Posted on July 16, 2016 July 16, 2016 by gary loggins
Rockin' in the Film World #6: IT'S A BIKINI WORLD (Trans-American 1967)
IT'S A BIKINI WORLD is one of the lowest of the low-budget "Beach Party" ripoffs you'll ever see. Yet it has a certain charm to it, a likeable little "battle of the sexes" soufflé featuring some great 60's rock acts and the undeniable appeal of beach bunny Deborah Walley.
Beach stud Mike Samson goes gaga for knockout new redhead Delilah Dawes (Samson and Delilah, get it?). She thinks he's an egotistical jerk and gives him the big freeze-out, telling him she prefers the "serious type", so Mike dons a pair of thick glasses and some nerdy duds, passing himself off as intellectual brother "Herbert". Herbert takes her to museums and zoos, while Mike competes with her in skateboarding and boat races run by local customizer Daddy, owner of hangout The Dungeon. Delilah discovers Mike's scam, and they compete in a final Cross Country Race that consists of car racing, motorcycles, swimming, and even riding camels! Mike throws the race, and the two finally get together, as if there were ever any doubt.
The extremely loose plot is just an excuse to have a bunch of classic Sixties rocker lipsynch some of their hits. Pat and Lolly Vegas, the Native American brothers who wrote P.J. Proby's hit "Niki Hoky" and later formed the band Redbone, sing "Walk On". R&B girl group The Toys perform their minor hit "Attack!". Memphis garage rockers The Gentrys, featuring future WWF manager Jimmy "Mouth of the South" Hart as lead singer, do the frat rocker "Spread It On Thick". Minnesota's The Castaways jam out to their smash hit "Liar Liar". And finally, British Invasion blues rock stars The Animals, with a bored looking Eric Burdon, do the Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil classic "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", which is what Burdon looks like he wishes he were doing!
Can I get a shout out for the ever-delectable All-American girl Deborah Walley! The cute, perky Miss Walley made her film debut as every surfer's dream in 1961's GIDGET GOES HAWAIIAN, and quickly became a teen flick favorite. Deborah appeared in several AIP "Beach" movies (BEACH BLANKET BINGO, SKI PARTY, GHOST IN THE INVISIBLE BIKINI) and was married for a spell to "Beach" regular John Ashley. She was a drummer in Elvis Presley's band in SPINOUT, and co-starred for two seasons as Eve Arden's daughter on the sitcom THE MOTHERS-IN-LAW. Deborah's costar here is Tommy Kirk, former Disney star (OLD YELLER, THE SHAGGY DOG, SON OF FLUBBER) who was fired when Disney was informed Kirk was gay. Moving over to AIP, Tommy did PAJAMA PARTY and GHOST IN THE INVISIBLE BIKINI (with Walley). After getting busted for marijuana, Kirk's career and life slid downhill. He made MARS NEEDS WOMEN for Larry Buchanan and BLOOD OF GHASTLY HORROR for Al Adamson, and developed a vicious drug habit that rendered him unemployable. After getting clean and sober, Tommy Kirk left show business, running a successful carper cleaning business. He returned "home" in 2006 when he was named a 'Disney Legend' by the company, and does the occasional fan convention.
Kirk's pal is played by Bobby 'Boris' Pickett, who would've been better used lipsynching his hit "Monster Mash ", because he sure can't act! Daddy is played with gusto by the great Sid Haig , hamming it up and peppering his speech with phrases like "It's a gas" and "Groovy, man". Director Stephanie Rothman was a Roger Corman protégé and one of the only women working in the exploitation field besides Doris Wishman. Corman financed IT'S A BIKINI WORLD, and clips of his ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS are shown when the gang goes to the movies! Rothman and husband Charles Schwartz (who produced and cowrote the screenplay) later left Corman and formed Dimension Films, where she became noted for THE VELVET VAMPIRE and TERMINAL ISLAND. Rothman's decidedly feminist point of view is evident in this one, pitting Walley against Kirk in physical sporting competitions, something you didn't see in AIP's Frankie and Annette features.
Let me be honest though: IT'S A BIKINI WORLD is cheap, low budget nonsense geared for the teenage drive-in crowd, made to separate kids from their allowances on the weekend. It's full of corny jokes and dumb slapstick gags, and most of the money spent on it probably went to get the rock'n'rollers to appear. That being said, it's hard not to like this little time capsule of the Swinging Sixties. It does what it's supposed to; it keeps you entertained for an hour and a half. Plus, it's got those classic rock acts in it, and Deborah Walley to look at. Sounds like a win-win to me!!
CategoriesFilm, Rockin in the Film World Tags1960s, beach movies, Bobby Boris Pickett, comedy, Cracked Rear Viewer, crackedrearviewer, Deborah Walley, It's a Bikini World, roger corman, Sid Haig, Stephanie Rothman, The Animals, Tommy Kirk, Trans-American
15 Replies to "Rockin' in the Film World #6: IT'S A BIKINI WORLD (Trans-American 1967)"
Chuck Lane says:
"it's hard not to like this little time capsule of the Swinging Sixties."
"Time capsule"??? … No, dear gawd, please, … NO!
As one who lived through those "swinging sixties", in California, while a teenager, I must correct any assumption you might have that these flicks, in any way, represented ANYTHING that was actually occurring back then.
We all watched these films back then in the same shocked and stunned manner they are seen today. They were all unintentional howlers, which were actually embarrassing, … unless you lived in the sticks. These films actually made travelling in the US difficult for us, since as soon as everyone in Burgsville, Iowa or wherever learned that you were from California, the stereotypical glasses were donned by the locals, and things usually got ugly.
On the other hand, being seen as dope-dealing surfers who were in a band – just like in the movies – worked great with the local farm girls. Or so I've heard.
Well, I mean "time capsule" in the sense as representative of the films of the era, not representing reality. Now, tell me about those farm girls!
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