IMDb > Gidget (1959)

Overview

User Rating:
6.2/10   1,145 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 10% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Paul Wendkos
Writers:
Frederick Kohner (novel)
Gabrielle Upton (writer)
Contact:
View company contact information for Gidget on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
10 April 1959 (USA) more
Genre:
Comedy more
Tagline:
Watch out Brigitte...here comes Gidget!
Plot:
A young girl discovers surfing and love (in that order) during one transitive summer. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
(11 articles)
Director Wendkos Dies
 (From WENN. 14 November 2009, 6:06 AM, PST)
'Gidget' Director Paul Wendkos Dies
 (From The Wrap. 12 November 2009, 12:07 PM, PST)
User Comments:
Sun, surf and Sandra Dee! more (27 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Sandra Dee ... Gidget (Frances Lawrence)
James Darren ... Moondoggie (Jeffrey Matthews)

Cliff Robertson ... The Big Kahuna
Arthur O'Connell ... Russell Lawrence
Bruce Belland ... Lead Singer (as The Four Preps)
Glen A. Larson ... Group Member (as The Four Preps)
Don Clarke ... Group Member (as The Four Preps)
Ed Cobb ... Group Member (as The Four Preps)
Mary LaRoche ... Mrs. Dorothy Lawrence
Joby Baker ... Stinky
Tom Laughlin ... Lover Boy
Sue George ... Betty Louise aka 'B. L.'
Robert Ellis ... Hot Shot

Jo Morrow ... Mary Lou
Yvonne Craig ... Nan
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
95 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (ColumbiaColor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)
Certification:
Iceland:L | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl
Filming Locations:
Leo Carrillo State Beach - 35000 W. Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, California, USA
Company:
Columbia Pictures Corporation more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
James Darren was originally not selected to play Moondoggie because the role required two songs to sing and Darren was not well established as a singer. On his own, he cut a single with the studio's recording subsidiary Colpix Records which charted. Columbia changed their minds and gave him the role despite the fact that he couldn't surf and was a weak swimmer. He became a huge teen idol and subsequently repeated the Moondoggie role in Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961) and Gidget Goes to Rome (1963)with two other Gidgets: Deborah Walley and Cindy Carol. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Gidget gets her lesson on her new surfboard, the fin is broken in half when it rolls over in the water, but is "repaired" when she and Moondoggie reach the beach. more
Quotes:
Mr. Russell Lawrence: That's a man-hunter?
Mrs. Dorothy Lawrence: Who did you expect? Kim Novak?
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "The Nanny: The Hockey Show (#3.22)" (1996) more
Soundtrack:
Gidget more

FAQ

Are there any other Gidget novels?
Why didn't Sandra Dee return as Gidget in future Gidget movies?
Does Moondoggie really sing or is he just lip-synching?
more

User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
17 out of 19 people found the following comment useful.
Sun, surf and Sandra Dee!, 18 July 1999
Author: ripper2 from Pennsylvania, USA

Sandra Dee is probably best remembered as the energetic heroine of this surf-and-sand romance, a cute little film which unfortunately set the precedent for the moronic "Beach Blanket Bingo" musicals of the early 60's, most of which featured Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello.

In contrast to the those lame exercises in film making, "Gidget" is a modestly scaled and rather sincere little movie about a teenage girl coming to grips with romance over the course of one summer at the beach. Kewpie doll Sandra Dee was often derided for her acting skills, but she is effective and appealing here, and it is easy to see how she became a popular star and a role model for a generation of teenage girls. Arthur O'Connell and Mary LaRoche are warm and convincing as her concerned parents, and James Darren, as surf bum "Moondoggie" makes a suitably clean-cut love interest for Dee.

Like many Hollywood films of the late 50's and early 60's, a certain tension underlies the goings-on here. The movie is essentially all about sex, yet no one actually has any sex. To latter day audiences, there are a few thought-provoking and amusing moments: Gidget's best friend, BL, appears to be a lesbian, and the muscle-bound surfers pay a great deal more attention to their surf boards - and, surprisingly, to each other - than they do to Gidget's curvaceous girlfriends.

Cliff Robertson has the meatiest role as a confirmed surf bum who, prodded by Gidget's sincerity, has a change of heart. The "Four Preps" turn up to do a musical number at the beach party, and Darren gets to croon a brief ballad to Dee.

Like most of Sandra Dee's vehicles, this film is smoothly produced in the somewhat over scrubbed, colorful but artificial style the Hollywood studios had affected by the late 50's. Nonetheless, it does an effective job of showcasing its star and making its story points (the NY Times described it as "mild but perceptive"), and it conveys a real enjoyment of the sun, surf, and sand. So popular was "Gidget" that it spawned several -mostly wretched - film sequels, and two television series, the more fondly remembered of which starred a young Sally Field.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Gidget (1959)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Chapter Headings, v1.00: annevejb
There's talk of a Gidget remake ultratvfan
Favorite Line from Gidget! ziegfeldgirl1941
Moondoggie looks like... TeAmoMiVidaLoca
Something I just noticed Jessica-656
What I would do for a modern day sequel. laurmartin
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