
Wells, Little Stevie Wonder
The Exciters, The Pyramids
Songs include:
Fingertips,
Bikini Beach, Midnight Run, Because You're You
This Time It's Love, How About That, Secret Weapon, Gimme
Your Love
Storyline:
A
property speculator is planning to develop the haunt of
the surfing buddies and they enlist the help of
'Potato Bug', an English, pop-singing drag-racer ( also
played by Avalon ) to thwart his nasty little scheme
film poster
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"How To Stuff A Wild Bikini"
1965
American
International Pictures (AIP)
Producers:
James H. Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff
Screenplay: William Asher and Leo Townsend
92 minutes colour ( Warner )
Directed
by William Asher
'Thrills
and spills in the wildest motorcycle race ever run'
Cast:
Annette
Funicello, Dwayne Hickman, Brian Donlevy, Harvey Lembeck
Beverly Adams, John Ashley, Jody McCrea, Marianne Guba,
Len Lesse
Irene Tsu, Elizabeth Montgomery, Bobbi Shaw, Buster Keaton
Mickey Rooney, Timothy Carey, Arthur Julian, The Kingsmen
Brian Wilson, Frankie Avalon
Songs include:
How To
Stuff A Wild Bikini, Better Be Ready, Give Her Lovin'
The Perfect Boy, After The Party
Storyline:
Frankie
is called up for Naval Reserve duty ( n.b. he was actually
busy filming 'Ski Party' )
and hires the services of a witch doctor to keep an eye
on DeeDee while he is away.
The 'motorcycle race' in the tagline is actually held on
the beach itself
film poster
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"Beach
Blanket Bingo"
1965
American
International Pictures (AIP)
Producers:
James H. Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff
Screenplay: William Asher and Leo Townsend
98 minutes colour ( HBO )
Directed
by William Asher
Cast:
Frankie
Avalon, Annette Funicello, Deborah Walley, Harvey Lembeck,
Jody McCrea, Donna Loren
Marta Kristen, Linda Evans, Donna Michelle, Earl Wilson,
Darlene Lucht, John Ashley, Buster Keaton
Stephanie Nader, Paul Lynde, Timothy Carey, Don Rickles,
Bobbi Shaw, The Hondells
Songs include:
Beach
Blanket Bingo, The Cycle Set, You'll Never Change Him, I
Think You Think
These Are The Good Times, Fly Boy, New Love, It Only Hurts
When I Cry, I Am My Ideal
Storyline:
Deadhead
loses his heart to a life-saving mermaid and Frankie is
led astray by Sugar Kane, played by Linda Evans. The crowd
enjoy some sky-diving into the surf and there are more than
the usual number of featured
songs before the traditionally happy ending
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SixtiesCity 2008