Movie-A-Day #78: The Hustler (1961).
On this date in 1954, pool legend Willie Mosconi set a record by running 526 consecutive balls without a miss in an exhibition in Springfield, Ohio. The rest of Mosconi’s career was similarly amazing, and he was almost single-handedly responsible for boom in pool as a respectable pastime in the 1940s and 1950s. Thanks to his stature and the popularity of the game, he was hired as the technical advisor for “The Hustler” and given the job of making Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason look like legitimate pool pros. He did a pretty damn good job at it too.
Beach Party (1963).
The Scoop:
Here it is, the little flick that launched a thousand teen movie imitators.
AIP produced “Beach Party” as a quick stand alone film to cash in on the popularity of Elvis Presley’s movies. But what they got was a phenomenon that became the start of a film franchise, created one of the most popular movie genres of the 1960s, made stars of Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello, and helped launch the surf music craze. It was the first of the teen beach movies, and probably the best.
The plot is pretty fluffy – a socially awkward anthopologist (Robert Cummings) and his long-suffering assistant (Dorothy Malone) set up camp at a Southern California beach to study the mating habits of American teenagers. They get tangled up with a group of kids played by Frankie and Annette, Jody McCrea, Eva Six, Candy Johnson and a host of others, along with Morey Amsterdam as the beat poet Cappy and Harvey Lembeck as motorcycle gang leader Eric Von Zipper. Along the way there’s some romantic complications and misunderstandings, some broad comedy and a cameo by Vincent Price (which is used as an excuse to cross-promote AIP’s series of Roger Corman/Edgar Allan Poe movies).
But the plot is little more than an excuse for a string of musical numbers. Beside the obligatory songs for both Frankie and Annette (plus the theme song, which they sing together), the real musical treats are the songs from Dick Dale and the Del-Tones. Dale pretty much invented surf music on his own, and “Beach Party” introduced his creation to the world.
There’s nothing deep or clever here, but it sure is fun. This movie is all about the atmosphere and attitude, which it crystallized nearly flawlessly. Drive-ins of the 1960s may have been flooded with cheap “Beach Party” knock-offs, but the original is still where it’s really at.
Best Line:
“The pit! Bring me my pendulum, kiddies. I feel like swinging.”
Side Note:
Among the uncredited extras playing various surfers and beach bums, keep an eye out for Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys and Peter Falk, the future Lt. Columbo.
Companion Viewing:
The sequel, “Muscle Beach Party” (1964), which is nearly as good.
Links:
IMDb.
Take a Look:
The trailer:
Robert Cummings goes surfing:
Dorothy Malone was way underused in this movie, but here’s a nice little scene with her:
Candy Johnson tears it up during the end credits:
Movie-A-Day #77: Parents (1989).
Today is National Forgive Mom and Dad Day. But if your folks are anything like Randy Quaid and Mary Beth Hurt in “Parents,” there’s a lot they need to be forgiven for. This black, black comedy has become kind of obscure and it’s not for every audience, but if you’re part of the right audience then this one will be a revelation for you.
Movie-A-Day #76: Snakes on a Plane (2006).
What associations does St. Patrick’s Day bring to mind? Maybe drinking, wearing green, alcohol, parades, booze, pinching, shamrocks, Irish pride, more drinking. But it’s also the Catholic feast day of Saint Patrick, one of the patron saints of Ireland. And, according to legend, he’s also the guy who decided he had had it with those motherfuckin’ snakes on his motherfuckin’ island. (Of course, he didn’t really go all “Snakes on a Plane” on the Emerald Isle. The fact is that snakes had never lived there, and that the legend is just symbolism for his forced conversion of the native Celts. But it’s fun to pretend.)
Movie-A-Day #75: Cocoon (1985).
Today is Wellderly Day, recognizing the importance of active, healthy living for the elderly. That doesn’t mean they need to be cannonballing into the pool, “Cocoon” style, but diet and exercise – not to mention some love and attention – can go a long way.
Desuko Movie Spot. 