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Truly Dreadful Film

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Still sportin' his "Kookie" combed hairdo, but looking a little long-in-the-tooth to be playing a teenage surfer boy, Edd Byrnes (as Dick "Dickie" Martin) and his rock 'n' roll group "The Wigglers" are in danger of losing their unpaid-for musical instruments. The college drop-outs fear they'll be "show business has-beens at twenty." Fund-raising Byrnes, sky diver Robert Logan (as Bango), auto racer Aron Kincaid (as Jack) and skin diver Don Edmonds (as Bob) are a good-looking quartet. And, there are many nicely-proportioned, bikini-ready girls to raise your interest...In an arousing highlight, sweet blonde Chris Noel (as Susan Collins) bounces from her changing room with a parade of bikini-clad cuties. In between enjoying the bodies, you get a severely wigged Diana Ross with the Supremes singing the non-hit title song, the Four Seasons featuring Frankie Valli singing the hit "Dawn (Go Away)" and sandy songs from the Righteous Brothers, the Hondells and the Walker Brothers. Paramount's threadbare swipe at American International's "Beach Party" movies is less than ordinary, but it ends up with some unintended subversive sex play.***** Beach Ball (9/29/65) Lennie Weinrib ~ Edd Byrnes, Robert Logan, Aron Kincaid, Don Edmonds

Best part of movie outside the rock cameos is the cars. Two featured: Bill Cushenberry's Silhouette which later became an AMT model and one of the original HotWheels miniatures. Typical early Sixties custom with open hood, bubble top and tuck and roll interior.The movie also featured a car show that included Bob Urquhart's 1927 Model T Roadster which appeared on the cover of the October 1962 Hot Rod magazine and numerous other magazines through 1964. Car was powered by a 1954 DeSoto hemi and also featured a Cadillac transmission and Corvette rearend. Car is iconic of the "custom rod" era and is currently owned by Jim Gilliam of Des Moines and is being restored to original condition. Because of Edd Byrnes, anyone in this movie rates a "3" on the Kevin Bacon scale.

Staggeringly bad teen-fracas from Paramount begins with animated opening credits that look as if they were drawn by a ten-year-old...and it gets worse from there. Stock surfing footage, a hot rod show, Edd Byrnes showing off his hairy, flabby chest, four guys in drag--"Beach Ball" makes the modest Frankie & Annette "Beach Party" flicks seem masterful by comparison. Odd that a major movie studio like Paramount got caught knocking-off a B-studio series and still came up with a loser. This has some of the worst cinematography, writing, directing and acting I've ever seen in a major commercial release. "Beach Ball" does earn one lone star simply by featuring the fabulous Supremes at the hot rod show, singing the title track and "Surfer Boy" (Diana Ross, sporting an Annette-like bouffant, is far more accomplished at lip-synching than her cohorts, but they look great together and the two songs aren't bad). Otherwise, this "Ball" is deflated. * from ****

I only tuned into this film for a few minutes, but it was worth it...to see the Supremes (from Detroit's Motown label) singing surfing songs. Anyone who knows the geography of Detroit and the color of the Supremes knows why this is so fascinating.Of particular splendor is Diana Ross' hairdo -- a beehive with what I can only guess is supposed to be a "wave" on one side.