Hollywood Surf and Beach Movies - by Thomas Lisanti (Paperback)

About the Book

Surfers loathed them, teenagers flocked to them, critics dismissed them, and producers banked on them. They were 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--mainly because of the combination of sand and surf, the musical performers, the shirtless surfer boys and bikini-clad beach girls, and the wild surfing footage.

Book Synopsis

Surfers loathed them, teenagers flocked to them, critics dismissed them, producers banked on them--surf and beach movies. For a short time in the 1960s they were extremely popular with younger audiences--mainly because of the shirtless surfer boys and bikini-clad beach girls, the musical performers, and the wild surfing footage.

This lavishly illustrated filmography details 32 sizzling fun-in-the-sun teenage epics from Gidget to the Beach Party movies with Frankie and Annette to The Sweet Ride plus a few offshoots in the snow!) Entries include credits, plot synopses, memorable lines, reviews and awards, and commentary from such as Aron Kincaid of The Girls on the Beach, Susan Hart of The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini, Peter Brown of Ride the Wild Surf, Chris Noel of Beach Ball, and Ed Garner of Beach Blanket Bingo. Biographies of actors and leading actresses who made their marks in the genre are included.

Review Quotes

"Lisanti gives 1960s glamour girls something they never had before in film circles: respect. His approach is a mixture of fun with the seriousness of a film historian. The concoction is irresistible, and it's fantastic that these gals get their turn to tell their stories and share their good and bad times in the movie world...valuable...highly recommended. Lisanti is the supreme chronicler of the '60s era...simply amazing...definitive...excellent writer"-Classic Images; "refreshing"-Scarlet; "exhaustive and highly entertaining"-Brutarian; "written with high style, an aficionado's love of his subject, and packed with meticulous...information...a must-read"-Show Business Weekly; "an overview of the surf movie genre with an in-depth look at 32 of the most popular surf movies"-BudPlant.com.

About the Author

Tom Lisanti is the award-winning author of multiple books about film history, and he blogs at www.sixtiescinema.com. He lives in New York.