Beach Party

"Surfs up and the Beach is really swinging!"

1963 1h 41m EN

😐

6.0

MID

★6.0TMDB · 43

ComedyMusic

Synopsis

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Anthropology Professor Robert Orwell Sutwell and his secretary Marianne are studying the sex habits of teenagers. The surfing teens led by Frankie and Dee Dee don't have much sex but they sing, battle the motorcycle rats and mice led by Eric Von Zipper and dance to Dick Dale and the Del Tones.

“Surfs up and the Beach is really swinging!”

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Cast

Robert Cummings
Professor Sutwell
Dorothy Malone
Marianne
Frankie Avalon
Frankie
Annette Funicello
Dolores
Morey Amsterdam
Cappy
Harvey Lembeck
Eric Von Zipper
Eva Six
Ava
John Ashley
Ken

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: William Asher
Writers: Lou Rusoff
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 7.7× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

63 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Beach Party Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by William Asher, shot by Kay Norton. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Les Baxter. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Homer Powell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Robert Cummings and Dorothy Malone and Frankie Avalon carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

William Asher directs. Kay Norton behind the camera. Les Baxter scores. Homer Powell cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 7.7× over at the box office.
363 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Part of the "Beach Party Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by William Asher, shot by Kay Norton. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Les Baxter. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Homer Powell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Robert Cummings and Dorothy Malone and Frankie Avalon carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Surfs up and the Beach is really swinging!".
10IMDB entry: tt0056860 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Only 43 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Kay Norton
Original score: Les Baxter
Editing: Homer Powell
Costume design: Marjorie Corso
Makeup / hair: Carlie Taylor
Runtime: 101 min · 1h 41m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $300,000
Box office: $2,300,000
Return: 767% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Beach Party (1963)

Part of

Beach Party Collection

American International Pictures produced a series of seven beach films, starting with Beach Party. The 1965 AIP film Ski Party (with Dwayne Hickman, Yvonne Craig, Lesley Gore and James Brown) is also notable for employing many of the same actors and schticks, only transplanted to a ski resort in the Sawtooth National Forest.