Now that the Chicago weather is gray and gloomy, it’s time for me to grab my bikini and head for my favorite beach.
Movies, I mean.
Sun, surf, sand, dune buggies, beach houses, surfboards, bonfires, Dick Dale and the battle of the teenage sexes have made for some very fabulous movie moments.
Let’s head west and start with the first of a memorable series. After all, this Beach Party is where Frankie met Annette.
But, as we all know, the path of true love is never smooth as the sand on Malibu. In Beach Blanket Bingo, Frankie’s wandering eye lands on the dishy singer, Sugar Kane- played with wholesome All American blondness by Linda Evans.
But don’t worry, wahines. Annette doesn’t wipe out. She keeps her one piece, Walt Disney-approved bathing suit on and still gets her man.
Things are way more complicated for Gidget. She desperately wants to learn to surf and hang with the boys.
Wasn’t that the ginchiest? And how about those special effects? They looked so real. I didn’t know that Sandra Dee, James Darren and Cliff Robertson were such rad hodaddies.
Will Gidget get invited to the luau? Will she ever get a bust? And will she ever get Moondoggie to fall for her? I’m always on the edge of my Bing surfboard praying that everything works out swell for adorable her.
Now here’s a movie where the guys really know how to hang ten. Have a glimpse of Endless Summer. (I had that title poster hanging in my bedroom when I was Gidget’s age.)
But let’s give the Hawaii girls their due. Watch these lovely surfers Blue Crush it.
One of my all-time favorite desert island disc movies is the wonderful romp Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation. There is teenage trouble galore as fourteen year old Katey is ashamed of her braces and won’t smile long enough to get a boy to dance with her.
Enter Fabian.
I LOVE this movie. And I’ve gone from Laurie Peters’ age to Maureen O’Hara’s grandmother status laughing all the way.
But the Pacific isn’t the only ocean in town. Let’s see what’s happening on the Atlantic side of Beach Country.
Sometimes girls meet girls on Beaches and tearjerker movies are born. Watch this close encounter between CC Bloom (Mayam Bialik) and Hilary Whitney (Marcie Leeds).
Now here’s Bette and Barbara all grown up but still hanging out on another tear-drenched beach.
And though teen queen Sandra Dee still has the ingenue role, she doesn’t want to surf any more. Uh oh. Look what happens when she discovers handsome Johnny.
(Sometimes resort houses in Maine in the movies are played by real houses in Carmel-by-the-sea. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, no less. Built in 1948, it stands on Scenic Road and you can go visit it.)
Now listen to this while I dry off and put on some Bain de Soleil.
Certainly not a beach movie, in some Like It Hot, the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego stands in for the Seminole Ritz in Florida.
One of the all-time great beach scenes, nonetheless.
(Not only is the Del pretending, everybody’s pretending. Tony is pretending to be Cary Grant, Marilyn is pretending to be a Vassar girl and Jack Lemmon is pretending to be his own mother. What fun. Thank you, Billy Wilder. I just couldn’t resist.)
I’m getting noodle arms so this is going to be my last party wave.
This movie is epic.
Where the Boys Are has it all. Hunk George Hamilton- basically playing himself- smart Dolores Hart- who went on to be a nun- comic relief in the form of tall Paula Prentiss and even taller Jim Hutton.
But it also had the tragic story of Ivy League groupie, Yvette Mimieux. What a cautionary tale. I know I learned my lesson.
Okay. Time to pack up the woody and head home. I’ll leave you in Connie Francis’s good hands.
It’s been bitchin’, dudes.
Ellen, I loved “The Endless Summer” when it still was first-run in the theaters, and of course “Some Like It Hot” is one of my all-time favorites that I try to catch at least once every year or two, on the large or small screen.
What would a post from me be without plugging a crossword? For today, December 17, 2015 (the date is significant), we’ve created a super-easy puzzle called “Back-and-Forth in Omaha” … and there’s an extensive “midrash” that explains what’s going on (and you might even discern a relationship to the subject matter of today’s post … I’ll explain later).
Cowabunga, Dude! Big surprise that you have even seen The Endless Summer. No surprise that there is a crossword in the woodpile. But glad you’re shooting the curl. Thanks, Gidget
Ellen, I watched Beach Party one day. It just happened to be on T.V. My wife came home and I had to explain the movie to get her caught up. That was interesting! Movies back in the days were more musical like. I really enjoy all the great singing parts. I am surprised Blue Crush made your list of Ocean classics. It was by far the most modern. The one I would know best.
The first time I was at the ocean I will never forget it. It was staying in Long Island and we made a trip to Fire Island. Robert Moses State Park. I was so excited to take a running start at something only in my dreams. I was 18 and could stay awake for hours on end. I was working a night shift and stayed awake for as long as I could that morning. As I rushed down to the ocean, a wave hit me with good force. At that moment I realized how damn cold the water was but being from Minnesota, I didn’t care. It was the Ocean and I had made it. I swam till I was shaking cold. Then I took a long walk and noticed a couple engaged in adult activities. It’s amazing how sun, sand and getting a tan can bring different feelings. I ended up exhausted from my over excitement and took a nap on the beach. No matter how cold the water was and how ocean blue-green it wasn’t, the rug couldn’t be pulled from my feet that day.
I have spent my fair time at the beach but I have never been on a surf board. Minnesota doesn’t really offer waves big enough. Lake Superior is a hit for some folks but that is real cold water. It’s still on my list of to-do’s.
Wow! It really paid off talking to you this morning. Rad comment, bro. (And FYI, I’ve seen Blue Crush three times.) I’m not THAT old. Thanks, Ben. Now I’ve got to wax my Hobie.
Cookie, Cookie, lend me your comb….
Yep, you’re the ginchiest.
Do you mean “Kookie?” Either way, thanks, Bernie. You’ll always be the Big Kahuna to me. Sandra
There was a very old (British?) movie starring Joan Collins – The Adventures of Sadie (?) I didn’t research the title. She looked great in a bikini.
Happy Holidays –
Herbie
That’s what it’s called, Herbie. And it came out in 1953! You always had a good head for figures. Thanks- and happy holidays to you. The Pool Committee