Blu-ray Review A Few Words About A few words about...™ - Back to the Beach -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Tony Bensley]

I'm kinda surprised he wasn't a spokesmodel for ...

Sea-Bond denture adhesive ...

!

I suspect their exchange might have been a bit salty!

CHEERS!

 

[B-ROLL]

Please forgive me if this has already been "covered," but wouldn't "Venus" make more sense?

Frankie's Toupee goes to Venus to cover up her bald spot! The question is "Which One?"

CHEERS!

Considering Frankie's affinity to the sea ... I'm sure it would be called a Mer-Kin (TM) !

 

[mskaye]

BACK TO THE BEACH has been a featured

Check trade marks for 1963-64. Paramount took (and still owns, and protects) the word “Annette.” Disney most likely failed to file along with “cubby,” “Sharon,” “bobby” and “Madge.”

Robert's review of BACK TO THE BEACH on blu ray, has been a featured story on the HTF longer than it was in movie theaters.

 

[B-ROLL]

BACK TO THE BEACH has been a featured

Robert's review of BACK TO THE BEACH on blu ray, has been a featured story on the HTF longer than it was in movie theaters.

Some alternate facts for you: https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3142026753/weekend/

 

[Kent K H]

In the initial BttB thread, I posted the (highly positive) Siskel and Ebert review where they shame Paramount for not showing the film to critics or promoting it, so frankly, I'm surprised it had a box office take and number of screens that high, haha.

 

[ahollis]

I recall booking this film into our theatres back then thinking it would be two weeks and out. It actually grossed enough in most of theatres for a 4 to 5 week run. A pleasant surprise.

 

[Robert Harris]

I recall booking this film into our theatres back then thinking it would be two weeks and out. It actually grossed enough in most of theatres for a 4 to 5 week run. A pleasant surprise.

Do you recall the average age of ticket holders?

 

[lark144]

Do you recall the average age of ticket holders?

It was in the theater I managed. As I recall, it was mostly people in their late teens to early twenties, a similar crowd to comedies like BACHELOR PARTY, though with a smattering of 30 to 40 somethings. We did much better for the later shows. Very little matinee action.

 

[Robert Harris]

It was in the theater I managed. As I recall, it was mostly people in their late teens to early twenties, a similar crowd to comedies like BACHELOR PARTY, though with a smattering of 30 to 40 somethings. We did much better for the later shows. Very little matinee action.

So just a small number who had seen the original classics.

 

[mskaye]

It was in the theater I managed. As I recall, it was mostly people in their late teens to early twenties, a similar crowd to comedies like BACHELOR PARTY, though with a smattering of 30 to 40 somethings. We did much better for the later shows. Very little matinee action.

I worked at Paramount at that time and on that film. It grossed 13 million total. That wasn't a lot of money even adjusted for inflation. It dropped like a stone. It wasn't that great. It needed a defter touch and less studio interference. Maybe a better producer and cinematographer who wasnt known for Don Siegel and Clint Eastwood thrillers. Maybe at best they were hoping for an Airplane! spoof vibe but it was not even close. It had a few cute sequences. We got a lot of PR for the film but it didnt really play well. The less said about Pee Wee Herman's inclusion the better (and I think splicing him in probably helped boost the box office total. The people who loved - and even remembered the Beach Blanket films of the 1960s - did not turn out en masse to support the film. And younger fans were like who ?

 

[B-ROLL]

So just a small number who had seen the original classics.

In the mid 1970s CBS would run the AIP (et al) beach movies on Friday nights in lieu of a Planet of the Apes movie ...

1974–75 United States network television schedule - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Colin Jacobson]

I worked at Paramount at that time and on that film. It grossed 13 million total. That wasn't a lot of money even adjusted for inflation. It dropped like a stone. It wasn't that great. It needed a defter touch and less studio interference. Maybe a better producer and cinematographer who wasnt known for Don Siegel and Clint Eastwood thrillers. Maybe at best they were hoping for an Airplane! spoof vibe but it was not even close. It had a few cute sequences. We got a lot of PR for the film but it didnt really play well. The less said about Pee Wee Herman's inclusion the better (and I think splicing him in probably helped boost the box office total. The people who loved - and even remembered the Beach Blanket films of the 1960s - did not turn out en masse to support the film. And younger fans were like who ?

I was 20 when "BttB" came out and the movies to which it paid homage felt like ancient history.

There was a bit of a 60s revival at the time, and 1987 or so is when Classic Rock really started to become a "thing" - for better or for worse. It's the era where artists like the Stones and McCartney essentially stopped being "current hitmakers" and turned into "catalog artists".

Perhaps more relatable to "BttB", the Monkees had a nice revival in this same time period, and I suspect those involved with "BttB" figured that if the Monkees could become hot again, so could Frankie and Annette!

But nope - as you note, the movie didn't do much business.

That $13 million left it in 79th place for the US 1987 box office - and that's in a year without any true smash hits. "Three Men and a Baby" was the year's biggest hit, and it only made $167 million, the weakest total of any year-winner during the 80s.

It apparently didn't cost much, so it didn't sink any careers, but it showed no public appetite for a revival of 1960s beach flicks!

 

[mskaye]

I was 20 when "BttB" came out and the movies to which it paid homage felt like ancient history.

There was a bit of a 60s revival at the time, and 1987 or so is when Classic Rock really started to become a "thing" - for better or for worse. It's the era where artists like the Stones and McCartney essentially stopped being "current hitmakers" and turned into "catalog artists".

Perhaps more relatable to "BttB", the Monkees had a nice revival in this same time period, and I suspect those involved with "BttB" figured that if the Monkees could become hot again, so could Frankie and Annette!

But nope - as you note, the movie didn't do much business.

That $13 million left it in 79th place for the US 1987 box office - and that's in a year without any true smash hits. "Three Men and a Baby" was the year's biggest hit, and it only made $167 million, the weakest total of any year-winner during the 80s.

It apparently didn't cost much, so it didn't sink any careers, but it showed no public appetite for a revival of 1960s beach flicks!

The director never got a chance to make another film. And oy, that key art. Pure Melrose Avenue and lots of LP covers circa 1987...

 

[lark144]

I worked at Paramount at that time and on that film. It grossed 13 million total. That wasn't a lot of money even adjusted for inflation. It dropped like a stone. It wasn't that great. It needed a defter touch and less studio interference. Maybe a better producer and cinematographer who wasnt known for Don Siegel and Clint Eastwood thrillers. Maybe at best they were hoping for an Airplane! spoof vibe but it was not even close. It had a few cute sequences. We got a lot of PR for the film but it didnt really play well. The less said about Pee Wee Herman's inclusion the better (and I think splicing him in probably helped boost the box office total. The people who loved - and even remembered the Beach Blanket films of the 1960s - did not turn out en masse to support the film. And younger fans were like who ?

It didn't do great box office, it certainly wasn't huge, but it was much better than I expected. It was moderately busy the first week but dropped a bit in the second, and I think by the third was fairly slow, though the last two shows in the evening were still full, as I recall, and it picked up on the weekend. And the people that came were not especially aware of the Beach Party films from the 60's. A lot of them came because of Pee Wee Herman. I think it would have done worse without him. Of course, this is only one theater, one kind of audience on the east side of Manhattan. Purely anecdotal, as I no longer remember the grosses. I liked the film myself, though I thought it could have been tighter, and more focused. I had no problem with the cinematography which I thought was excellent. People don't go to see a film based on the DP anyway. Annette was simply wonderful in it. She was funny and glowing and marvelous. For me, the film is worth seeing again because of her. And I loved Pee Wee in it, and the customers in the theater really responded to his number. There was lots of applause and laughter. But the film itself was kind of a gunshot marriage between nostalgia and teen comedy. It needed a better, funnier script. The advertising campaign was also kind of lukewarm and confusing. They weren't quite sure how to sell it, or who to sell it to. And AIRPLANE, which you compare it to, was kind of a fluke, anyway. The big summer blockbusters were all duds, people didn't want to see them, but they wanted to see a movie, so they ended up going to AIRPLANE, which opened without much fanfare, but took off because of word of mouth. BACK TO THE BEACH had a lot more competition. It might have done better if it had been funnier and more teen-oriented, but then again, maybe not. You can never tell about these things. Also, the film's flaws, that amalgam of nostalgia and teen comedy, is also its strength. The film doesn't really work, but I have great affection for it. BTW, BACK TO THE BEACH, in terms of filmmaking acumen and entertainment, is way better than the AIP movies from the 1960's.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

A lot of them came because of Pee Wee Herman. I think it would have done worse without him.

Perhaps, but great googly moogly, it's hard to think of another movie with a more pointless, gratuitous cameo.

PWH pops up out of nowhere, does his shtick and leaves.

Perhaps they intended it as an homage to similarly left-field cameos in those 60s beach movies, but it still feels bizarre.

At least the Don Adams/Bob Denver/"Beaver" cast/etc cameos make sense!

 

[lark144]

At least the Don Adams/Bob Denver/"Beaver" cast/etc cameos make sense!

It certainly didn't make any sense to me, as a 12 year old. Except for Buster Keaton, I hated the cameos in those films, as they took up precious screen time when I could be seeing Annette, and I also thought it had nothing to do with the "plot", though now, in retrospect, I realize there WAS no plot to speak of, so I'm more forgiving. Funny thing, when I saw those beach party movies decades later, during the AIP retro at MOMA, they played a lot better than when I was a member of the "core" audience, so maybe because they were made by middle-aged people, they work better when you're middle aged.

 

[lark144]

Perhaps, but great googly moogly, it's hard to think of another movie with a more pointless, gratuitous cameo.

Again, I think it's a matter of personal taste. For me, Pee Wee's version of "Surfin' Bird" is one of the high points of his career, but then, I was 13 when the song came out, went through a couple 45's because I played it so much, and even got to play the bass line in a cover band upstate, which was a real joy, so I have a very affectionate attitude towards that song. We can agree to disagree.

 

[Kent K H]

Perhaps, but great googly moogly, it's hard to think of another movie with a more pointless, gratuitous cameo.

PWH pops up out of nowhere, does his shtick and leaves.

Perhaps they intended it as an homage to similarly left-field cameos in those 60s beach movies, but it still feels bizarre.

At least the Don Adams/Bob Denver/"Beaver" cast/etc cameos make sense!

...it couldn't be!

 

[ahollis]

Do you recall the average age of ticket holders?

These theatres were in mid size southern towns and while I don’t know the average age, I do recall when I visited the theatres, the afternoon matinees were mostly teenagers and under while the weekend evening shows were attended by families.

 

[mskaye]

Perhaps, but great googly moogly, it's hard to think of another movie with a more pointless, gratuitous cameo.

PWH pops up out of nowhere, does his shtick and leaves.

Perhaps they intended it as an homage to similarly left-field cameos in those 60s beach movies, but it still feels bizarre.

At least the Don Adams/Bob Denver/"Beaver" cast/etc cameos make sense!

Pee Wee H had just come off the success of Big Top Pee Wee and got a deal at Paramount. I don't think BTTB was conceived w his cameo appearance in mind. I think it was an attempt to spice up the movie w a new, relevant "star." It feels like it comes out of nowhere because it did ! It's perhaps memorable and borderline manic and insane and certainly on its own preserves peak Pee Wee for future generations to enjoy. His one and only feature for Paramount - 1988's Big Top Pee Wee - was a Scud. It grossed $15 million - not much more than BTTB.