It's a Bikini World

It's a Bikini World

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Stephanie Rothman
Produced by Charles S. Swartz
Written by Stephanie Rothman
Charles S. Swartz
Starring Deborah Walley
Tommy Kirk
Bobby Pickett
Suzie Kaye
Jack Bernardi
Music by Mike Curb
Bob Summers
Cinematography Alan Stensvold
Edited by Leo H. Shreve
Distributed by Trans American
Release dates
  • April 14, 1967
Running time
 86 min.
Country United States
Language English

It's a Bikini World is an American musical comedy film released in 1967 starring Tommy Kirk, Deborah Walley and Bobby "Boris" Pickett of "Monster Mash" fame. The film features cameos by the music groups The Gentrys, The Animals, Pat & Lolly Vegas, The Castaways and R&B girl group The Toys. Featuring a pro-feminist plotline, this film also has the distinction of being the only movie in the beach party genre to be directed by a woman (Stephanie Rothman).

This film, along with Catalina Caper (which also starred Tommy Kirk), is among the very last of the beach party films. The mainstay of the once-popular genre was the series of films by American International Pictures (AIP), starting with the surprise hit Beach Party in 1963 and ending with The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (a box-office flop) in 1966.

Although AIP picked up the distribution of this film, it was not an AIP film. It was actually produced and originally distributed by Trans American Films under the title, The Girl in Daddy's Bikini. A new 35mm print with this title was screened at the American Cinematheque in Hollywood on August 1, 2009.

Plot

Young surfer Mike Samson (Tommy Kirk), the local beach jock, is quite the ladies man until he meets Delilah Dawes (Deborah Walley). At first, he tries to add her to his harem, but she rejects him because she finds him chauvinistic and shallow; so he disguises himself as a nerdy twin brother "Herbert".

In the meantime, publisher Harvey Pulp (Jack Bernardi) plans to start a new magazine called “Teen Scream” and joins forces with “Daddy” (Sid Haig), car, surfboard, skateboard, etc. customizer — and the owner of the local music club, The Dungeon — to publicize the venture. Pulp and Daddy organize a series of contests, and Delilah competes against "Mike" with the encouragement of "Herbert" in various events and loses each time. However, Mike finds that he is falling in love with her. Eventually, Delilah finds out about the deception and soon the two of them compete in a final race using various vehicles.

Cast

Production

It's a Bikini World was partly financed by Roger Corman, who hired his protégé, Stephanie Rothman, to direct, and her husband Charles S. Swartz to produce; both wrote the script.[1] Rothman later stated her rationale for the script:

Girls in beach pictures were usually very passive. The idea that she would assume her athletic prowess could be as good as his was very alien. We wanted a story in which the two characters each had a very strong sense of self-esteem: the boy not wanting to admit that the girl could be as worthy as he, the girl not willing to let him believe that he was better than her.[2]

The movie was originally entitled The Girl in Daddy's Bikini.[3] It was shot in the Winter of 1965, but not released until Spring of 1967.[4] That the film was shot off-season (when the beaches were less crowded, which was typical for beach party films) is noticeable from the autumn foliage and the Hollywood Boulevard Christmas decorations appearing onscreen.

Trans American made an effort to copy AIP's style—both Kirk and Walley had appeared in previous AIP films, Kirk in Pajama Party and Walley in both Beach Blanket Bingo and Ski Party, and both of them had just starred together in The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini; Bobby Pickett's character, Woody, with his goofy hats and dim wit, is a riff on the character Deadhead/Bonehead that Jody McCrea portrayed in several of the AIP beach party films; Sid Haig's character, Daddy, with his Kustom Kulture design merchandise empire, is a take-off on Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, whose designs were tied to the AIP films as well (for example, Roth's trademark hat—aka Hillbilly Crash Helmet—was worn by McCrea in a couple of AIP films and Roth's Surfite custom car appears in AIP's Beach Blanket Bingo).

The role of Woody was originally offered to Aron Kincaid who turned it down.[5]

Shooting took around two weeks at a number of locations, including Malibu Beach and a theatre in the Palisade.s The location used for Daddy's "Dungeon" in the film is the notorious Hollywood Boulevard club “The Haunted House,” notable for its bizarre stage in the shape of a mouth of a giant fanged monster (the club also appears as the setting for Ted V. Mikels’ Go-Go exploitation film, Girl in Gold Boots released a year later in 1968).

Surfboards used in the film were provided by Hobie.

Music

The Animals perform their hit "We Gotta Get out of This Place," and teen garage punks The Castaways perform their hit "Liar, Liar." The Toys perform "Attack," The Gentrys (who had a hit with "Keep on Dancing") perform "Spread It On Thick" and Pat & Lolly Vegas perform "Walk On (Right Out of My Life)."

The soundtrack is by Mike Curb and features an early Moog synthesizer cut. The kinetic surf instrumental used over the opening and closing credits, and as a signature throughout the film, is by Bob Summers.[6]

Release

The film was released in the spring of 1967, finding limited release in the big cities and mostly playing Southern drive-ins.[5]

Tommy Kirk later said he was embarrassed by the movie. "It was... basically the end of my career, one of the worst pieces of shit that I've ever been in in my life. I can't believe that I could be so stupid. Poor Deborah Walley, poor me."[7]

References

  1. ↑ 'Exploiting Feminism: An Interview with Stephanie Rothman (Part One)' Confessions of an Aca Fan: The Official Weblog of Henry Jenkins, Oct 16,2007
  2. ↑ Terry Curtis Fox, 'Fully Female', Film Comment 12. 6 (Nov/Dec 1976): 46-50,68
  3. ↑ Betty Martin, 'Wolper to Film War Novel', Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) [Los Angeles, Calif] 20 Oct 1965: d15.
  4. ↑ It's a Bikini World, John M. Miller, Turner Classic Movies
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Tom Lisanti, Hollywood Surf and Beach Movies: The First Wave, 1959-1969, McFarland 2005, p337-342
  6. ↑ Domenic Priore and Chris D., The American Cinematheque Newsletter. Riot on the Sunset Strip Vol. II: Slight Return (To 1966), July 31 - August 6, 2009.
  7. ↑ Minton, Kevin, "Sex, Lies, and Disney Tape: Walt’s Fallen Star", Filmfax Issue 38, April 1993 p 70

External links