Tonight's Movie: How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965) - An Olive Films Blu-ray Review

Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon star in HOW TO STUFF A WILD BIKINI (1965), just released on Blu-ray by Olive Films.

I use the word "star" advisedly as while Frankie and Annette are the purported leads, they have less screen time than one would expect, and indeed, only one scene together, at the end of the movie.

Frankie (Avalon) is on a Pacific island somewhere on Naval Reserve duty, while Dee Dee (Funicello) faithfully waits for him back home on the beach. The 22-year-old Funicello was expecting her first child in real life, so she's hidden behind objects such as a strategically placed popcorn bowl and later, a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken; some of the time she's shot from the chest up, and when she appears in full-body shots she wears loose tunics. No swimsuits for Annette in this one!

The plot of HOW TO STUFF A WILD BIKINI is even more mindless than the original BEACH PARTY (1963), which I reviewed a few years ago. There was almost no plot to that movie, and there's even less of a storyline in this one!

The premise, such as it is, is that Frankie hires an island witch doctor (Buster Keaton) to keep tabs on Dee Dee back home and make sure she's remaining faithful. (This involves a pelican spying on DeeDee and following her everywhere she goes...yeah, it's a pretty nutty film.) Frankie, meanwhile, is hypocritically canoodling with a lovely island girl (Irene Tsu), though he still loves Dee Dee.

Dee Dee, being loyal and true, turns down advances from Ricky (Dwayne "Dobie Gillis" Hickman), though when she gets word that Frankie may not share her loyalty, she briefly reconsiders.

Meanwhile there's a bunch of nonsense going on in the background with the likes of Mickey Rooney, Brian Donlevy, and Harvey Lembeck. Jody McCrea is on hand as tall, goofy Bonehead, and the lovely girls on the beach include Beverly Adams and Michele Carey.

The best things going for the movie are the cast of fun faces and the bright, cheery color, as well as the occasional song from Annette. It's pleasantly sunny entertainment to spend 93 minutes with on a holiday, but viewers shouldn't expect anything more; it may help if one is braced for complete insanity going in.

I will say that as a big BEWITCHED fan I was delighted by a cameo near the end of the movie; BIKINI director William Asher was married to BEWITCHED star Elizabeth Montgomery.

The movie was shot by Floyd Crosby.

The Olive Films Blu-ray looks terrific and will please fans of the "Beach Party" films. The disc includes the trailer.

This movie is also available from Olive Films in DVD format.

Thanks to Olive Films for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray.