''Palm Springs Weekend'' is a 1963 Warner Bros. bedroom comedy film directed by

Norman Taurog Norman Rae Taurog (February 23, 1899 – April 7, 1981) was an American film director and screenwriter. From 1920 to 1968, Taurog directed 180 films. At the age of 32, he received the Academy Award for Best Director for '' Skippy'' (1931). He i ...

. It has elements of the beach party genre ( AIP's '' Beach Party'' became a smash hit in July, while Warner Bros. was still putting this film together) and has been called "a sort of Westernized version of '' Where the Boys Are''" by ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' magazine. It stars Troy Donahue,

Stefanie Powers Stefanie Powers (born November 2, 1942) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Jennifer Hart on the mystery television series '' Hart to Hart'' (1979–1984), for which she received nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards a ...

Robert Conrad Robert Conrad (born Conrad Robert Falk; March 1, 1935 – February 8, 2020) was an American film and television actor, singer, and stuntman. He is best known for his role in the 1965–1969 television series '' The Wild Wild West'', playi ...

, Ty Hardin, and

Connie Stevens Connie Stevens (born Concetta Rosalie Ann Ingolia; August 8, 1938) is an American actress and singer. Born in Brooklyn, New York City to musician parents, Stevens was raised there until age 12, when she was sent to live with family friends in r ...

Plot

A group of college students from Los Angeles travel to Palm Springs to spend the Easter weekend there. Student Jim Munroe ( Troy Donahue) falls for Bunny Dixon (

), the daughter of the overprotective Palm Springs police chief ( Andrew Duggan). Munroe's roommate Biff Roberts ( Jerry Van Dyke) and plain-jane Amanda North (Zeme North) try to seduce each other, while hampered by having to babysit an inquisitive young boy (the son of hotelier Naomi Yates, who has just met and is romancing the group's chaperone, coach Fred Campbell). Spoiled rich playboy Eric Dean (

) and Hollywood stuntman from Texas Doug Fortune ( Ty Hardin) compete for the attentions of a pretty girl (

) from Beverly Hills. A wild auto chase between Eric and Doug, and serious crash ensue on the long drive home after an evening at a folk music club in Las Vegas, but all ends well.

Cast

* Troy Donahue as Jim Munroe *

as Gail Lewis/Jane Hoover * Ty Hardin as Doug 'Stretch' Fortune *

as Bunny Dixon *

as Eric Dean * Andrew Duggan as Police Chief Dixon * Jack Weston as Coach Fred Campbell * Carole Cook as Naomi Yates * Jerry Van Dyke as Biff Roberts * Zeme North as Amanda North * Bill Mumy as 'Boom Boom' Yates * Dorothy Green as Cora Dixon *

Robert Gothie Robert Gothie (October 2, 1929 – June 18, 1993) was an American actor who appeared on television, in the movies and on Broadway (theatre), Broadway in the 1950s and 1960s. Originally from Hazelton, Pennsylvania, Gothie played guest roles in ...

as Gabby * Greg Benedict as Hap * Gary Kinkaid as Fred * Mark Dempsey as Mike * Jim Shane as Dave * Rafael Guzman-Sanchez as Waiter *

Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy r ...

as Bugs Bunny Doll (voice)(uncredited) * Dabbs Greer as Boys' Club Leader (uncredited) *

Tina Cole Christina Yvonne Cole (born August 4, 1943) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Katie Miller Douglas on the sitcom ''My Three Sons'' (1967–1972). Family Cole is the daughter of Yvonne King and Buddy Cole. ...

as Ruth Stewart (uncredited) Syndicated columnist, radio and television talk show host and personality Shirley Eder makes a cameo as herself in the record store scene; Mike Henry plays the parking valet at the Riviera Hotel;

Dawn Wells Dawn Elberta Wells (October 18, 1938 – December 30, 2020) was an American actress known for her role as Mary Ann Summers on the CBS sitcom ''Gilligan's Island''. Early life Wells was born to Evelyn (née Steinbrenner) and Joe Wesley Wells ...

and Linda Gray appear as featured extras in non-speaking roles. Connie Stevens, Robert Conrad, Tina Cole, and Troy Donahue all appeared in the 1959–63 TV series Hawaiian Eye.

Production notes

Development

Jack Warner was impressed by the success of '' Where the Boys Are'' (1960). He wanted to make a similar film about the influx of teenagers into Palm Springs during the Easter vacation break, using the large number of young actors they had under contract. The studio had the title, ''Palm Springs Weekend'' even before they had a script. In June 1962, Warner gave the job of producing to

Michael A. Hoey Michael A. Hoey (1934 – 17 August 2014) was a British author and film and television writer, director, and producer. He was the son of Dennis Hoey, who played Inspector Lestrade in Universal's Sherlock Holmes series. Film and television Ho ...

, who had never produced before, but had impressed Warner through his work as an editor at the studio over four years, most recently '' The Chapman Report''. The studio signed Hoey to a contract as producer and ''Palm Springs Weekend'' was going to be his first movie. Earl Hamner Jnr, whose novel '' Spencer's Mountain'' had just been bought by Warners, was hired to write the screenplay. Hamner:

They gave the screenplay duties n ''Spencer's Mountain''to someone else, and I think Mr. Warner thought that he owed me one. He called me one day and asked me what I thought of Palm Springs. I was just newly arrived from New York, and I told him that I'd never been there. He said, 'I want you to go there over Easter Weekend and poke around and see if you come back with a movie.' ... I suppose since he'd just done ''Spencer's Mountain'', he trusted that I could write about young people.

When Norman Taurog signed to direct, he felt the script needed some work, so the studio hired David Schwartz, who had just adapted ''

Sex and the Single Girl ''Sex and the Single Girl'' is a 1962 non-fiction book by American writer Helen Gurley Brown, written as an advice book that encouraged women to become financially independent and experience sexual relationships before or without marriage. The ...

''. They did not like his work so another writer was hired,

Danny Arnold Danny Arnold (born Arnold Rothmann; January 23, 1925 – August 19, 1995) was an American producer, writer, comedian, actor and director known for producing ''Barney Miller'', ''That Girl'', and '' Bewitched''. Early life Born in New York Ci ...

, to do a weekly polish. There was some criticism of the script from Palm Springs councillors.

Casting

The lead actors were all under contract to Warner Bros, apart from Stefanie Powers and Jerry Van Dyke. Tuesday Weld was originally considered for the role of Gail, before

was cast. Troy Donahue was always considered for the part of Jim Munroe. Donahue says he refused to play the role – "nobody thought this was the kind of movie that would be particularly advantageous to our careers" – but the studio put him on suspension. He ran out of money and agreed to make the film. Ty Hardin's character was written especially for him as Hoey was impressed by his work in ''The Chapman Report''.

Steve Trilling Steve Trilling (October 2, 1902, New York City – May 28, 1964, Los Angeles) was a Hollywood executive, best known for being second in command to Jack L. Warner at Warner Bros in the 1940s through to 1960s. He replaced Hal Wallis Harold Brent W ...

of Warners wanted the part of Eric to be played by Edd Byrnes but Hoey went with Robert Conrad instead. "''Palm Springs Weekend'' was an incredible break for me", said Conrad later. "I saw an opportunity to do some real acting." Some reports say that Donahue's wife

Suzanne Pleshette Suzanne Pleshette (January 31, 1937 – January 19, 2008) was an American theatre, film, television, and voice actress. Pleshette started her career in the theatre and began appearing in films in the late 1950s and later appeared in prominent ...

was considered to play Bunny, but Hoey says this was never the case as she was too mature; Stefanie Powers was borrowed from Columbia for the part.

Shooting

Filming went from 10 February to 16 May 1963. It was filmed on location in Palm Springs, as well as in the studio at Warners. Troy Donahue later recalled:

The best thing about the film was that it was being made in Palm Springs. And I was there to drink and get laid. I remember that a friend of mine and I started at opposite ends of town. Halfway through the movie, we crossed paths. I got everything he got going in his direction, and he got everything I got coming in mine. I mean, the picture was tame compared to the reality.

Connie Stevens later said "By far, that film was one of the most fun times of my life." The two resorts seen in the film are the Irwin Schuman-designed Riviera Hotel (now a Margaritaville Resort) on North Indian Canyon Drive; and the Desert Palms Inn – seen onscreen as "Las Casa Yates" – on Jones Road in Cathedral City. The two hotels served as location for much of the film, both the actual locations and their soundstage replicas.Whispering Palms – ''Palm Springs Weekend: Palm Springs wanted nothing to do with "letting loose", thank you.'' Archive for ''Palm Springs Life'', no date given. palmspringslife.com
accessed 17 August 2014 Set design was by George Hopkins. The car that Eric Dean drives is a silver 1963 Ford Thunderbird, while Doug Fortune's car is shown as a red 1957 Mercury Montclair. When Fortune's car is wrecked, however, he is pulled from a red 1954 Mercury Monterey. Cora Dixon's dialogue regarding Easter vacation (''"I don't know how your father is going to stand all those teenagers – and the income tax deadline – all in the same week"'') appears to indicate that the film's setting is specifically April 1963, when

Easter Sunday Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel P ...

fell on April 14, the day before

Tax Day In the United States, Tax Day is the day on which individual income tax returns are due to be submitted to the federal government. Since 1955, Tax Day has typically fallen on or just after April 15. Tax Day was first introduced in 1913, when th ...

Music

Frank Perkins composed the score for the film. Larry Kusik and Paul Evans wrote one song that appears in the finished film, "Live Young." It is sung over the opening credits by Troy Donahue, an instrumental version is heard during the party scene at Ruth Stewart's house. The

Modern Folk Quartet The Modern Folk Quartet (or "MFQ") was an American folk music revival group that formed in the early 1960s. Originally emphasizing acoustic instruments and group harmonies, they performed extensively and recorded two albums. In 1965, as the Mode ...

appear as themselves in the sequence at Jack's Casino and are shown singing two songs, "The Ox Driver's Song" and one unidentified song. Ty Hardin sings an

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

version of the traditional " The Yellow Rose of Texas", and sings with Jerry Van Dyke on

Ray Henderson Ray Henderson (born Raymond Brost; December 1, 1896 – December 31, 1970) was an American songwriter. Early life Born in Buffalo, New York, United States, Henderson moved to New York City and became a popular composer in Tin Pan Alley. He was o ...

and Mort Dixon's standard, "

Bye Bye Blackbird "Bye Bye Blackbird" is a song published in 1926 by Jerome H. Remick and written by composer Ray Henderson and lyricist Mort Dixon. It is considered a popular standard and was first recorded by Sam Lanin's Dance Orchestra in March 1926. Song ...

." Musical excerpts from the film soundtrack were released as a long-playing vinyl recording in 1963. The album was reissued on compact disc by Intrada Records in 2017.

Release

The film was released to decent reviews. It was not a major success at the box office but made a profit for the studio. The movie had a long life on television and video. Earl Hamner later recalled, "When the phone rings around midnight, I know it's someone calling to tell me, 'Earl, ''Palm Springs Weekend'' is on'." Robert Conrad says his performance impressed Warners enough for them to keep him under contract for a number of years. Troy Donahue later complained that the film was "really bad ... a beach movie set in the desert". A book of the same title by Marvin H. Albert was released by

Dell Publishing Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and so ...

at the same time.

Home media

The DVD was released in 2009. The DVD is part of the ''Warner Bros. Romance Classics Collection'', which also contains three other films starring Troy Donahue: '' Parrish'' (1961), '' Rome Adventure'' (1962) and ''

Susan Slade ''Susan Slade'' is a 1961 American Technicolor drama film directed by Delmer Daves and starring Troy Donahue, Connie Stevens, Dorothy McGuire and Lloyd Nolan. Based upon the 1961 novel ''The Sin of Susan Slade'' by Doris Hume, concerns a well-t ...

'' (1961).Internet Movie Database
Merchandising links

Novelization

Slightly in advance of the film's release, as was the custom of the era, a paperback novelization of the film was published by Dell Books. The author was renowned crime and western novelist Marvin H. Albert, who also made something of a cottage industry out of movie tie-ins. He seems to have been the most prolific screenplay novelizer of the late '50s through mid '60s, and, during that time, the preeminent specialist at light comedy.

References

External links

* * * * {{Norman Taurog 1963 films 1960s coming-of-age comedy-drama films 1960s teen films American coming-of-age comedy-drama films American sex comedy films American teen comedy-drama films 1960s English-language films Films directed by Norman Taurog Films set in Palm Springs, California Films shot in California Warner Bros. films 1960s sex comedy films 1963 comedy films 1963 drama films 1960s American films