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6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
BEACH BLANKET BINGO (William Asher, 1965) ***, 23 July 2008

Author: MARIO GAUCI (marrod@melita.com) from Naxxar, Malta

The fifth entry in the "Beach Party" series is universally acknowledged as the best of the lot. Having watched three such films in quick succession, I have to agree: it's not that those concerned made a concentrated effort at creating something more accomplished than before, but just that all the various elements (while others were dropped or altered) seemed to be more evenly balanced here to produce a generally more satisfying result. Incidentally, not only is the script wittier than usual – but even the songs are kinda pleasant this time around…

Plotwise, we still get Frankie (Avalon) and Annette (Funicello) bickering – but, rather than because one of them is being 'preyed' upon by an interloper, both of them are in this case (and, coming via members of a skydiving troupe who're supposed to instruct the "Beach" gang in just that type of sport, creates a few welcome sparks of high-flying tension). As always, the manager of the exciting but potentially dangerous 'entertainment' is played by Don Rickles – whose character name, or moniker, has gone from Jack Fanny in MUSCLE BEACH PARTY to "Big Drag" in BIKINI BEACH (both 1964) to "Big Drop" in this one! Annette's fling, then, is John Ashley (usually seen as a surfer!) while Frankie's is spunky Deborah Walley (whom I recently watched in the Elvis Presley vehicle SPINOUT [1966]) – since Ashley and Walley were married to one another at the time, I guess this is why they made the former a rival to Frankie instead of a pal for this particular entry!

Another important change in the nonsensically-titled BEACH BLANKET BINGO (by the way, exuberant dancing blonde Candy Johnson – easily the most resistible element in the two earlier films from the series that I watched, is nowhere to be seen in this one!) concerns the character played by Jody McCrea: while his nickname has unaccountably gone from "Deadhead" to "Bonehead", he's now given two separate romances (which means that his former grating comic relief persona has been considerably diluted). The first involves singing starlet Linda Evans (miles removed from her signature role in the 1980s TV series DYNASTY!), ostensibly engaged in a skydiving stunt to promote her current record but actually doubled by Walley, and the other with real mermaid Marta Kristen, who's really the one that saved McCrea from drowning but the feat is once again attributed to the naïve but spoilt Evans by her conniving and sardonic manager Paul Lynde! While we do get an appearance from another screen giant here – comic genius Buster Keaton, then going through a much-deserved renaissance – this is rightly credited at the very start instead of relegated to the end credits, since it's a relatively bigger role than either of Peter Lorre's or Boris Karloff's cameos (one in each of the previous "Beach Party" films I'd checked out). Even so, his character could have been better integrated into the plot – since, playing Rickles' girl-chasing assistant, he's not given anything particularly inspired to do: it's fitting, for instance, that Keaton be involved in the speeded-up chase towards the end (by now a typical component of the series intended to mimic the style of Silent comedies)…but the same can't be said of his cavorting with a trio of anonymous-looking girls during the final credit roll!

Two welcome presences (actually both returns from previous entries in the series, though allowed greater stature than before) are those of Harvey Lembeck as Eric von Zipper – self-pitying leader of the motorcycle gang "The Rat Pack"(!), who idolizes Evans to the point of kidnapping her – and Timothy Carey as the nasty "South Dakota Slim" (though, regrettably, without his werewolf companion from BIKINI BEACH: it's strange how this actor brings such intensity to his portrayals that he seems to be permanently on acid or something…and this goes for mainstream fare as well, such as CRIME-WAVE [1954], which I watched just a few days prior to this one). By the way, both these actors are involved in the film's two biggest belly-laughs: engaged in a billiards game at a pool-hall – already featured in BIKINI BEACH, its walls are adorned by portraits of notorious dictators! – and, with Lembeck taking forever to make his next move, Carey acidly quips that he's shaved twice since von Zipper's last shot!; the latter, then, enters a trendy nightclub by smashing through the front door on his motorcycle (as is Lembeck's fashion) – only to land, in this particular case, head first in an aquarium! Besides, the element of surrealism which surprisingly entered the series with BIKINI BEACH is also present here in the form of the fanciful mermaid subplot as well as von Zipper's ghastly yet amusing fate during the climax at a sawmill (which, again, evokes the cliff-hanging serials from the Silent era).

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10 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
This Movie is AWESOME!!!!!, 3 February 2006

Author: classictvgirl50 from United States

It is truly one of the best movies out there, no doubt! The music is great, it's HILARIOUSLY funny, it's perfect for the entire family to enjoy, and the characters are wonderful!!! Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon make such a cute couple; Donna Loren once again nails it at her wonderful singing; Paul Lynde and Don Rickles are funny as always; Jody McCrea and Marta Kristen's mermaid-human relationship is beautiful; John Ashley and Deborah Walley's skydiving bag is out of sight; Harvey Lembeck does the hilarious Von Zipper antics once again; and what a great almost-final acting job for Buster Keaton before he died (even though it wasn't a big role)! If you're looking for a lot of fun, romance, comedy, drama, adventure, and more...this is the movie for you! It has everything!!! Look out Hot-Doggers and Beach Bunnies...this movie's a knockout!!!

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6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
The Best Of The Beach, 18 December 2000
Author: hillari from Chicago, USA

All of the seven, count 'em, seven beach movies are really silly and poorly acted. However, they are great fun to watch. This is the best of the lot, featuring a pre-"Big Valley" and "Dynasty" Linda Evans as pop princess Sugar Cane. Paul Lynde is a scream here, with his trademark slow burn. Watch him as he insults Eric Von Zipper, who's too stupid to realize it. Don Rickles is also good during a scene where he takes the mike and rips into the kids. There is so much zaniness going on here, much more than the movies that came before or after it in this series.

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6 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
A fun "Beach Party" outing, but showing some fatigue, 9 April 2001

Author: moonspinner55 from redlands, ca

"Beach Blanket Bingo" is full of quirky touches (like Annette's face turning green while doing a free-fall out of an airplane or a kidnapped Linda Evans about to be buzz-sawed in half a la "The Perils of Pauline"). It's a colorful entry in the "Beach Party" serial, though oddly missing an exciting musical group (The Hondells in favor of Stevie Wonder or Dick Dale). Also missing is dancing-wonder Candy Johnson, and Annette sings two duets with Frankie Avalon but no solo number (it was cut). The comedy routine by Don Rickles is agonizing and falls flat, but Paul Lynde has some funny one-liners. This series was starting to show its age by now, and the teens are looking a bit long in the tooth (John Ashley no longer plays Frankie's friend, here he's a sky-diving instructor). The mermaid sub-plot featuring a ravishingly sweet Marta Kristen wowing Jody McCrea is the best part of the picture (it tops anything in "Splash") and there's just enough slapstick and visual gags to keep it bubbling. *** from ****

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
The Gang At The Beach, 25 January 2009

Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

The gang at the beach led by Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello get themselves innocently involved in a publicity stunt staged by Paul Lynde. Lynde hires Deborah Walley who is a professional skydiver to fall from the air and then has his client, singer Linda Evans in the same outfit be rescued by one of the beach kids. Which of course turns out to be Avalon.

The budding relationship between Evans and Avalon of course arouses the jealousy in Annette. Their pal Jody McCrea who plays Deadhead and as you can imagine not the sharpest knife in the drawer or riding the waves gets a romance with Mermaid Marta Kristen in this one.

Beach Blanket Bingo is not all that bad. Frankie Avalon was a teen idol who could actually sing as his career which is still going shows. The songs aren't bad for the type usually featured in these films.

But what makes Beach Blanket Bingo a treat is seeing such fine performers as Paul Lynde, Buster Keaton, Timothy Carey, and most of all Harvey Lembeck in his usual role of Erich Von Zipper leader of the most inept motorcycle gang around until John Quade took that title in Every Which Way But Loose. When Lembeck decides that Evans ought to be the gang pinup girl it's the beach kids versus the motorcycle crew.

And Frankie and Annette make a lovely couple once again.

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Enjoyable romp on the beach in part four of a fine film series, 5 June 2007

Author: keesha45 from United States

While it's been years since I've seen many of the films from this beach party genre and I only caught part of it in a recent TCM airing, I saw enough to be favorably impressed and to give it an unqualified thumbs up. The scenes with Buster Keaton were really stupendous and it was great to see him in several scenes and not just a one-shot cameo. The Don Rickles insult bit in his club was priceless, the singing wasn't outstanding but wasn't bad either, and the slapstick was a nice throwback to the old Mack Sennett comedies that you scarcely see today. Frankie and Annette made seven beach party flicks together not counting an NBC pilot which aired in 1978. Their last teaming in 1987 was more of a nostalgia trip than a real story and they played different characters than they had in the American International studio's series they made in the 1960's. They appeared in six films in the 60's, with just one (1964's PAJAMA PARTY) wherein they played characters different from their better known five-film series with the Von Zipper gang,Deadhead, etc., for AIP. As such, this series continued a great tradition of movies with continuing settings and stock characters, that hearken back to the good old days of Andy Hardy, Dr. Kildare, the Thin Man and Tarzan. Even more recent times has seen the trend of continuing characters in familiar settings going forward in the James Bond, Rocky, and Batman stories, just to name a few, besides lesser vehicles like the National Lampoon and Police Academy series in the 80's and 90's. In Hollywood, nothing succeeds like success, so the sequel will always be with us and some will go on and on. It will be interesting to see if the new Nancy Drew film will spawn a series of sequels as it did two generations ago. If it's successful the first time around, don't bet against it. Dale Roloff

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
The movie that gave the whole series its name, 27 May 2007

Author: Skragg from United States

I've hesitated to make any comments about this one of the beach movies. It's like commenting on Citizen Kane or 2001 - too daunting. First of all, along with the COMPLETELY regular cast, it's one of the ones with Don Rickles. People have said that he just doesn't come across well in anything that's SCRIPTED for him, but that's far from completely true. Just watch for the little moment with him, after Frankie does his skydiving - it's a "classic" Don Rickles moment. And Paul Lynde could always be funny, with or without a script (most recently, fans of Roger the alien on "American Dad" are interested in him). One of his best lines is when Earl Wilson - who looks like the most straight-laced person in the world - wants to visit the surfers' hangout a second time. Lynde says, "Which girl is it, Earl?" And then there are Jody MacCrea (sp.) and Marta Kristen in the "Lorelei" subplot. Anyone who's seen brooding movies like "Night Tide" might like this mainly COMICAL mermaid story (not that it's the first or last one, of course). And of course, Timothy Carey as South Dakota Slim, who steals Sugar Kane from Erich Von Zipper, after Von Zipper went to the trouble of kidnapping her himself! Anyway, these are just SOME of the things going for it. The only thing missing from this beach movie is the cameo - I've always wondered why that is.

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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
The Best of the Beach Parties!, 31 December 2002
Author: b_movie_lover from Queens, New York

For those of you who haven't seen any of these 60's beach party movies yet...this is the one to see! It's got Frankie and Annette, the sun and surf, and the best music ever! This film is the icon for all the other beach movies from the same genre!

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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Possibly the best of the "Beach Party" series, 19 October 2000
Author: SGriffin-6 (spgriffi@mail.smu.edu) from Dallas, TX

This was the fourth official entry in American-International's "Beach Party" series (ie., 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 (Paul Lynde, Don Rickles and Buster Keaton) are allowed to play off their strengths.

By this point, the series is beginning to look for new areas to explore (having already dealt with surfing, water skiing, body building, etc., 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.

Beyond the sky diving, the film actually extends some of the supporting characters beyond the limited schtick they had been given previously. Stock villain Eric von Zipper (Harvey Lembeck) is given tons more screen time--and even gets his own musical number for the first time! And Bonehead (Joel McCrea, Jr.) not only gets his own subplot, but his story veers the film into a sort of bittersweet romance--something most people would never expect to see attempted in the broad farce that structures these films...much less pulled off!

"Beach Blanket Bingo" is no masterpiece--but, of its kind, its pretty great!

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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Best of the Beach, 11 January 2000
Author: Thomas Merritt Scofield (carolsco@concentric.net) from Olathe, Kansas

William Asher's Beach Blanket Bingo is probably the best, and certainly the most entertaining, of the AIP beach party movies. For once, the script is actually funny, not just stupid, and the presence of Buster Keaton, Timothy Carey and, of course, Harvey Lembeck as Von Zipper, adds a lot to the camp value and a very young Linda Evans adds her own exotic beauty.

Annette looks great, Frankie even seems to have a tan and the late, great, John Ashley adds to the fun.

This isn't Shakespeare, but the script is clever, and this probably has the best songs in the series, with the great Les Baxter actually having a hand in the songs and their arrangements in addition to his usual scoring duties.

By all means catch this one if you like the series, and if you aren't familiar with it, I would recommend starting here. You won't be bored!

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