“It’s what happens when 10,000 kids meet on 5,000 Beach Blankets!”
An anthropologist studying the sex habits of young people finds himself in the middle of a pie-throwing brawl.
The first and most famous of the Beach Movies is something of a curiosity for the inclusion of Dick Dale and the Del-Tones who sang the title tune for A Swingin’ Affair earlier in the year.
Dale was the beach bum who played guitar and surfed on his own but finally rose to fame 32 years later with the hit soundtrack for Pulp Fiction(1994).
Beach Party was a bold departure for American-International, featuring some famous (and talented) actors, and being shot in flaming colour. The budget was also considerably larger than anything they had done in the black and white/leather jacket days with movies such as Dragstrip Girl.
The movie was followed by four sequels. The first sequel, Muscle Beach Party(1964), had Dick Dale, Brian Wilson and Stevie Wonder. The second, Bikini Beach(1964), also had Little Stevie Wonder making his debut with hit song Fingertips.
Professor Sutwell
Bob Cummings Marianne
Dorothy Malone Frankie
Frankie Avalon Dolores
Annette Funicello Ava
Eva Six Eric Von Zipper
Harvey Lembeck Deadhead
Jody McCrea Cappy
Morey Amsterdam Ken
John Ashley Rhonda
Valora Noland Tom
Bobby Payne J.D.
Andy Romano Ed
David Landfield The Ratz
Jerry Brutsche
Bob Harvey
John Macchia The Mice
Alberta Nelson
Linda Rogers Dick Dale and the Del Tones Themselves
Professor Sutwell
