This week’s contest at CineTV Blog (@cinetv/cine-tv-contest-23-favorite-party-movie) is Party Movies! When I told my daughter, Little Miss, her response was “Pajama Party!” She must be psychic as that is the film that came to my mind. Or maybe we’re both predictable. Or both. And it also has Party in the title (as does American International Pictures’ (AIP) Beach Party, the first in the series that includes this film as well as Ski Party, but that’s a different film entirely, and yes, I have seen all of the films in the set, and have all but one in my DVD collection). For more info on the AIP Beach Movies see - The Complete AIP Series.
Pajama Party is one of my daughter’s favorite films, and it is a fun film to watch. This is a film I did not see until around ten years ago when I had decided to collect the AIP Beach movies on DVD. At that time I quipped on Facebook that we had just watched The Best Science Fiction Film ever made, and provided the hint it had Kirk in it, My friends immediate assumed The Wrath of Khan. Sigh. The film stars Tommy Kirk as Go Go, a Martian sent to Earth as lead man for Mars’ planned invasion. And Annette Funicello as Connie, who becomes Go Go’s love interest. Yep, it has Martians, from Mars, making Pajama Party an SF film.
Pajama Party trailer - youtube.com
More importantly, it has PARTIES! And not just one, The film opens with a pool party at the mansion of eccentric Aunt Wendy (Elsa Lanchester – Bride of Frankenstein), while living next door to Aunt Wendy is con artist J. Sinister Hulk (Jesse White) and his gang that included Chief Rotten Eagle (Buster Keaton) and Helga (Bobbie Shaw) as the blonde Swedish bombshell. And of course, a beach movie staple, Eric Von Zipper (Harvey Lembeck) and the Rat Pack. Mix all of these together and you get a rollicking film full of parties, motor sports, fisticuffs, and even a defenestration (my daughter said I should mention that someone is defenestrated in the film – it is her favorite word). The climax of the film is the pajama party held at the mansion next door, rented by Sinister Hulk, where Connie sings the title song “Pajama Party”, and one big brawl between the “Volleyball kids” and the Rat Pack (who are heavily outnumbered) while Hulk and company try to find Aunt Wendy’s cash hidden in her mansion next door. that’s the basic summary of the film, and not many spoilers, and certainly none of consequence.
If you haven't guessed from my intro, and my first post on CineTV, I am a big fan of the Beach movies (as well as Star Trek) from when I was a kid. They are fun films with a lot of music, action, slapstick comedy and they take nothing seriously, just pure clean fun.
Eric Von Zipper (center) with Rat Pack - IMDB
Also, like my daughter, Eric Von Zipper was a favorite character. Why this is, is hard to explain, but The Zipper’s antics throughout the series of films that he appears in are a bloody hoot to watch (”Why me? Why always me?”).
Buster Keaton as Chief Rotten Eagle - IMDB
Another appeal to the films is several of them feature the legendary Buster Keaton providing a lot of slapstick physical comedy. In fact, Pajama Party was the first of four AIP beach movies in which Keaton appeared (and yes, I have all four of these films on DVD).
Before I forget, this film is an early film featuring both Teri Garr (listed as Teri Hope in the credits - thanks IMDB - best known for the Star Trek episode "Assignment Earth") and Toni Basil (song and music video "Mickey").
And, no, we didn’t watch it in our pajamas. We invited a couple of friends over (only one made it) to watch it with us, with pizza and homemade ice cream. Movies are best when shared with friends!
Thanks for stopping by.