''Operation Bikini'', also titled ''The Seafighter'', is a

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

released in 1963 by

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 ...

. It was directed by Anthony Carras and starred

Tab Hunter Tab Hunter (born Arthur Andrew Kelm; July 11, 1931 – July 8, 2018) was an American actor, singer, film producer, and author. Known for his blond, clean-cut good looks, Hunter starred in more than forty films. He was a Hollywood heartthrob of t ...

Frankie Avalon Francis Thomas Avallone (born September 18, 1940), better known as Frankie Avalon, is an American actor, singer, and former teen idol. He had 31 charting U.S. ''Billboard'' singles from 1958 to late 1962, including number one hits, "Venus" an ...

and

Scott Brady Scott Brady (born Gerard Kenneth Tierney; September 13, 1924 – April 16, 1985) was an American film and television actor best known for his roles in Western films and as a ubiquitous television presence. He played the title role in the televi ...

. The casting was aimed to capture a varied audience. While ''Operation Bikini'' was nominally a World War II

war movie War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...

, it shared a number of cast members—Avalon,

Jody McCrea Joel Dee "Jody" McCrea (September 6, 1934 – April 4, 2009) was an American actor. He was the son of actors Joel McCrea and Frances Dee. Early life McCrea was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of actors Joel McCrea and Frances Dee. ...

and Eva Six—with American International's ''

Beach Party ''Beach Party'' is a 1963 American film and the first of seven beach party films from American International Pictures (AIP) aimed at a teen audience.Smith, Gary A. Smith (2009) ''The American International Pictures Video Guide'', McFarland p.2 ...

'' (soon to become a franchise), and thrown into the mix were character actor

Jim Backus James Gilmore Backus (February 25, 1913 – July 3, 1989) was an American actor. Among his most famous roles were Thurston Howell III on the 1960s sitcom ''Gilligan's Island,'' the father of James Dean's character in '' Rebel Without a Cause, ...

, former screen heartthrob

and Gary Crosby (son of

Bing Bing most often refers to: * Bing Crosby (1903–1977), American singer * Microsoft Bing, a web search engine Bing may also refer to: Food and drink * Bing (bread), a Chinese flatbread * Bing (soft drink), a UK brand * Bing cherry, a varie ...

). Avalon sings in two musical interludes, which were shot in color despite the fact that the rest of the film is black and white.

Plot

The film takes place aboard an American

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

in the Pacific during World War II. The sub's commander is ordered to stop to pick up an

underwater demolition team Underwater Demolition Teams (UDT), or frogmen, were amphibious units created by the United States Navy during World War II with specialized non-tactical missions. They were predecessors of the navy's current SEAL teams. Their primary WWII f ...

led by Lt. Hayes whose mission is to locate and destroy an American submarine that had sunk in a lagoon off

Bikini Atoll Bikini Atoll ( or ; Marshallese: , , meaning "coconut place"), sometimes known as Eschscholtz Atoll between the 1800s and 1946 is a coral reef in the Marshall Islands consisting of 23 islands surrounding a central lagoon. After the Seco ...

before the Japanese are able to raise it and capture the advanced

radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, Marine radar, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor v ...

system on board. The members of the demolition team include Seaman Joseph Malzone, Will Sherman and Ronald Davayo, the only member of the team who speaks Japanese. Malzone carries a photo of his girl, which he affixes to the

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, ...

above his bunk. In two musical (and colorful)

dream sequence A dream sequence is a technique used in storytelling, particularly in television and film, to set apart a brief interlude from the main story. The interlude may consist of a flashback, a flashforward, a fantasy, a vision, a dream, or some other ...

s, Malzone expresses his devotion to "The Girl Back Home." Upon arriving at the atoll, the demolition team meets up with a local band of guerrillas, including native interpreter Paul and the buxom Reiko. After Paul is killed by a Japanese patrol, a romance develops between Reiko and Hayes, or possibly Malzone. Before anything can come of it, a Japanese cutter comes up the river on patrol, and in the resulting skirmish, Reiko is killed. The gruff but good-hearted

bosun's mate A boatswain ( , ), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, also known as a deck boss, or a qualified member of the deck department, is the most senior rate of the deck department and is responsible for the components of a ship's hull. The boatswain supervise ...

is wounded in the same fight, and Sherman has to take him back to Carey's sub, where he reports the team's discovery that the lagoon where the radar sub had sunk is full of Japanese vessels. Carey relays this news to the nearest American

carrier Carrier may refer to: Entertainment * ''Carrier'' (album), a 2013 album by The Dodos * ''Carrier'' (board game), a South Pacific World War II board game * ''Carrier'' (TV series), a ten-part documentary miniseries that aired on PBS in April 20 ...

. Meanwhile, the rest of the team uses the captured Japanese cutter to sail straight into the lagoon. Malzone and Hayes dive to the sunken sub, but when the crew of a Japanese salvage boat opens fire on the cutter, Davayo rams the boat in a suicide attack. After setting their explosive charges, Malzone and Hayes are guided back to Carey's sub by Sherman (possessor of the "finest pair of lungs in the Navy"), just as a fleet of American

dive bomber A dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy for the bomb it drops. Diving towards the target simplifies the bomb's trajectory and allows the pilot to keep visual contact through ...

s arrive to finish off the Japanese vessels in the lagoon.

Cast

as Lieutenant Morgan Hayes *

as Seaman Joseph Malzone *

as Captain Emmett Carey *

as First Mate Ed Fennelly * Gary Crosby as Seaman Floyd Givens *

Michael Dante Michael Dante (born Ralph Vitti; September 2, 1931) is an American actor and former professional minor league baseball player. Early life Dante was born Ralph Vitti in Stamford, Connecticut. Growing up, he would sneak into a local movie theater ...

as Lieutenant William Fourtney *

as Seaman William Sherman * Eva Six as Reiko *

Aki Aleong Assing "Aki" Aleong (born December 19, 1934) is a Trinidad and Tobago–born American character actor and singer who has also been active in songwriting and musical production. His first important role was in the 1957 movie '' No Down Paymen ...

as Seaman Ronald Davayo * David Landfield as Lieutenant Cale * Richard Bakalyan as Seaman Hiller * Joe Finnegan as Seaman Morris * Vernon Scott as Seaman Fowler * Raymond Guth as Seaman Rich * Tony Scott as Chief Petty Officer Perez * Steve Mitchell as Seaman Nolan * Mickey McDermott as Seaman Fairly * Wayne Winton as Seaman Patterson * Duane Ament as Seaman Kingsley * Jody Daniels as Seaman Jones * Marc Cavell as Paul * Raynum K. Tsukamoto as Kawai * Lan Nam Tuttle as Mika * Alicia Li as Native Girl #3 * Nancy Dusina as Dream Girl Back Home *

Judy Lewis Judy Lewis (born Judith Young; November 6, 1935 – November 25, 2011) was an American actress, writer, producer, and therapist. She was the secret biological daughter of actors Loretta Young and Clark Gable. Early life Lewis was born on Nov ...

as Dream Siren

Production

announced the film, originally known as ''The Seafighters'' or ''The Sea Fighter,'' in March 1962. It marked the directorial debut of editor Anthony Carras.

Rory Calhoun Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy McCown, August 8, 1922April 28, 1999) was an American film and television actor. He starred in numerous Westerns in the 1950s and 1960s, and appeared in supporting roles in films such as ''How to Marry a Millio ...

was originally announced as the film's star, but the lead eventually went to Tab Hunter. It was Hunter's first Hollywood film since ''

The Pleasure of His Company ''The Pleasure of His Company'' is a 1961 comedy film starring Fred Astaire and Debbie Reynolds, directed by George Seaton and released by Paramount Pictures. It is based on the 1958 play of the same name by Samuel A. Taylor and Cornelia Otis S ...

'' (1960). Filming started in December 1962 and took place at

Republic Studios Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...

. In November 1962, the film was retitled ''Bikini''.

Reception

The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' said, "... for the most part this is a conventional but competent production... the acting as a whole is never less than competent" but had issues with the final scenes which involved a nuclear blast "then a whole series of shots of a couple of girls playing on the seashore in bikinis." The ''Los Angeles Times'' said that the film "... might be titled 'Operation Smorgasboard' since it's a combination of South Sea Island melodrama, war story and comedy."

Comic book adaption

Dell Dell is an American based technology company. It develops, sells, repairs, and supports computers and related products and services. Dell is owned by its parent company, Dell Technologies. Dell sells personal computers (PCs), servers, data ...

Movie Classic: ''Operation Bikini'' (October 1963)

References

External links

* * * * {{AllMovie title, 105013, Operation Bikini
Operation Bikini
at Letterbox DVD 1963 films American International Pictures films Films about the United States Navy in World War II 1963 drama films Pacific War films Films set in the Marshall Islands Bikini Atoll World War II submarine films Films adapted into comics Films about the United States Navy 1960s English-language films