Actress Francine York has a long career in Hollywood beginning in 1959 and never seems to want for work. She just landed a guest role on Hot in Cleveland with Betty White and did an exclusive hour long interview with Actors Reporter about her time in Hollywood where she discusses everything from working with Jerry Lewis, Marlon Brando, Elvis Presley, and George Peppard to her starring roles in such B-movies as Curse of the Swamp Creature to her memorable TV guest appearances on Lost in Space, Bewitched, The Name of the Game, etc.

Below is a clip with Francine as Venus de Milo brought to life by Endora on Bewitched:

httpv://youtu.be/WYpR6CR4c8o

Just in case you didn’t get enough of me this week on TCM, I will be on a panel discussing my favorite movie of all-time The Poseidon Adventure at a screening this Saturday April 28 at the Loews Theatre Jersey City. The distinguished panelists are moderator Stephen Whitty, film critic for the Star Ledger; Cinema Retro contributor David Savage; film historian Chris Poggiali; and film studies professor Andy Scahill. Click here for more information.

httpv://youtu.be/CP0wV7IvSiI

Here’s the movie lineup for the Spring Break Film Festival finale for Friday April 20 co-hosted by Ben Mankiewicz and me accompanied by my mini reviews from my book Hollywood Surf and Beach Movies.

8:00 P.M. Ski Party

After its success with the beach milieu, AIP was the first studio to switch the party from the sandy shores of Malibuto the ski sloops of Sun Valley with Ski Party though the movie concludes back on the beach.  It was a move that paid off nicely although as with Muscle Beach Party, Ski Party is another AIP film that fans are divided upon.  Two average college guys (Frankie Avalon, Dwayne Hickman), who are losers when it comes to the ladies, masquerade as English lasses on a ski trip to discover why their gals (Deborah Walley, Yvonne Craig) dig suave Freddie (Aron Kincaid) and what they really want in a guy.  Complications ensue when the pompous ladies man falls in love with one of the guy’s female incarnation. The first half of the picture unfolds quite briskly with excellent musical numbers performed by Frankie Avalon, James Brown, and Lesley Gore though the second half bogs down a bit with a ludicrous ski jump contest and an overlong chase sequence, standard for these AIP romps. Even still, Ski Party has high production values, is quite funny with a standout performance from Kincaid, James Brown and the Famous Flames peforming one of their biggest hits, and is beautifully photographed on location making it well worth seeing.

Co-starring Robert Q. Lewis, Lesley Gore, Bobbi Shaw, Mike Nader, Steve Rogers, Salli Sachse, Patti Chandler, Luree Holmes, Jo Collins, Christopher Riordan.

httpv://youtu.be/HZo954DwLhA

10:00 p.m. Winter a-Go-Go

A personal favorite though most critics consider it one of the lesser beach party movies.  Unlike Ski Party and Wild Wild Winter, which incorporated beach scenes into their plots, Winter a-Go-Go heads straight for the slopes and remains there the entire time though there is an obligatory bikini scene.  Jeff (William Wellman, Jr.) inherits a ski resort and with a pack of friends (including James Stacy, Beverly Adams, Tom Nardini) heads off to turn the lodge into a success but trouble ensues when the mortgage holder hires two goons to wreck havoc so he can foreclose.  Of all the beach party films this was this is the closest to being camp with its scantily-clad dancing Winter a-Go-Go girls, to James Stacy singing “Hip Square Dance” in his pajamas to the bitchy barbs thrown out by ambiguous gay guy Roger (Bob Kanter).  Connoisseurs of all things camp should have a ball.

Co-starring Jill Donahue, Anthony Hayes, Duke Hobie, Julie Parrish, Linda Rogers, Nancy Czar, Judy Parker, Buck Holland, Nooney Rickett Four, Joni Lyman, the Reflections.

httpv://youtu.be/AhliOnW2-eI

12:00 a.m. Get Yourself a College Girl

Produced by Sam Katzman, the weirdly titled Get Yourself a College Girl was originally to be called Watusi a-Go-Go to cash in on the dance craze.  But when the film was ready to be released, the Watusi had become passe.  Mary Ann Mobley plays a college coed at a staid girls school whose side job as a songwriter of love songs is exposed causing a scandal. Huh!?! She goes off skiing for Spring Break with her friends Nancy Sinatra and Chris Noel, and her teacher Joan O’Brien. There she is pursued by song publisher Chad Everett the guy who revealed her profession to the school administrators. Like a number of Katzman’s films, it is best remembered for the eclectic array of musical performers including the Dave Clark Five, the Animals, the Standells, and Astrud Gilberto.

Co-starring Fabrizio Mioni, Lori Williams, Christopher Riordan

httpv://youtu.be/Rzw1xEcQg4Y

 

It’s Beach Party night!

Here’s the lineup for Thursday April 19’s movies co-hosted by Ben Mankiewicz and me accompanied by my mini reviews from my book Hollywood Surf and Beach Movies.

8:00 pm Beach Party 

Beach Party combined the Malibu surfing scenes of Gidget with the beach going teenaged vacationers of Where the Boys Are, added a number of songs, an hilarious comedy bit from Harvey Lembeck as an inept motorcycle gang leader, and started a whole new genre.  Frankie Avalon, his girlfriend Annette Funicello, and their friends share a beach shack during spring break where their main concerns are surfin’, dancin’, and romancin’.  Unbeknownst to them, they are being spied on by an anthropologist (Bob Cummings) and his pretty assistant (Dorothy Malone) doing a research paper comparing teenage culture to that of primitive natives.  Though Beach Party is not the best of the Frankie and Annette beach capers it is enjoyable, colorful, fast-moving fun as the skies are blue, the boys are shirtless, the girls are attractive, the surfing plentiful, and the parents are nowhere in sight.  It also the most earnest attempt of all the AIP beach-party films in trying to truly ape the Southern California surfing subculture even having the kids drink beer at the local hangout.  In later films their beverage of choice is Coke.

Co-starring Jody McCrea, John Ashley, Eva Six, Valora Noland, Candy Johnson, Delores Wells, Ed Garner, Mickey Dora, Luree Holmes, Linda Rogers

httpv://youtu.be/nkhGmZPJIHY

10:00 p.m. Muscle Beach Party

The first sequel to Beach Party, Muscle Beach Party is one of the best though fans are divided.  It’s surfers versus bodybuilders for control of the beach while Frankie is romanced by an Italian countess (Luciana Paluzzi), which throws Dee Dee (Annette) into a tizzy.  Frankie and Annette hit their stride as the beach-loving couple, surfing is still the main sport, and the conflict between the surfers and musclemen is a nice change of pace from the surfers’ usual outlandish clashes with Eric Von Zipper’s motorcycle gang.  The movie is also very funny thanks to a surprisingly subdued Buddy Hackett as a business manager and the hysterical Don Rickles playing the leader of the body beautiful.  The serious film student may try to read between the lines regarding the film’s gender issues while the rest of the audience can just sit back in wallow in the acres of near-naked flesh on display.

Co-starring John Ashley, Jody McCrea, Dick Dale, Candy Johnson, Rock Stevens (aka Peter Lupus), Valora Noland, Delores Wells, Donna Loren, Salli Sachse, Luree Holmes, Ed Garner, Mike Nader, Alberta Nelson, Amedee Chabot

httpv://youtu.be/ATWUI1eq3G0

11:45 p.m. Bikini Beach

The third film of the series, Bikini Beach opens with a rousing title song sung by Frankie, Annette, and the cast but the movie quickly goes downhill from there.  Annette’s Dee Dee falls for hot rod racing British pop star the Potato Bug (Avalon amusing in a dual role) making Frankie jealous and determined to beat the Brit in a drag race.  Meanwhile an old stuffy real estate developer (Keenan Wynn) is determined to drive the surfers off the beach by proving that his chimp is more intelligent than they are.  Despite it being the highest grossing AIP beach-party film, Bikini Beach is definitely one of the lesser efforts though seeing Little Stevie Wonder perform is definitely worth a look.  The story is lame and unfunny, the surfing scenes are uninspired, and the obligatory drawn-out car chase sequence is sillier-than-usual. One of my least favorites.

Co-starring John Ashley, Jody McCrea, Candy Johnson, Meredith MacRae, Donna Loren, Salli Sachse, Mary Hughes, Patti Chandler, Luree Holmes, Ed Garner, Mike Nader, Johnny Fain, Linda Rogers, Alberta Nelson, Andy Romano

httpv://youtu.be/lL0zQklrDL0

1:30 a.m. Beach Blanket Bingo

In the immortal words of Eric Von Zipper, Beach Blanket Bingo is “nifty.”  It is the best, the zaniest, the quirkiest, and most fondly remembered of the Frankie and Annette epics.  Admittedly, the story centering around Dee Dee proving to Frankie that girls can sky dive as well as boys, Bonehead (Jody McCrea) falling in love with a mermaid (Marta Kristen), and a beautiful singer (Linda Evans) kidnapped by Von Zipper’s (Harvey Lembeck) biker gang is far-fetched.  But it contains some very funny lines mostly delivered by Don Rickles as Big Drop and Paul Lynde as an acid-tongued press agent whose verbal sparring with Avalon is one of the movie’s highlights.  Lots of colorful beach scenes are intermingled with stock sky diving shots.  All your AIP favorite stars are here, the songs are bouncy and light, an array of guest comics provide some of the series’ funniest moments, and a bevy of beautiful blondes enhance the action.

Co-starring Deborah Walley, John Ashley, Donna Michelle, Donna Loren, Bobbi Shaw, Buster Keaton, Salli Sachse, Mary Hughes, Patti Chandler, Luree Holmes, Jo Collins, Ed Garner, Mike Nader, Johnny Fain, Linda Rogers, Alberta Nelson, Andy Romano

httpv://youtu.be/kDesGtp-JII

3:15 a.m. Pajama Party

The fourth movie in the Beach Party series, Pajama Party, despite Frankie Avalon’s absence, is the arguably the second best of the AIP productions after Beach Blanket Bingo.  A Martian (Tommy Kirk) is sent to Earth to pave the way for an invasion.  He mixes in with the beach crowd where he winds up tangling with a biker gang, an Indian (Bustr Keaton), a Swedish bombshell (Bobbi Shaw), and some con artists while wooing Annette.  Admittedly, the plot is lame, but Pajama Party is handsomely produced featuring the most energetic production numbers of the series thanks to choreographer David Winters.  Surfing fans should stay away though—there’s nary a surfboard in sight.

Co-starring Jody McCrea, Candy Johnson, Donna Loren, Susan Hart, Dorothy Lamour, Jesse White, Mary Hughes, Patti Chandler, Luree Holmes, Ed Garner, Mike Nader, Johnny Fain, Linda Rogers, Alberta Nelson, Andy Romano, Teri Garr

httpv://youtu.be/gVYmbyrYcXk