Bikini Beach

Bikini Beach (1964)

It's where every torso is more so, and bare-as-you-dare is the rule!

A millionaire sets out to prove his theory that his pet chimpanzee is as intelligent as the teenagers who hang out on the local beach, where he is intending to build a retirement home.

Date of release
1964-07-22
TMDB
5.6 / 10 (30)
Runtime
1h 39m
Genres
Comedy, Music, Romance
Director
William Asher
Collection
Beach Party Collection

Casting

Interesting facts

Bikini Beach is a 1964 American teen film directed by William Asher and starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. The film belongs to the beach party genre of movies, popular in the 1960s. This is the third in the series of seven films produced by American International Pictures (AIP).

Production notes

The film was announced in June 1963 even before Beach Party was released.

In a FILMFAXplus (April/June 2004) interview, director William Asher revealed that the script was originally written for The Beatles. According to Asher's claim, the group had agreed to act in the film but later dropped out as their rapidly growing fame (especially after their 1964 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show) caused their fee to exceed the film's budget. Asher was forced to rework the script.

United Artists had signed a three-movie deal with the Beatles in late 1963. This casts doubt on the veracity of Asher's claim.

According to Avalon, AIP "did a survey because they wanted to know how much surfing they should put in these pictures after the first and second one. It really wasn't the surfing that was the attraction in those films. It was the fun and the puppy love between Frankie and Annette."

The film was the first made by AIP following a decision from the studio in April 1964 to ban smoking in its films. Production started 20 April. "Our films can set an example by showing the smoking need not be part of every day life," said a studio spokesman.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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