Movie review - "Gidget" (1959) **1/2

The film that launched the clean teen beach craze and proved Sandra Dee could carry her own vehicle, both admittedly perhaps not the most crucial events in cinema history, but not without import. Dee is extremely likeable in that girl-next-door pretty-but-not-too-pretty way which helped make her a big star for such a short period of time.

The character she plays is constructed to be very relatable and appealing to other teenage girls: visiting the beach with her more voluptuous friends and feeling like a dork; pining after James Darren; being looked after by spunky older Cliff Robertson; hanging around lots of boys with their shirts off; learning how to surf; wishing her boobs were bigger; paying a guy to get Darren jealous; succeeding in getting Darren jealous; both Darren and Robertson wind up wanting her.

It’s also reassuring to conservative teenage girls – Darren may talk like he wants to be a free spirit and go out with a trashy girl, but he’ll settle down and go to college, want you, and your dad will approve; Robertson may be a surf bum but he’ll quit too and suit up (because of Gidget’s influence); if you try to lose your virginity to Robertson he won’t go through with it, even though he’s tempted; people will notice if you’ve gone missing.

Dee is excellent value – was there a better perkier teenager – and Robertson gives this genuine gravitas. There's a memorable scene where he gets turned on by young little Gidget and contemplates having his way with her, but turns away, tormented. Darren has looks and a good voice but lacks warmth – I think that’s why he never became bigger than a teen idol. No one in the cast gets much of a look in except for the lead trio – it’s a shame Gidget’s girlfriends weren’t used more – although Arthur O’Connell is on hand as Gidget’s father (he played benign authority figures for most of the late 50s teen idols: Dee, Fabian, Pat Boone, Elvis).

This helped establish many requirements of the genre: musical numbers (Darren sings a few tunes), beach party at night with people playing bongos and couples pairing off, a love triangle, defence of virginity. Incidentally, there's an interesting movie in the story of the real Gidget - the California raised daughter of a German Jewish screenwriter who turned her exploits into a novel.