''Wild on the Beach'' is a 1965 beach party film directed by

Maury Dexter Maury Dexter (born Morris Gene Poindexter; June 12, 1927 – May 28, 2017) was an American producer and director of film and TV. He worked several times for Robert Lippert and American International Pictures. Life and career Dexter was born in P ...

and starring

Frankie Randall Frankie Billy Randall (September 25, 1961 – December 23, 2020) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1983 to 2005. He was a three-time light welterweight world champion, having held the WBA and WBC titles between 1994 and 19 ...

Sherry Jackson Sherry D. Jackson (born February 15, 1942) is an American retired actress and former child star. Early life Jackson was born in Wendell, Idaho, to Maurita (or Maurite) Kathleen Gilbert and Curtis Loys Jackson, Sr. on February 15, 1942, according ...

, Gayle Caldwell, and Jackie Miller. It is notable for the musical acts showcased onscreen, being the film debut of

Sonny & Cher Sonny & Cher were an American pop and entertainment duo in the 1960s and 1970s, made up of husband and wife Sonny Bono and Cher. The couple started their career in the mid-1960s as R&B backing singers for record producer Phil Spector. The pair f ...

in particular. It is one of the few films in the genre to be filmed in

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

. Although some sources state that the film was also released under the title ''Beach House Party, '' to date no prints or posters have surfaced with such a title.

Plot

Co-ed Lee Sullivan (

), a student at an unnamed California college, inherits a house on the beach from her late uncle. She wants to use the building as a boarding house for girls, thus both alleviating the student housing shortage and financing her education. Meanwhile, Adam Miller (

) plans to turn the beach house into a boys' boardinghouse, claiming that he received permission to do so while Lee's uncle was still alive. Adam secretly files first for an off-campus housing permit, and the boys take up residence in the house. Lee also receives a permit, and naturally, problems develop when both male and female students decide to co-habitate – this administrative mix-up also makes for much ducking and dodging of the university authorities. In spite of being at odds with each other, a romance blossoms between Lee and Adam.

Cast

as Adam Miller *

as Lee Sullivan * Gayle Caldwell as Marsie Lowell * Jackie Miller as Toby Carr *

Russ Bender Russ Bender (January 1, 1910 – August 16, 1969) was an American actor. Career Before becoming an actor, Bender wrote detective stories for magazines. That part of his life was interrupted when he joined the Army. By the time he returned to c ...

as Shep Kirby *

Booth Colman Booth Colman (March 8, 1923 – December 15, 2014) was an American film, television and stage actor. In his later years he played older authority figures, such as doctors and lawyers. Colman appeared in films since 1952, when he debuted (uncredi ...

as Dean Parker * Cindy Malone as herself * Justin Smith as Mort Terwilliger * Jerry Grayson as Vern Thompkins * Marc Seaton as Jim Bench * Robert Golden as Policeman * Larry Gust as Josh *

as themselves *

The Astronauts ''The Astronauts'' ( Polish: ''Astronauci'') is the first science fiction novel by Polish writer Stanisław Lem published as a book, in 1951. To write the novel, Lem received advance payment from publishing house Czytelnik (Warsaw). The book b ...

as themselves

Production notes

After making 1963's ''

The Young Swingers ''The Young Swingers'' is a 1963 American musical comedy film directed by Maury Dexter and written by Harry Spalding. The film stars Rod Lauren, Molly Bee, Gene McDaniels, Jack Larson, Karen Gunderson and Jo Helton. The film was released in Septe ...

'' and 1964's '' Surf Party'', this was director/producer Maury Dexter's third teen flick – and second effort to imitate AIP'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.21 ...

'' formula. AIP would later hire Dexter to direct ''Maryjane'' and ''

The Mini-Skirt Mob ''The Mini-Skirt Mob'' is a 1968 outlaw biker film about an all-female motorcycle gang. The film was directed by Maury Dexter, and stars Diane McBain, Jeremy Slate, Sherry Jackson, Patty McCormack, Harry Dean Stanton and Sandra Marshall. Plot J ...

''. Dexter has said that casting Sonny and Cher was the idea of

Fred Roos Frederick Ried Roos (born May 22, 1934) is an American film producer. Biography Fred Roos was born on May 22, 1934, in Santa Monica, California, the son of Florence Mary (née Stout) and Victor Otto Roos. He attended Hollywood High School and sub ...

. While promoted as a standard beach party film with posters showing most of the female stars in bikinis and a title song with the lyrics "...only two steps down to the nearest wave, and surf's up every night!", no one in the cast actually wears swimsuits in the film, nor do any of them do anything on the beach – except walk on it – fully clothed. In fact, Frankie Randall, the male lead, wears a windbreaker on top of his shirt for most of the film. Although little surfing is shown in the film apart from a few random insert shots of extras on surfboards, the "surfing coordinator" for ''Wild on the Beach'' was Phil Sauer, who had also worked on AIP's ''

Muscle Beach Party ''Muscle Beach Party'' is the second of seven beach party films produced by American International Pictures. It stars Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello and was directed by William Asher, who also directed four other films in this series. ...

'' and ''

Bikini Beach ''Bikini Beach'' is a 1964 American teen film directed by William Asher and starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. The film belongs to the beach party genre of movies, popular in the 1960s. This is the third in the series of seven films ...

'' (both 1964); ''

Beach Blanket Bingo ''Beach Blanket Bingo'' is a 1965 American beach party film directed by William Asher. It is the fifth film in the Beach Party film series. The film stars Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Linda Evans, Deborah Walley, Paul Lynde, and Don Rickl ...

'' and ''

How to Stuff a Wild Bikini ''How to Stuff a Wild Bikini'' is a 1965 Pathécolor beach party film from American International Pictures. The sixth entry in a seven-film series, the movie features Mickey Rooney, Annette Funicello, Dwayne Hickman, Brian Donlevy, and Beverly ...

'' (both 1965); as well as Columbia's ''

Ride the Wild Surf ''Ride the Wild Surf'' is a 1964 American romantic drama film. It was filmed in 1963 and distributed in 1964. Unlike the beach party movies of the era, this was a departure from the typical Hollywood approach to surfing as it was a drama, not a ...

'' (1964). This was also the second time Dexter used the Boulder, Colorado-based surf band

Music

Jimmie Haskell Jimmie Haskell (born Sheridan Pearlman, November 7, 1926 – February 4, 2016) was an American composer and arranger for motion pictures and a wide variety of popular artists, including Elvis Presley, Neil Diamond, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Steely Da ...

composed the score and co-wrote two songs; associate producer "By" Dunham received a writing credit for six songs in the film. * Frankie Randall performs two songs, "The House on the Beach" and "The Gods of Love" (both written by Bobby Beverly and By Dunham). *

perform four songs in the film: the rockabilly "Rock This World" (written by Beverly and Dunham), and the three surf tunes "Little Speedy Gonzalez" (written by Stan Ross and Beverly), "Pyramid Stomp" (written by Haskell and Dunham), and "Snap It" (written by Haskell) * Sonny & Cher (backed by The Astronauts) sing "It's Gonna Rain" (written by Sonny Bono), and Jackie & Gayle sing "Winter Nocturne" (written by Eddie Davis and Dunham). * Cindy Malone sings "Run Away from Him" (written by Beverly and Dunham); Russ Bender sings the country & western song "Yellow Haired Woman" (written by Eddie Davis and Dunham); and Sandy Nelson performs "Drum Dance" (written by

Joe Saraceno Joseph Saraceno (May 16, 1937 – October 15, 2015) was an American record producer. He was a producer for The Ventures The Ventures are an American instrumental rock band formed in Tacoma, Washington, in 1958, by Don Wilson and Bob Bogle. T ...

and Frank Warren).

Critical response

"The third (and last) of Maury Dexter's ''Beach Party'' rip-offs, ''Wild on the Beach'' is so third-rate and low-budget that an unintentional sense of 'realism' creeps into it."

References

External links

* * * *
The Video Beat

The New York Times
{{Maury Dexter 1965 films 1960s teen films 20th Century Fox films American black-and-white films American teen films Beach party films Films directed by Maury Dexter Films scored by Jimmie Haskell Films set in California 1960s English-language films 1960s American films