Gidget Goes Hawaiian

Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961)

Get Happy! Get with it! Beach-Parties! Luau-Feasts! Surf-Boarding! Hula-Dancing! Have yourself a Hawaiian holiday when..."Gidget Goes Hawaiian"

Francis is desperate: her parents want to force her to come with them on vacation to Hawaii - just during the two weeks when her beloved "Moondoggy" is home from College. When he suggests her to go for it, she's even more in panic - doesn't he care to be with her? So she sets out for Hawaii in the worst mood. On the plane she meets the sociable Abby, who gives her the advice to forget about Jeff - and regrets it shortly after, when Francis follows the advice and steals her boyfriend Eddie, a famous dancer. But then Jeff discovers he's missing Francis...

Date of release
1961-06-02
TMDB
5.1 / 10 (14)
Runtime
1h 41m
Genres
Comedy, Music, Romance
Director
Paul Wendkos
Collection
The Gidget Collection

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Filmed in: Honolulu

Gidget Goes Hawaiian is a 1961 American romantic comedy musical film starring James Darren, Michael Callan and Deborah Walley. Released by Columbia Pictures, the film is a sequel to the 1959 Sandra Dee beach film vehicle Gidget. Although she was interested in reprising her role as Gidget, Sandra Dee was unable to do so because Columbia Pictures had only borrowed her from Universal Pictures for the original 1959 film; Universal refused to release her under her contract so she could star in their own series film, Tammy Tell Me True (1961).

Production notes

From over 150 actresses, Columbia chose Deborah Walley for her screen debut as the new Gidget. Agent Joyce Selznick discovered Walley performing in an off Broadway production of Chekhov's Three Sisters.

Director Paul Wendkos established Walley as the new Gidget with some scenes from the first film re-shot using the new cast as flashbacks. Michael Callan was also under contract to the studio.

The film was shot on location at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. Deborah Walley was doubled in surfing by Linda Benson.

Not long after the Lawrence family arrives in Hawaii, Gidget's father, Russ Lawrence, realizes that Gidget is sad because she misses her boyfriend Moondoggie (Jeffrey Mathews). At about 24 minutes into the movie, Lawrence sends a Western Union radiogram to Moondoggie, who is staying with his friend Clay Anderson for the summer. Lawrence's goal is to encourage Moondoggie to come to Hawaii ("Gidget is miserable, please...").

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

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