Watch out for exotic beauty LINDA EVANS in one of her earliest movie appearances in all of her "break-through"-dom, as Sugar Kane, the starlet being represented by PAUL LYNDE. I think this movie was even pre-BIG VALLEY, let alone DYNASTY. LINDA even sings, so DYNASTY fans should definitely give it a peek, if for no other reason than for morbid curiosity.

"Beach Blanket Bingo" also features talented singer Donna Loren in a bit part as herself.

Actually, the musical fare is top-notch. Talented singer, in a bit part as herself, Donna Loren’s IT ONLY HURTS WHEN I CRY is damn’ beautiful, and Annette Funicello's I'LL NEVER CHANGE HIM is – frankly – SUPER! The great LES BAXTER actually had a hand in the songs and their arrangements, in addition to his usual scoring duties.

BEACH BLANKET BINGO is full of quirky touches ( - like Annette's face turning green just before jumping out of a plane for her first sky-dive, or a kidnapped LINDA EVANS about to be buzz-sawn in half, a la THE PERILS OF PAULINE).

The mermaid sub-plot featuring a ravishingly-sweet MARTA KRISTEN (LOST IN SPACE) wowing Jody McCrea (Bonehead) is the best part of the picture, and there's just enough slapstick and visual gags to keep it bubbling.

Besides the blatant jokes which one might expect, there are also subtler gags scattered liberally throughout this film which make this film one which will have you rolling in laughter if you are paying close attention. A lot more complex film than conventional wisdom gives it credit, given the premise.

For instance, early on Eric Von Zipper and The Rats do a number in which - not once, but twice - Von Zipper's lyric runs "I am my ideal!" This develops in the scene that spills into the running gag ( - or is it a ‘leitmotif’? - ) of Von Zipper calling Sugar Kane his 'idol' - referenced in earlier comments - ). Then, in the very next scene, as Von Zipper and the Rats enter the nightclub, he says "Stand aside everyone, I take large steps!" Both of these are direct quotes from A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, which had opened a little over a year earlier on Broadway! Late in Act One of FORUM, Miles Gloriosus (Ron Holgate), a Roman soldier, announces his entrance by shouting, from offstage: "Stand aside everyone, I take large steps!", which cues the music for his song, which includes the lyric "I am my ideal!" Is William Asher paying homage to STEVEN SONDHEIM and Burt Shevelove (who wrote the book for FORUM)? Is it an inside joke? Or is it just plain old-fashioned plagiarism?

Another interesting question: Is this where William Asher first saw/met PAUL LYNDE? Were the seeds for Uncle Arthur (who would appear a couple of years later on BEWITCHED) planted in the sand of BEACH BLANKET BINGO??

This was the fourth official entry in AIP’s "Beach Party" series (having both Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello in the cast), and shows the series at full steam, knowing exactly what works and how to play all the pieces. The score is perfect early-‘60s pop (with everyone singing in full reverb), and the various comedians are allowed to play off their strengths.

By this point, the series was beginning to look for new areas to explore (having already dealt with surfing, water skiing, body building, et c. in earlier entries), so that's why this "beach" film seems to be so focused on sky diving. In fact, the shift away from the beach scene to the hippie scene in the late ‘60s would spell the end of the series only a year or so later. It marked the beginning of the end. When BBB was released, little did anyone know that this would be the penultimate appearances for both Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello, and that within a year the whole "Beach Party" genre would be finished. So this film can be seen as the last gasp before the ‘waves died down’.

Memorable Quotes from BEACH BLANKET BINGO (1965):

Prod Co: Alta Vista Productions, American International Pictures (AIP). Prod: Samuel Z. Arkoff, Anthony Carras, James H. Nicholson. Dir: William Asher. Wr: William Asher, Leo Townsend. Orig Mus: LES BAXTER. Roger Christian (songs), Jerry Styner (songs), Gary Usher (songs), THE HONDELLS (band). Phot: Floyd Crosby. Other crew: Presenters: SAMUEL Z. ARKOFF, JAMES H. NICHOLSON. Cast: FRANKIE AVALON (Frankie), ANNETTE FUNICELLO (Dee Dee), Deborah Walley (Bonnie Graham), HARVEY LEMBECK (Eric Von Zipper), John Ashley (Steve Gordon), Jody McCrea (Bonehead), Donna Loren (Donna), MARTA KRISTEN (Lorelei), LINDA EVANS (Sugar Kane), Timothy Carey (South Dakota Slim), DON RICKLES (Big Drop), PAUL LYNDE (Bullets), Donna Michelle (Animal), Michael Nader (Butch), Patti Chandler (Patti), BUSTER KEATON (Himself), Earl Wilson (Earl Wilson), Bobbi Shaw (Bobbi), BRIAN WILSON (Beach boy). 98 mins. RM