Tommy Kirk’s homosexuality saw him fired from Disney but he was still offered work over at AIP, for whom he made this film – after which he was busted for drugs and they gave him the flick.
Here he steps into Frankie Avalon’s shoes as leading man in what became the fourth in the Beach Party series. Apparently this wasn’t originally envisioned as part of the series but was changed – so most of the action takes place as a mansion next to the beach rather than the beach, the hero of the plot is a martian rather than a teenager, Annette starts the film dating Jody McCrea rather than Frankie (actually this is a little stressful to watch) and winds up wth Tommy, there’s no John Ashley and Don Weis directs instead of William Asher; but they do have Donna Loren, Candy Johnson, Harvey Lembeck as Eric Von Zipper, plus a bunch of veteran stars, Don Rickles and Frankie Avalon in cameos, and plenty of groovy songs and dances.
I read an article about this film once that pointed out it was the only Beach Party movie that was done as a proper musical – the songs and routines are better integrated, there is a big well-choreographed dance number on the beach and at the pajama party (as well as the standard wiggling) and a really fun number performed by Dorothy Lamour in a dress shop (where the dancers include a young Terri Garr in a yellow dress – and if I’m not mistaken Toni Basil in a bikini).
Don Weis moves the camera more than William Asher and the songs are consistently strong. Also Funicello is actually allowed to sing and dance in a big production number – normally in Beach Party movies she was stuck singing ballads.
Kirk and Funicello have charming chemistry together, except in the scene where they ding a duet (if Kirk isn’t dubbed, he seems to be – and he does it poorly). And the story of their romance isn’t much – Beach Party movies were never that good at actually depicting couples fall in love (Frankie and Annette would break up and get back together) and the Annette-Kirk romance feels as though it needs another scene or beat or something – for instance, Annette’s got no real reason to be mad at Kirk for flirting with Bobbi Shaw… they’re not going out, and hello Annette is meant to be going out with Jody McCrea.
The film seems unable to make up its mind whether to concentrate on the martians-invading-earth story or the conmen-trying-to-rip-off-Elsa-Lanchester story. Eric Von Zipper and his cronies get involved too – they look hilarious in red pajamas at the end.
This is one of the sexiest movies in the series, with plenty of attractive women in bikinis and pajamas. Candy Johnson is in it but the role of woman-who-can-knock-men-over-with-a-shimmy is taken here by Susan Hart (who gets to dance in the end credits, another former place of Johnson’s – was she already seeing Jim Nicholson at this point?) She’s gorgeous but the real stunner is Bobbi Shaw, as a man-eating well-endowed Swede - if she’s not jumping out of the bathtub she’s in a bikini or rubbing Buster Keaton’s face in his breasts (this was one of Keaton’s last roles and even if AIP movies weren’t of the level of his silent classics, they were bright ad cheerful and gave him a pay cheque… and the chance to get up close and personal with Bobbi Shaw).
A really fun, bright movie.
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