Sixties Posts

the hippie horror flick [amazon_textlink asin=’B01I06ESAS’ text=’The Velvet Vampire’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’11c23157-cfcb-11e8-af43-e9333215da7c’] directed by [amazon_textlink asin=’B01LTIABWS’ text=’Stephanie Rothman’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’2bebe309-cfcb-11e8-97b8-3b2303b9b9d7′] opened starring [amazon_textlink asin=’B00MJEJT2A’ text=’Michael Blodgett’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’51adde96-cfcb-11e8-8930-038c3ea856fe’], Sherry Miles and the late [amazon_textlink asin=’B0036K9CPK’ text=’Celeste Yarnall’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’5fd586a9-cfcb-11e8-9774-1188a01f9823′] as the alluring title character. After meeting married couple Susan and Lee Ritter (Miles and Blodgett) at an art gallery, Yarnall’s Diana lures them into staying the weekend at her Mojave Desert home. Soon both husband and wife find themselves sexually drawn to their mysterious host who suffers from a rare blood disease. Unlike vampires of lore, Diana was able to journey out into the sunlight as long as she is covered up. In the course of twenty-four hours, Diana feasts on a mechanic, his girlfriend, and a servant. After making love with Diana, Lee wants to depart but Susan is fascinated with the charming Diana and wants to stay. Their delay in leaving costs Lee his life while Diana meets her gruesome end at the hands of a cult hippie gang.

Beach Ball opened starring [amazon_textlink asin=’151883924X’ text=’Edd Byrnes’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’e0a4b665-c40d-11e8-84bf-cd43c7ec24f8′], [amazon_textlink asin=’1484063414′ text=’Chris Noel’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’007369ae-c40e-11e8-9168-2f67ac50c712′], [amazon_textlink asin=’B07GD7LPXS’ text=’Aron Kincaid’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’1c0eac48-c40e-11e8-90ab-4fd31ecd6b3d’] and Gail Gilmore (aka [amazon_textlink asin=’B004Z1RG2K’ text=’Gail Gerber’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’3e08084d-c40e-11e8-8ffd-f343a2476cd3′]). It is arguably the breeziest and most enjoyable of the [amazon_textlink asin=’B000IZ6FKG’ text=’Beach Party’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’4db8e826-c40e-11e8-937f-b52d86b37aa9′] clones. It is also the most blatant rip off throwing in everything from surfing, skydiving, and hot rodding to a battle-of-the-bands contest and the guys in drag to match the zaniness of the AIP beach movies. Four college dropouts (Byrnes, Kincaid, Don Edmonds and Robert Logan) try to con some nerdy girls (Noel, Gilmore, Brenda Benet and Mikki Jamison) at the student union to give them a student loan for tuition after they couldn’t get it from any apps that give you cash advances but in fact the money is needed to pay for their musical instruments. The gals get wise to their scheme and try to trick the guys into returning to school. The film works well because it is fast-paced, nicely photographed in color, has some funny moments, lots of beach scenes, a healthy-looking cast, and an excellent roster of musical performers most notably [amazon_textlink asin=’B000W239UE’ text=’the Supremes’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’c5fedb67-c40e-11e8-b8cd-65ffd642a537′], [amazon_textlink asin=’B000ICLT4Q’ text=’the Righteous Brothers’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’d3c243a1-c40e-11e8-9077-c1103da1ce83′], and [amazon_textlink asin=’B001223BLU’ text=’The Four Seasons ‘ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’dee473fd-c40e-11e8-ab71-a96352d61615′]who are interspersed throughout the movie.

As for the cast, unlike [amazon_textlink asin=’B0007R4TQW’ text=’Annette Funicello’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’8308378f-c40e-11e8-80ca-516b7e57bb53′] in the Beach Party movies or Noreen Corcoran in The Girls on the Beach, perky Chris Noel and the other gals are not afraid to show off their shapely figures in very revealing bikinis. Pretty blonde hanger on Anna Lavelle in particular dons the skimpiest swimsuits and has some funny moments as the guy’s addled-brained beach groupie Polly. The movie boasts perhaps the most curvaceous set of lead actresses in any beach movie from the decade. For boy watchers, the guys’ sport nice physiques particularly handsome Robert Logan and blonde Aron Kincaid who gives a droll performance as ladies man, Jack.  Edd Byrnes is definitely too long in the tooth to make a believable college guy but he does look swell in his swim trunks.

Surfing is limited to the opening stock footage of surfers riding huge swells and as with most beach-party movies when the actors emerge from the ocean it is calm without a big wave in sight. The film’s major asset is the music from the catchy instrumental entitled “Cycle Chase” heard throughout to the songs lip-synched by Kincaid and the others as the Wigglers to all of the numbers performed by the rock acts. The standout is definitely seeing the Supremes singing “Come to the Beach Ball with Me” and “Surfer Boy.”  Though the Motown songwriters did not come close to capturing the authentic surf sound (hell they were from Detroit and what did they know about surfing anyway?), the girls sing the catchy tunes well.  [amazon_textlink asin=’1556529597′ text=’Florence Ballard’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’f907bc16-c40e-11e8-ac87-11eedc45b22c’] and [amazon_textlink asin=’0312219598′ text=’Mary Wilson ‘ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’1934e31a-c40f-11e8-8e4a-0916f4cbd3fc’]look great but [amazon_textlink asin=’B077HP64B9′ text=’Diana Ross’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’2407e282-c40f-11e8-8db3-17df89ce4ab6′] is a fright with her chipped tooth and big beehive wig.  Her close-ups are truly scarier than anything found in The Horror of Party Beach—another reason why Beach Ball is a must to see.

More in my book [amazon_textlink asin=’0786472979′ text=’Hollywood Surf & Beach Movies’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’425cee23-c40f-11e8-a641-cfcab61d5029′] from McFarland and Company.

Reviewing my Blog stats below is an encore presentation of my most popular Blog post to date.

Below is a great clip from the great movie [amazon_textlink asin=’B00UGPWQS8′ text=’Cool Hand Luke’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’0ec273b8-c127-11e8-b3f4-094c3dbd7245′] (1967) starring [amazon_textlink asin=’B001EBV0MG’ text=’Paul Newman’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’4434b479-c127-11e8-8480-e75ad49a6b68′] and [amazon_textlink asin=’1557837821′ text=’George Kennedy’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’5875a448-c127-11e8-858b-fba931c15bbe’] highlighting [amazon_textlink asin=’B00F109T10′ text=’Lalo Schifrin’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’679e8fa4-c127-11e8-8480-e75ad49a6b68′]’s classic musical score.

The girl who washes the car and gets the chain gang all hot and bothered is Fantasy Femme [amazon_textlink asin=’B0007R4T08′ text=’Joy Harmon ‘ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’88f4f471-c127-11e8-8fcf-21cfe1b53c80′]in her most memorable role though she doesn’t utter a word.

Joy Harmon began her show business career as a teenage extra in The Man Who Came to Dinner (1956).  Her curvaceous figure, measuring 41-22-36, was her ticket to Broadway in the comedy Make Me Laugh starring Sam Levene in 1958 as the comic foil to the comedian.  On television the popular pin-up (who also posed for numerous men’s magazines except Playboy because she wouldn’t go topless) became a favorite of such talk show hosts as Steve Allen and Gary Moore who spun as many double-entendres as possible at Joy’s expense and, of course, comparisons to Jayne Mansfield were inevitable.  In between variety show appearances, she found time to make her film debut as a tough chain-smoking broad in the juvenile rock-and-roll flick, Let’s Rock (1958) starring, of all people, Julius LaRosa.

Hollywood soon beckoned and Harmon became a regular on the short-lived Tell It to Groucho in 1962.  On the big and small screens, Harmon was so adept at playing the dizzy bugged-eyed blonde with the giggly laugh that she became typecast.  Minor movie roles in [amazon_textlink asin=’B005IX3C4A’ text=’Mad Dog Coll’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’b491f647-c127-11e8-ab27-a5f0d6c4c244′] (1962), [amazon_textlink asin=’B0024396DI’ text=’Under the Yum Yum Tree’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’cf4dae2b-c127-11e8-a8df-4b0c208f1c3b’] (1963), [amazon_textlink asin=’B07DXSK4ZG’ text=’Young Dillinger’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’dfa5cb62-c127-11e8-aee9-8152a25ab8e2′] (1965), and [amazon_textlink asin=’B06ZZFRD3M’ text=’The Loved One’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’f08fa0c5-c127-11e8-be47-b7cb16c256d5′] (1965) led to lead roles as a teenage delinquent in [amazon_textlink asin=’B00005AUK5′ text=’Village of the Giants ‘ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’ffd67527-c127-11e8-8549-474d32d53c22′](1965) opposite Beau Bridges and a beach denizen in Hawaii mixed up in robbery in One Way Wahine (1965).  Even when playing bad girls, audiences could not help but love Joy due to her effervescent personality and the innocence she brought to all her characters.  This quality is undoubtedly why she was hired for her most infamous role in Cool Hand Luke (1967).

Cool Hand Luke examines life for men on a chain gang in a Southern prison camp.  The immensely entertaining social drama stars Paul Newman as a loner who refuses to conform to society’s rules and George Kennedy, who won an Oscar for his performance as one of Newman’s fellow prisoners.  On paper, Joy’s part seemed innocuous enough—a pretty girl washes her car while shackled prisoners of a chain gang peer on.  Recalling the audition Joy says, “I had this agent named Leon Lance who was around forever in Hollywood.  He got me the interview for Cool Hand Luke and told me that I had to wear a bikini for it.  Paul Newman, Stuart Rosenberg [the director], and somebody else were there.  I remember Paul Newman said to me, ‘Gosh, you have the bluest eyes!’  They just talked to me and that was it.  It was a small part with no lines but I wanted to work with Newman so when they offered it to me I accepted.”

Cool Hand Luke was filmed in Stockton, California.  None of the actors were allowed to bring their wives or girlfriends to the set because Stuart Rosenberg wanted his actors to have the feel for what it would be like to work on a chain gang without female contact.  When they finally saw a woman their reactions would be believable and not “acting.”  After arriving on location, Joy was sequestered at the hotel for two days and never saw anyone.  They kept her away from all the actors until filming began.  With Newman, Kennedy, and the rest of the chain gang entranced, Harmon washes her car like she’s making love to a man.  While Kennedy dubs her his innocent “Lucille,” Newman realizes she is just a tease and knows exactly what she is doing by getting the prisoners excited.  “Stuart Rosenberg was so sensitive and took time to work with me,” recalls Joy fondly.  “I didn’t even have a line but he just wanted everything motivated with a thought behind it.  He was an actor’s director—more concerned with the actors than the lighting or anything else.  He kept talking with me and it was like a bonding kind of thing, which is why I was able to release all that energy in that scene.

“Stuart was very specific and knew exactly what he wanted,” continues Joy.  “I guess you can tell that by the way the scene comes off—but I didn’t realize it.  And I don’t think I even realized it right after I did it.  There were a lot of things he made me do a certain way—soaping the windows, holding the hose— that had a two-way meaning.  He would tell me to look different ways and we kept shooting it over and over again.  I just figured I was washing the car.  I’ve always been naïve and innocent.  I was acting and not trying to be sexy.”

All of Rosenberg’s work paid off as the scene is unforgettable and is truly one of the sixties’ most provocative moments.  Joy, clad in a tatty housedress with her cleavage clearly on display, holds the nozzle of the hose suggestively, squeezes the soap from the sponge and drenches her dress, and presses her bounteous bosom on the passenger-side window as she washes the roof putting on quite a tantalizing show for the frustrated prisoners.  “I never had any inclination that this would be such a memorable role,” says Joy.  “Except for being in a movie with Paul Newman, I never expected this part to be so notable and get the reaction it did.  After seeing it at the premiere I was a bit embarrassed.  Of all the things I’ve done people know me most from this film.”

Unfortunately for movie audiences Joy never capitalized on the notoriety that the film brought her.  After the movie was released she met film editor Jeff Gourson and they wed.  American International Pictures wanted to sign Joy to a contract beginning with the lead role in The Young Animals (1968) but she declined as she was happy juggling bit roles ([amazon_textlink asin=’B0006SSPZS’ text=’A Guide for the Married Man’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’3a593ebc-c128-11e8-bf84-5714c022ba5e’], Angel in My Pocket, Norwood) with her new marriage.

Harmon continued acting mostly on television in such series as Love, American Style and The Odd Couple until 1973 when she retired to raise her children.  Her only foray back into show business was doing voiceover work in her husband’s hit TV series Quantum Leap.  Today that girl from Cool Hand Luke has her own business called Aunt Joy’s Cakes.  While she was acting Joy’s bosoms weren’t the only treats she brought to the set as she also shared her delicious homemade cakes and cookies with cast and crew.  In the nineties, she began supplying her niece’s coffee shop with her desserts and then saw her business quickly expand to include all the major movie studios.  She now has a web site and you can order Joy’s baked goods online at Aunt Joy’s Cakes.

the Grade-Z horror movie [amazon_textlink asin=’B00005MKNQ’ text=’The Slime People’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’94ca5759-bc0f-11e8-9d60-bf4603ff3171′] opened starring Robert Hutton, Les Tremayne, Judee Morton, and in her first feature role Drive-In Dream Girl [amazon_textlink asin=’B00KK6E1LS’ text=’Susan Hart ‘ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’a57df63a-beaf-11e8-9383-af6aae6e5e4c’]who talked about making the movie.

When asked how she landed this role, Hart answered facetiously, “Just luck I guess.” Robert Hutton, who also produced and directed [amazon_textlink asin=’B00005MKNQ’ text=’The Slime People’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’c5d805b4-bc0f-11e8-8261-d1cdf278664b’], went to Hart’s agent and several other agents and asked if they had anybody on their rosters suitable for the role of Gwen. “All Bill Schuyler told me about it was that it was a reading for lead in a motion picture,” revealed Hart. “At that point I still did not know the title of the film. But I did know it was going to star Robert Hutton, whom I remember my sister Helen thought was just a fabulously handsome man. I read for the role in the morning. I went to lunch with a friend and when I arrived home around four o’clock I got a call from my agent telling me that I got the part. Not only did I get a role but also my roommate, Judee Morton, was cast as my little sister. It was incredible!  Even after I found out the title I thought this was still a pretty good opportunity.”

[amazon_textlink asin=’B00005MKNQ’ text=’The Slime People’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’cff65a8d-bc0f-11e8-a85c-49565fcceab5′] was shot at KTLA Studios. After about nine days of filming, the cast stopped getting paid and the make-up man left. However, Hart proved to be a trouper and continued with the production. She even did her own make-up. Despite these misfortunes, Susan does not look back on this film with any bad memories. “Everybody connected to this was really nice. Don Hansen was the name of the man who financed the film. As I recall, he always wore a Fedora and owned a lot of dry cleaners. Robert Hutton knew I didn’t have any experience doing films and he couldn’t have been nicer or more helpful. He practically told me every move to make and taught me about hitting your mark.”

In [amazon_textlink asin=’B00005MKNQ’ text=’The Slime People’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’131d3569-bc10-11e8-a4ad-7136e2e087c3′], nuclear testing decimates Los Angeles leaving the city enshrouded in a blanket of fog. A small group of survivors try to make it out of the deserted metropolis while battling subterranean creatures roused from hibernation. Robert Hutton stars playing a hot shot pilot with Robert Burton as a professor and Hart and Morton as his daughters. One of the films many unintentional laughs is that despite the fact that she is being terrorized and chased by the Slime People, Hart’s character Gwen keeps on her four-inch high heel shoes and never lets go of her oversize black pocketbook. “Isn’t that funny? I think I still have that purse around my home somewhere. We were given something like eighteen dollars to pick out our own wardrobe. Judee and I went to Orbach’s and it was my decision to buy those shoes and purse. Those shoes killed my feet, which were never the same again.

“A man Tracey Putnam played the doctor in this,” continued Hart. “He was an actual doctor and had discovered a drug which keeps Epileptics from going into seizures. His stepson, Jock Putnam, played one of the Slime People and talked his stepfather into playing one of these roles. It was a riot to see Jock and the other actor who played the Slime People sitting on the set smoking a cigarette. You’d see smoke pouring out of all of the orifices of these gigantic costumes.”

The ad copy for [amazon_textlink asin=’B017UKRJG0′ text=’The Slime People’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’33defbe2-bc10-11e8-9080-db0339998697′] proclaimed, “Up from the Bowels of the Earth Come …The Slime People.” Needless to say, the film did not receive rave reviews. It is no wonder then Hart tried to distance herself from the as much as she could. “Now talking about The Slime People is fun,” admitted Hart. “But a few years after making it I kept thinking that The Slime People was a terrible movie to be associated with. It wasn’t very good and didn’t play in many theaters. The reviews weren’t very good if it even got reviewed at all.” To keep journalists from asking about the film, when Hart landed one of the lead roles in her fourth movie, Ride the Wild Surf (1964), it was touted as a first starring role.

Hart would then go on to land a contract with AIP and then a husband, one of the studio’s founders Jack H. Nicholson. Her subsequent work included the features Pajama Party; War-Gods of the Deep; [amazon_textlink asin=’B008FYZHPG’ text=’Dr. Goldfoot’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’54e80302-bc10-11e8-bddf-a9c0ede8f7f4′] and the [amazon_textlink asin=’B000RLB25O’ text=’Bikini Machine’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’6750fe7b-bc10-11e8-bb96-ed2e0d9b406f’]; and [amazon_textlink asin=’B000RLB272′ text=’The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini ‘ template=’ProductLink’ store=’sixtiescinema-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’71237dbb-bc10-11e8-89de-7d53b0c847eb’]before she retired to raise her son.

Read more about Susan Hart in my book Drive-In Dream Girls.