''How to Stuff a Wild Bikini'' is a 1965

Pathécolor Pathécolor, later renamed Pathéchrome, was an early mechanical stencil-based film tinting process for movies developed by Segundo de Chomón for Pathé in the early 20th century. Among the last feature films to use this process were the British ...

beach party film from

American International Pictures American International Pictures (AIP) is an American motion picture production label of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing fi ...

. The sixth entry in a seven-film series, the movie features

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last surviving stars of the ...

Annette Funicello Annette Joanne Funicello (October 22, 1942 – April 8, 2013) was an American actress and singer. Funicello began her professional career as a child performer at the age of twelve. She was one of the most popular Mouseketeers on the orig ...

, Dwayne Hickman,

Brian Donlevy Waldo Brian Donlevy (February 9, 1901 – April 6, 1972) was an American actor, noted for playing dangerous tough guys from the 1930s to the 1960s. He usually appeared in supporting roles. Among his best-known films are ''Beau Geste'' (193 ...

, and Beverly Adams. The film features a brief appearance by Frankie Avalon and includes

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...

in one of his last roles.

Plot

Frankie ( Frankie Avalon) goes to

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austra ...

on Naval Reserve duty. While cavorting with local girls, Frankie realizes that Dee Dee (

) might be unfaithful to him. When Frankie seeks help from a witch doctor (

), the witch doctor sends a sea beauty, Cassandra ( Beverly Adams), to lure Ricky ( Dwayne Hickman), an advertising exec, away from Dee Dee. Upon Cassandra's arrival, the beach turns upside down, as all the surfers fall for her, an executive wants to make her a model, and Eric Von Zipper (

Harvey Lembeck Harvey Lembeck (April 15, 1923 – January 5, 1982) was an American comedic actor best remembered for his role as Cpl. Rocco Barbella on ''The Phil Silvers Show'' (a.k.a. ''Sgt. Bilko'', a.k.a. ''You'll Never Get Rich'') in the late 1950s, and a ...

) and his motorcycle gang add to the trouble.

Cast

as Dee Dee * Dwayne Hickman as Ricky *

as B. D. (Big Deal) McPherson *

as Eric Von Zipper * Beverly Adams as Cassandra * John Ashley as Johnny * Jody McCrea as Bonehead *

Marianne Gaba Marianne Gaba (November 13, 1939 – May 3, 2016) was an American model, actress, and beauty queen. She was Miss Illinois USA 1957 and ''Playboy'' magazine's Playmate of the Month for its September 1959 issue. Personal life Gaba was born in ...

as Animal *

Len Lesser Leonard King Lesser (December 3, 1922 – February 16, 2011) was an American character actor. He was known for his recurring role as Uncle Leo in a total of 15 episodes of ''Seinfeld'', starting during the show's second season in the episode "Th ...

as North Dakota Pete * Irene Tsu as Native Girl *

Arthur Julian Arthur Julian (March 7, 1923 – January 30, 1995) was an American actor, producer and television writer. Some of Julian's production credits include the television shows '' Vacation Playhouse'', ''Gimme a Break!'', and ''Amen''. Julian als ...

as Dr. Melamed *

Bobbi Shaw Bobbie Shaw Chance (born Barbara Shisoff; September 16, 1943) is an actress best known for her appearances in American International Pictures' beach party movies of the 1960s. Biography Shaw was a singer and dancer in Las Vegas. She was spotted by ...

as Khola Koku *

The Kingsmen The Kingsmen are a 1960s rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States. They are best known for their 1963 recording of R&B singer Richard Berry's " Louie Louie", which held the No. 2 spot on the '' Billboard'' charts for six weeks an ...

as Themselves * Alberta Nelson as Puss *

as Bwana *

as Peachy (J. Peachmont) Keane * Frankie Avalon as Frankie *

Michele Carey Michele Carey (born Michele Lee Henson; February 26, 1942 – November 21, 2018) was an American actress who was best known for her role as Josephine "Joey" MacDonald in the 1966 Western film ''El Dorado''. She appeared in movies and guest-starr ...

as Michele * Elizabeth Montgomery as Bwana's daughter

Production

''How to Stuff a Wild Bikini'' was the last "beach party" film to feature Frankie Avalon and

. Avalon appeared on-screen for about six minutes and interacted only very briefly with Funicello. His small role was attributed to the fact that he was filming another AIP production, 1965's ''

Sergeant Deadhead ''Sergeant Deadhead'' is a 1965 musical comedy film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Frankie Avalon. It features many cast members who appeared in the ''Beach Party'' movies. Plot Sergeant Deadhead is a bumbling soldier who is sent to the g ...

''. Dwayne Hickman played the male lead, a man trying to woo Funicello's character away from her absent boyfriend. Tommy Kirk was originally announced as the male lead but shortly before filming he was arrested for possession of marijuana, so he was dropped and replaced by Hickman.

agreed to play a supporting role at $5,000 for one week's work in order to pay off some tax debts. Filming started April 12, 1965, and took 15 days. It was the only film in the series where John Ashley sang lead male vocals. Funicello was pregnant during shooting and was shot mostly wearing blousy tunics or with a prop in front of her (e.g., a bowl of popcorn, a bucket of

Kentucky Fried Chicken KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, wit ...

). She wrote in her memoirs that her pregnancy and Avalon's absence made this one of her least favorite beach party movies. The film featured the only big screen appearance by

, who performed "Give Her Lovin' ". Elizabeth Montgomery, who at the time was married to the film's director, William Asher, made a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

in the closing scenes as the witch doctor's daughter, a woman with her own magical powers. Montgomery was instantly recognizable during this period as the star of the hit TV sitcom ''

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typ ...

'', also directed by Asher, so this small film role was a parody of her TV role. The opening credits were done using

clay animation Clay animation or claymation, sometimes plasticine animation, is one of many forms of stop-motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay. Tra ...

done by Art Clokey, the creator of Gumby.

Reception

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called it a "lightweight affair lacking the breeziness and substance of earlier entries." The critic from the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' called the movie a "breezy number". The ''New York Times'' said it was "the answer to a moron's prayer."

Soundtrack

''How To Stuff A Wild Bikini'', the soundtrack for the film, was released in 1965. Most of the songs are performed by various cast members, with two numbers by

. The album was released in both

mono Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanes ...

(WDM 671) and

stereo Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

(WDS 671) versions, with the latter being very scarce. The stereo release was reissued on CD by Real Gone Music in July 2014.

Track listing

All songs written by Guy Hemric &

Jerry Styner Jerry Howard Styner (born June 18, 1936) is an American songwriter, musician, and former record producer. He has written scores for or had his compositions featured in over 30 films. Some of the artists he has worked with include Chet Baker for hi ...

except "Give Her Lovin' " by Lynn Easton. Songs are in slightly different order from the movie.

Production credits

* Producer: American International * Publisher: DiJon Music *

Liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are des ...

: Joe Bogart and Frank Costa ( WMCA Music Department)

Home media

In 2001, ''How to Stuff a Wild Bikini'' was released by MGM on Region 1 DVD. Since its initial DVD release, the film has been included in two box sets, ''Frankie & Annette MGM Movie Legends Collection'' and ''Midnite Movies Double Feature'', along with selected Beach Party films. Olive Films released a Blu-Ray of ''How to Stuff a Wild Bikini'' on June 25, 2019.

References

External links

* * * * *
Soundtrack album
at Beach Party Movie Music *

at Brian's Drive-In Theatre * ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record W ...

'
album review
September 4, 1965 issue. {{Beach Party series 1965 films 1965 musical comedy films 1965 romantic comedy films 1960s teen films American International Pictures films American musical comedy films American romantic comedy films American romantic musical films American sequel films Beach party films Bikinis Columbia Pictures films 1960s English-language films Films directed by William Asher Films scored by Les Baxter Films set in French Polynesia Teensploitation 1960s American films Films about witch doctors