Beach Party
The film that created the beach party film genre.
Beach Party is a 1963 American film and the first of seven beach party films from American International Pictures (AIP) aimed at a teen audience. This film is often credited with creating the beach party film genre. It was shot over three weeks starting in March 1963, with locations including Newport, Balboa, Laguna and Malibu Beach.
Quick Facts
- Director
- William Asher
- Writer
- Lou Rusoff
- Uncredited:William Asher
- Robert Dillon
- Producer
- James H. Nicholson, Lou Rusoff
- Cinematography
- Kay Norton
- Editing
- Homer Powell
- Music
- Les Baxter
- Studio
- Alta Vista Productions
- Distributor
- American International Pictures (AIP)
Lore & Background
The story follows Frankie and Dolores, two young lovebirds heading to the beach for what Frankie assumes is a private romantic getaway. However, dissatisfied with her relationship and unwilling to be alone with Frankie, Dolores has invited several of the couple's friends to stay at the beach house with them. Frankie is intensely upset at finding other people at the beach house and feels betrayed that Dolores misled him. Meanwhile, an anthropologist, Professor Robert Orville Sutwell, is staying at the beach house next door, secretly studying the "wild mating habits" of Southern California teenagers who hang out at the beach and speak in strange surfing jargon. Frankie, on the advice of his friends, decides to begin flirting with Ava, a Hungarian waitress at the local restaurant. Upset by his flirting, Dolores accidentally stumbles into the lap of Eric Von Zipper, the leader of the local outlaw motorcycle club, The Rats. Eric refuses to let Dolores go, despite her repeated direct demands to release her, until professor Sutwell intervenes. Eric threatens Sutwell, but Sutwell uses a secret finger technique to paralyze him, and he and Dolores escape. Dolores develops a crush on the professor. Frankie becomes jealous and escalates the flirting with Ava. Sutwell attempts to develop a professional relationship with Dolores to help him understand the culture of the young surfers; she in turn interprets his professional interest in a sexual and romantic way. Ava develops sincere feelings for Frankie, who is merely using her to make Dolores jealous. Frankie tires of the games, and decides to confess his love to Dolores, who accepts and kisses him; however, when Ava intervenes and says that Frankie also told her that he loves her, Dolores breaks things off with him. Meanwhile, Sutwell's assistant Marianne also has romantic interest in the Professor, who is oblivious to her hints.
Reader's Guide
The film was shot over three weeks starting in March 1963. Locations included Newport, Balboa, Laguna and Malibu Beach. Robert Cummings was top billed. Annette Funicello was always first choice for the female lead, although Asher says they were worried because she was under contract to Walt Disney. Funicello says other producers had tried to hire her before but Disney had said no. However "something about Beach Party appealed to him," she later wrote. She says Disney told her the film was "good, clean fun" but asked her not to expose her navel. Arkoff says that AIP tried to get Fabian Forte to play opposite her but he was under contract to 20th Century Fox so Frankie Avalon was cast instead. In July 1962 it was announced Avalon would play the lead with Funicello "probably" appearing alongside him. John Ashley had made a number of movies for American International and was cast to play Avalon's best friend. In one of the first instances of film cross-selling, AIP took advantage of the target demographic of this film to promote another in a different genre, when at the very end of the credits – after giving "A Special thanks" to Vincent Price for appearing as Big Daddy – the title reads "Soon to be seen in Edgar Allan Poe's Haunted Palace", an AIP horror film that would be released on August 28, 1963 – just weeks after the release of Beach Party. Price's line, "The Pit… Bring me my pendulum, kiddies, I feel like swinging…", is a jocular reference to AIP's 1961 Price vehicle, The Pit and the Pendulum, directed by Roger Corman.
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