My daughters were discussing “Teen Beach Movie,” which was a Disney Channel movie popular with kids a few years back. I joined the discussion but accidentally said something like “Teen Beach Blanket Bingo,” causing them to laugh uproariously. I explained to them that there really was a movie called “Beach Blanket Bingo,” though I had never seen it because it was way before my time.
“They played Bingo at the beach?” one daughter asked. And…I had no idea. So now that’s my question:
What exactly IS Beach Blanket Bingo? Is it a real game? Or is the title meaningless?
There’s no game. The title refers to the wacky antics of the characters. Not really all that wacky or antic, just what passed for that in the remnants of 50s culture being parodied there.
I think it’s something in-between. Bingo is a game with a jumble of numbers, and you are trying to score a match. In a very loosely metaphorical sense, in a beach party movie, there’s a sort of “game” with a jumble of characters, who are trying to score a match with each other, while the audience is playing along, anticipating and/or rooting for particular matches. And it’s an alliterative title that’s just kind of goofy and fun to say, much like the movie is supposed to be just kind of goofy and fun to watch.
Back atcha. See, for example, a “Life” photo essay on surf culture from 1950:
Surfing culture is now much more associated with the 1960s, but it was definitely there in the '50s. The beach party movies of the 1960s were something of a mix of exploitation, celebration, and parody of the intersection between a romanticized version of wholesome '50s teen culture and a romanticized version of the emerging California surfing culture.
Have to add this, there are nice “official” Beach Party movies and Beach Blanket Bingo was #5 in the series. Beach party film - Wikipedia
I say “official” because of the twelve American International Picture (AIP) movies, both Frankie and Annette appeared in only nine and I’m sure I’ve seen all twelve movies because they were frequent afternoon fair and my sisters would always watch them for sigh…Frankieeeeeee!
Frankie and Annette were always the “good couple”. Though I vaguely recall Frankie playing a dual bad guy role, I think to fool Annette in one the movies. Annette of course needing to the the good girl because she was a former Mouseketeer!
Beyond the twelve AIP releases, as the Wiki states, there are numerous knock-off movies.
Me too. Well, I did when I was a kid and they came on the UHF station on the weekends. I remember Frankie playing himself and a British musician/drag racer called The Potato Bug. Silly but fun movies. I should watch one again. A few months back I watched Back to the Beach, a mid-80’s sequel, and I enjoyed it for the most part.
No, he wasn’t. All the girls (including Annette) thought the Potato Bug was the next coming of The Beatles, and because of this Frankie hated him. Eventually they made peace and The Bug turned out to be a decent guy.
I’m gonna watch Beach Party this weekend. I might watch more, depending on how that goes.
The title, like the whole series of films, was a way to present a wholesome teenage lifestyle, while still maintaining a subtext of what teenagers (and those who like movies about teenagers) really care about: Sex.
I don’t think so.
Back atcha. See, for example, a “Life” photo essay on surf culture from 1950:
