PAJAMA PARTY (1964) review by BRAD HAMLIN for MYSTERY ISLAND PUBLICATIONS



Pajama Party is the 4th installment in the “official” Beach Party series, one of two films directed by Don Weis, the other was Ghost in the Invisible Bikini and both star Tommy Kirk, not Frankie Avalon.

Some of you may remember that Tommy Kirk starred with Annette Funicello in the 1959 Disney film: The Shaggy Dog, but she also knew Tommy from her earlier days as a Mouseketeer on The Mickey Mouse Club. Kirk played Joe Hardy of The Hardy Brothers on a back up segment of the show. Kirk and Funicello also starred the next year [after Pajama Party] in The Monkey’s Uncle (1965). That movie features a fun/goofy title song sung by Annette backed up by The Beach Boys, so … it’s all pop culture connected and Tommy Kirk was a good choice to stand in while Frankie was no doubt working on the American International classic: Sergeant Dead Head. Come on AIP (or current owner of the catalog) release Sergeant Dead Head on DVD!

Anyway, back to our review …

The way to understand Pajama Party is to view it as a movie made by the cast of the Beach Party gang—as if the characters themselves were asked to make a pajama party movie. Dee Dee [Annette] suddenly becomes “Connie.” Deadhead [Jody McCrea] becomes “Big Lunk,” no doubt again because Frankie was working on a movie with “Dead Head” in the title. Funny thing is Harvey Lembeck’s character never changes. Eric Von Zipper is Eric Von Zipper in six out of the seven official films, [the Zipper gang does not appear in Muscle Beach Party] and most-likely other spin-offs as well. That actually makes Eric Von Zipper the most consistent character of the beach party series.

Another interesting aspect of Pajama Party is the kooky addition of Buster Keaton … Buster may have been funny in the very silent films, but in 1964 he was running around in an “Indian” costume as “Chief Rotten Eagle” yelling: “Cowabunga!”

A note on cowabunga: Many people believe the word cowabunga popped up with a cartoon kid named Bart Simpson or from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but in actuality the term began as an Native Indian cliché on The Howdy Doody Show. According to the online Wiktionary the spelling at the time was “kawabonga.” Yet wiki goes on to say the term was popularized by the above-mentioned cartoon characters, which of course is far from true. I grew up hearing beach kids yell cowabunga at each other, but my generation’s pop culture influence and the birth of the “cowabunga” spelling came out of Buster Keaton’s mouth, as yet again, an Indian cliché, thereby making it pretty hard to argue his presentation in this film. Buster Keaton added something to the California mythology.

You may have wondered why I haven’t talked yet about the twenty-something girls in their PJ’s playing “wholesome American teenagers.”

Okay then, well, I have to say the most notable entry there is the addition of Susan Hart. Pajama Party begins with the beach party gang having a pool party, featuring a wonderful shot of Susan Hart doing a hula in a bikini … Don Weis definitely took notice as Susan Hart became the star of the second Weis beach party film as the ghost inside the invisible bikini.

Uh, where was I … Oh yeah, PJs! Annette sings to her stuffed animals while in her PJs as her girlfriends sway back and forth relating to her boy-troubled lyrics. Classic!

Plus you get a whole choreographed pajama poolside dance routine where Annette’s singing [in PJs of course] and Teri Gar and Toni Basi dance behind her doing the watusi in their PJs. How cool could any genre be?

And, lest you think Frankie Avalon is not in this picture … he actually plays the Martian leader and Don Rickles plays his Martian henchman “Big Bang.” Did I forget to mention that Tommy Kirk’s lead character is a Martian? Yeah, he’s sent down to Earth by Frankie to scope out a possible invasion, but becomes Annette’s [Connie’s] Martian boyfriend instead. Smart Martian.

Okay, that’s enough for now, but we'll be back with a look at Ski Party and Beach Blanket Bingo!



“Pajama Party Review" by Brad Hamlin
Published: 08.04.08 by Mystery Island Publications.
All rights reserved. Do not reprint or link without permission of the author.



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