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SHE REALLY CAN ACT

Most fans of Sixties starlets remember the late Deborah Walley for her role as Gidget in Gidget Goes Hawaiian or for her being a Disney girl or for her beach-party appearances in Beach Blanket Bingo, Ski Party, and Ghost in the Invisible Bikini or for chasing Elvis in Spinout. However, most don’t know that before she was tapped to take over Sandra Dee’s surfing sweetie role, Walley was doing Chekhov Off-Broadway to nice reviews.

Her one chance to prove she had more to offer than acting saccharine in those Disney comedies or shaking her bikini-clad bod in the beach movies was in the low-budget MGM programmer, The Young Lovers (1964) airing 9/27 at 3AM on TCM. Though the film was supposed to showcase the talents of Peter Fonda and Sharon Hugueny as a college students who find themselves in the family way, Walley steals the show as Hugueny’s kooky best friend who is a virgin and proud of it to the chagrin of her draftee boyfriend, Nick Adams. Walley’s character is far more intersting than the bland Hugueny’s and the movie falls flat whenever she is not on screen. Ignore the moralistic preaching by the adults who berate poor Hugueny for getting knocked up, and enjoy Deborah Walley proving that she was able to give a first-rate performance when given a chance.

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I SPY

For all you spy fans who love James Bond, The Man from UNCLE, Derek Flint, or any other spy creation, check out Wes Britton’s web site Spywise. Wes is an expert on all things spy and has authored a trilogy of well-received books on secret agents and spying in film, TV, radio, and literature. He even used my book Film Fatales: Women in Espionage Film & Television, 1962-1973 for reference. He has a very cool site which he keeps updating on a regular basis. Look for one of my spy girl profiles on it soon.

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ALL ABOUT EVE II

Some fan posted the entire Journey to the Unknown episode “Eve” starring Carol Lynley on YouTube and unfortunately there is not as much Carol in it as I hoped. Though Carol looks gorgeous clad in mod high end fashions and receives top billing, she doesn’t speak until almost the end and is way over shadowed by Dennis Waterman as the desperate clerk who falls in love with her mannequin. Seeing a wax replica of Carol is one of the episode’s high points. This was on my list of long awaited Carol shows to watch and I have to say I was highly disappointed but it is worth a quick look to see Carol in her prime.

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OUT OF THE CLOSET

Two of my favorite TV shows will finally come out on DVD. As a kid in the early seventies I loved ABC’s Friday night lineup: Brady Bunch, Partridge Family, Room 222, Odd Couple, and Love, American Style. The latter comes to DVD in November. I used to sit there in anticipation to see what starlets would appear in the heart during the show’s opening. I’d get excited seeing Tina Louise or Julie Newmar or Yvonne Craig or Deanna Lund, etc. I know I was such a geek. The DVD will contain the first year’s season with the short vignettes shown in between episodes featuring Phyllis Davis and Lori Williams.

Time-Life will be releasing the complete 4 seasons of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. on DVD. Not available from Amazon or Best Buy, it will be direct mail only. This is one of my favorite spy shows. I always loved the chemistry between debonair Robert Vaughn and sexy David McCallum. And the series is shock full of starlets including Carol Lynley, Diane McBain, Irene Tsu, Celeste Yarnall, Thordis Brandt, etc. I could go on and on. Read more about it on the Blog at CinemaRetro. Scroll down a bit to find it.