Hollywood Surf
and Beach
Movies
The First Wave, 1959 -
1969
by Thomas Lisanti
Now Available!
Official nominee by
McFarland and Co. for the
Theatre Library Association's 2006 Best Film Reference Book Award
Named one of the 10 Best Books of 2005 by Classic Images
"highly
entertaining...thirty-two films covered in exhaustive detail with
literate and witty aplomb." - Brutarian
Surfers loathed them, teenagers
flocked to them, critics
dismissed them, and producers
laughed all the way to the bank.
“Them” are surf and beach
movies, which were Hollywood’s
interpretation of the surf
culture. For a short period in
the 1960s these films were
extremely popular with younger
audiences due to the combination
of the sand and surf, the
musical performers, the
shirtless surfer boys and
bikini-clad beach girls, and the
wild surfing footage.
Hollywood Surf and Beach Movies:
The First Wave, 1959-1969
features profiles on 32 sizzling
fun-in-the-sun teenage epics
from Gidget to the Beach Party
movies with Frankie Avalon and
Annette Funicello to The Sweet
Ride plus a few offshoots in the
snow. This lavishly illustrated
work contains an introduction
with an overview of the surf
movie genre; film entries with
credits, plot synopses, DVD
availability, memorable lines,
reviews, and awards; and
biographies of actors and
leading actresses who made their
marks in the genre. Plus
behind-the-scenes gossip from
the actors, actresses, and
directors who worked on the
movies: Louis Arkoff, Peter
Brown, Jackie DeShannon, Dave
Draper, Don Edmonds, Shelley
Fabares, Edward Garner, Gail
Gerber, Susan Hart, Aron
Kincaid, Kathy "Gidget" Kohner,
Arnold Lessing, Leslie H.
Martinson, Jody McCrea, Ted V.
Mikels, Chris Noel, Quinn
O'Hara, Bart Patton, Bobby
"Boris" Pickett, Robert Pine,
Frankie Randall, Darlene
Tompkins, William Wellman, Jr.,
and Lori Williams. Catch the
wave!
