''Don't Make Waves'' is a 1967 American

sex comedy Sex comedy, erotic comedy or more broadly sexual comedy is a genre in which comedy is motivated by sexual situations and love affairs. Although "sex comedy" is primarily a description of dramatic forms such as theatre and film, literary works such ...

(with elements of the beach party genre) starring

Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s (Kansas Raiders, 1950) and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 f ...

Claudia Cardinale Claude Joséphine Rose "Claudia" Cardinale (; born 15 April 1938) is an Italian actress. She has starred in some of the most iconic European films of the 1960s and 1970s, acting in Italian, French, and English. Born and raised in La Goulette, a ...

Dave Draper David Draper (April 16, 1942 – November 30, 2021) was an American bodybuilder, actor and author. Early life Draper was born in Secaucus, New Jersey on April 16, 1942. His weight training began at the age of ten and was a well-formed habit by ...

and

Sharon Tate Sharon Marie Tate Polanski (January 24, 1943 – August 9, 1969) was an American actress and model. During the 1960s, she played small television roles before appearing in films and was regularly featured in fashion magazines as a model and cover ...

. Distributed by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

, the film was directed by

Alexander Mackendrick Alexander Mackendrick (September 8, 1912 – December 22, 1993) was an American-born director and professor, long based in Scotland. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and later moved to Scotland. He began making television commercials befor ...

and is based on the 1959 novel ''

Muscle Beach Muscle Beach is the birthplace of the United States physical fitness boom, which started in 1934 with predominantly gymnastics activities on the south side of the Santa Monica Pier. Muscle Beach Venice is the contemporary title of the outdoor we ...

'', by Ira Wallach, who also co-wrote the screenplay. The film depicts a series of romantic triangles between different groupings of the principal cast and supporting players among several backdrops involving

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

culture (swimming pools, bodybuilding, beach life, fantastic real estate, mudslides, metaphysical gurus, etc.).

Plot

Carlo Cofield, a tourist visiting California's west coast, has not even arranged lodging, when his car is smashed by a reckless driver. She is a carefree, attractive Italian artist named Laura Califatti, who offers her couch for Carlo to sleep on that night. This arrangement displeases Rod Prescott, a wealthy swimming-pool builder, because Laura is his mistress. After being kicked out of Laura's, Carlo tries to sleep on the beach and nearly drowns. He wakes up to find a gorgeous surfer, many years his junior, rescuing him by covering his nostrils with her cheek to administer two breaths. She goes by the name "Malibu." Carlo begins a romantic pursuit of Malibu. After renting a house near the ocean, Carlo cons a sweet but naïve bodybuilder, Harry, Malibu's boyfriend, into believing that having sex is harmful to his body. He also bribes a phony psychic, "Madame Lavinia," who is actually a man, to discourage Harry from seeing Malibu any more. Rod decides to give the persistent Carlo a job as a pool salesman. The affair with Laura is discovered by Rod's wife, Diane, who demands a divorce. As a quarrel develops with everyone present, a mudslide caused by a sudden storm makes Carlo's house slide down a cliff. By the time everyone is saved, they pair off with the romantic partners they deserve.

Cast

Production notes

The film was based on Ira Wallach's novel ''Muscle Beach'' which was published in 1959. In August 1963 it was announced film rights had been purchased by

Martin Ransohoff Martin Nelson Ransohoff (July 7, 1927 – December 13, 2017) was an American film and television producer, and member of the Ransohoff, Ransohoff family. Early life and education Ransohoff was born on July 7, 1927 in New Orleans, New Orleans, ...

of Filmways, who had a deal with MGM. Ransohoff and Wallach had collaborated on ''The Wheeler Dealers''. Wallach would do the screenplay and the film would be part of an $18 million slate, coming out in June 1964. Filming was delayed. Curtis' casting was announced in April 1966. In June it was announced Alexander Mackendrick would direct and Claudia Cardinale would co star. Filming took place in August 1966.

told her husband

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a (né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two ...

that her experience working on this film was not particularly enjoyable. The production atmosphere was tense, and it was worsened when an uncredited stuntman drowned when he parachuted into the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. The film was Tate's third to be produced, but as it was the first to be released in cinemas, it is generally considered to be her debut. MGM mounted an extensive publicity campaign upon its release that was based largely on Tate and her character, Malibu, and life-sized cardboard cutouts of Tate wearing a bikini were placed in cinema foyers throughout the United States. It was also linked to a widespread advertising campaign by ''

Coppertone Coppertone is the brand name for an American sunscreen. Coppertone is headquartered in Whippany, New Jersey. Coppertone uses a variety of branding, including the Coppertone girl logo and a distinctive fragrance. Product line The original produ ...

'' which also featured Tate.

, who plays Malibu's boyfriend Harry, was the 1965 IFBB Mr. America and the 1966 NABBA Mr. Universe. 1966 NABBA Mr. Universe bodybuilder

Chester Yorton Chester Yorton (1940 – November 21, 2020) also known as Chet Yorton, was an American bodybuilder who became known as "The Father of Natural Bodybuilding" for his advocacy of steroid-free bodybuilding. He defeated Arnold Schwarzenegger at the ...

, who plays Ted Gunder, made one other film, 1964'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. ...

'', in which he plays the character called "Hulk."

Music

The score was composed by

Vic Mizzy Victor Mizzy (January 9, 1916 – October 17, 2009) was an American composer for television and movies and musician whose best-known works are the themes to the 1960s television sitcoms '' Green Acres'' and ''The Addams Family''. Mizzy also wrote ...

Roger McGuinn James Roger McGuinn (born James Joseph McGuinn III; July 13, 1942) is an American musician. He is best known for being the frontman and leader of the Byrds. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his work with the Byrds. As a ...

and

Chris Hillman Christopher Hillman (born December 4, 1944) is an American musician. He was the original bassist of and one of the original members of the Byrds, which in 1965 included Roger McGuinn, Gene Clark, David Crosby and Michael Clarke. With frequent ...

wrote the title song, "Don't Make Waves," performed by

the Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole cons ...

over the opening credits.

Reception

Upon its release on June 20, 1967, ''Don't Make Waves'' received generally mixed reviews. By the time the film was released, the popularity of beach films and films that related to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

beach culture had begun to wane as had the popularity of Tony Curtis as a matinee idol. In ''American Prince'', his 2009 autobiography, Tony Curtis wrote of making ''Don't Make Waves'', "The plot was utterly ridiculous, but I agreed to appear in the film because I got a percentage of the gross." The film went on to earn $1.25 million at the box office. ''Don't Make Waves'' has more recently received a positive review by film critic

Leonard Maltin Leonard Michael Maltin (born December 18, 1950) is an American film critic and film historian, as well as an author of several mainstream books on cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. He is perhaps best known for his book of fil ...

who describes it as "a gem", and makes note of the "good direction, funny performance by Sharon Tate and a catchy title song...".

Home media

''Don't Make Waves'' was released to DVD by Warner Home Video's Warner Archive on June 27, 2011 as a burn-on-demand Region 1 widescreen DVD.

References

External links

* * * *
Review of ''Don't Make Waves''
at TVGuide.com {{Authority control 1967 films 1960s sex comedy films American satirical films American sex comedy films 1960s English-language films Films based on American novels Films directed by Alexander Mackendrick Films scored by Vic Mizzy Films set in Malibu, California Films shot in California Films shot in South Carolina Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Beach party films Filmways films 1967 comedy films 1960s American films