Beach Blanket Bingo: "That's the name of the...that's the name of the...that's the name of the game!"

The fourth installment in AIP's Beach Party series remains the best remembered for several reasons. It featured early performances by blonde actresses Linda Evans and Marta Kristen, both of whom would find fame on television (Evans in The Big Valley and later Dynasty; Kristen in Lost in Space as Judy Robinson, the older daughter). It marked the first teaming of director William Asher and comedian Paul Lynde. That same year, Asher produced the TV series Bewitched for then-wife Elizabeth Montgomery and soon cast Lynde in his most famous role as Uncle Arthur, the mischievous warlock. Beach Blanket Bingo also marked the beginning of the end for sand-and-surf teen movies. Frankie Avalon made only a cameo in the follow-up How to Stuff a Wild Bikini. Neither Annette nor Frankie stayed around for The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini, the dismal final entry in the Beach Party series.

The storyline in Beach Blanket Bingo hinges on three loosely-connected subplots. Frankie and Dee Dee (Annette), who live on the beach with a bunch of friends, become mixed up with skydivers Steve (John Ashley) and Bonnie (Deborah Walley, a former Gidget). Bonnie wants to make Steve jealous, so she puts the moves on Frankie. In retaliation, Dee Dee feigns interest in Steve. Meanwhile, Frankie's pal Bonehead (Jody McCrea), a perennial loser at love, encounters a beautiful mermaid named Lorelei (Kristen). She can walk on land for brief periods (“You have pretty legs for a fish!” exclaims Bonehead), but her life as a sea creature proves a serious obstacle to a permanent relationship. Bonehead also likes Sugar Cane (Evans), an unknown singer being promoted by Bullets (Lynde), a snide publicity hound. Sugar has another admirer, too, motorcycle gang leader Eric Von Zipper (Harvey Lembeck), who kidnaps the singer because she is his “idol.” Unfortunately, Von Zipper's pool hall rival, South Dakota Slim (Timothy Carey), kidnaps Sugar from the motorcycle gang leader.

It’s pretty silly stuff, but remains undeniably entertaining thanks to the pleasant performances and engaging songs. The most famous tune in the whole Beach Party series is probably the hook-laden title track (“Beach blanket bingo…that’s the name of the game!”) penned by Guy Hemric and Jerry Styner. However, my personal fave is “It Only Hurts When I Cry” crooned by bubbly Donna Loren—who should have been a pop music star, but spent her best years stalled on the brink of stardom. The soundtrack also features Harvey Lembeck’s showstopping number “I Am My Ideal,” which boasts some delicious lyrics (“I'm the greatest, I admit / I got class, I'm full of it”). It was popular enough to be reprised by Lembeck in How to Stuff a Wild Bikini. (By the way, while it appears that Linda Evan is singing, she’s actually lip-syncing to Jackie Ward’s vocals).

The Beach Party films pretty much defy serious analysis, except in regard to their pop culture treatment of 1960s teens, especially young women. In Beach Party, Annette’s character believes herself to be attracted to an older man (Robert Cummings). In Bikini Beach, she--along with all the other girls--swoon over British rock sensation The Potato Bug (Frankie in a dual role). She sits idly by while Luciana Paluzzi tries to steal Frankie in Muscle Beach Party. And in Pajama Party, her boyfriend is the incredibly dumb Big Lunk (Jody McCrea), whom she eventually dumps for an affable alien. So, it comes as a surprise in the series’ fifth film when Dee Dee decides to take matters into her hands. In Bingo, when Frankie seems interested in Bonnie, the skydiver, Dee Dee hooks up with Steve (series regular John Ashley, the “other good-looking guy”). It may just be a routine jealousy ploy, but it’s a step-up for Dee Dee—showing that she’s willing to take matters into her own hands and not allow Frankie to dictate their relationship.

The Beach Party movies are an acquired taste. I never really caught the bug until the late 1990s when AMC started showing them on Saturday nights. But I became such a fan that I bought all seven on DVD and last summer, my wife and I watched one every weekend for almost two months. It was a blast! Muscle Beach Party may be a close second, but Beach Blanket Bingo is still stuck firmly in the sand as our #1—thanks to its songs, the mermaid, creepy South Dakota Slim, wisecracks from Paul Lynde and Don Rickles, Donna Loren’s singing, Frankie & Annette’s natural chemistry, and the always amusing Harvey Lembeck. In fact, Harvey delivers our favorite line to Linda Evans' Sugar (which we tweak a bit in saying to each other): “Eric Von Zipper adores you. And when Eric Von Zipper adores somebody, they stay adored.”