sixties

LOVERS AND CHEEK TO CHEEKERS

High on my DVD wish list (or for that matter to be aired in wide screen on the Fox Movie Channel) is The Pleasure Seekers a 1964 remake of Three Coins in te Fountain about a gaggle of starlets looking for fun and romance in Rome. The Pleasure Seekers switched the locale to Madrid but the plot is essentially the same only for me the film so much more fun with two of my favorite starlets in the lead roles–Carol Lynley in her pouty sex kitten period as a secretary pining for her married boss and Pamela Tiffin at her sultry best playing the newly arrived naive tourist who remarks, “I know everything about Spain but Spanish.” Oh and the third chick is some redhead named Ann-Margret. Lushly photographed with an Oscar-nominated musical score, it should be a must for fans of Sixties starlets. Take a look at the film’s opening ten minutes.

JUST UP MY ALLEY!!!

RIOT ON SUNSET STRIP:
ROCK, REBELLION AND HOLLYWOOD HIPPIES

60s Rock N Roll and California Counterculture
Spotlighted in Waverly Midnights Series,
July 25-September 27 at IFC Center

Riot on Sunset Strip: Rock, Rebellion and Hollywood Hippies, a 10-film program of features and documentaries steeped in the California rock scene of the 60s, screens as part of the ongoing Waverly Midnights series, weekends at midnight July 25-September 27 at IFC Center.

The program opens with WILD IN THE STREETS, the tale of a young anarchist-cum-popstar who runs for the Presidency on a platform promising 14-year-olds the vote. It continues with RIOT ON SUNSET STRIP, a B-movie soundtracked by The Standells about a cop assigned to clean up the Strip s seedy new haunts; LORD LOVE A DUCK, George Axelrod s spoof of 60s teen culture starring Tuesday Weld; counterculture head-trips PSYCH-OUT and THE TRIP (directed by Roger Corman and written by Jack Nicholson); MARYJANE, with Fabian as a high-school teacher framed for pot possession; THE COOL ONES, focusing on a go-go dancer packaged for TV stardom; and guru satire THE LOVE-INS.

These films are chock full of groovy Sixties starlets including Fantasy Femmes Diane McBain, Salli Sachse, Drive-in Dream Girls Laurie Mock, Hilarie Thompson, Debbie Watson, Glamour Girls Linda Gaye Scott, Jo Collins, plus Diane Varsi, Tuesday Weld, Susan Strasberg, and Susan Oliver.

AN ICY TREAT FOR THE SUMMERTIME BLUES

Kudos to Turner Classic Movies as the channel has been dipping into its vaults and recently airing some camp and cult classics from the 60s/70s such as The Maltese Bippy and Wicked, Wicked. They do it again this Thursday July 8 at 9:30am with the rare broadcast of Winter a-Go-Go a beach ball in the snow released in 1965!

A personal favorite, Winter a-Go-Go heads straight for the slopes and remains there the entire time. Those Swingin’ Summer boys, William Wellman, Jr. and James Stacy, put on some clothes and head for Sun Valley to open a ski resort one of them has inherited. They take along some nubile dishes including Beverly Adams, Julie Parrish, Linda Rogers, and Nancy Czar to help out. These enterprising babes even don bikinis despite the fact that the temperature does not go above 40 degrees!

The film has the obligatory scantily clad ski babes and their horny tight pants wearing boyfriends you’d expect to find in this type of film. But what makes the movie especially interesting and an undiscovered camp classic is that it arguably introduces the first ambiguous gay character to appear in a beach-party type movie. The role of Roger that screenwriter Bob Kanter created for himself is the asexual best friend of socialite Janine (Jill Donohue). Though he travels with her and her friend Dori (Judy Parker) there is no evidence of any current or past romance with either gal. During the course of the film Janine sets her sights on Danny (Stacy) and Jeff (Welmman, Jr.) but winds up reuniting with Burt (Anthony Hayes). Dori makes goo-goo eyes at Frankie (Tom Nardini) throughout the film. Poor Roger—if he is not running to Jeff and Danny for protection from the bullying Burt he just sits there drinking his cokes making catty comments about the proceedings.

So sit back and enjoy the twistin’ Winter a-Go-Go girls, handsome James Stacy, rockin’ music from The Hondells and the Nooney Ricket 4 with Joni Lyman, and the bitchy barbs of Bob Kanter. Highly recommended!

FOR THE BIRDS

I always liked Tippi Hedren and could never understand why she didn’t do more films in the Sixties. Of course, she is best rememberd for her two Alfred Hitchcock movies, The Birds a huge hit in 1963 and Marnie a huge flop in 1964 (I blame co-star Diane Baker for keeping the masses away but I digress.) Tippi has that cool icy blonde persona that I so liked in my Sixties starlets i.e. Carol Lynley, Sue Lyon, and Diane McBain. Click below to see her early screen tests for Hitch.