Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

bluegreenbluegreen I watched it on tcm and enjoyed it. Minimizing Frankie and Annette is OK with me. I watched these movies as a kid, when they ran on LA TV, less than 10 years after they were made. F and A were the worst part.. I thought it was clever and about time to put frankie on a distant island.I remembered Buster Keaton's witch doctor .. and the pretty island girl, and the torpedo juice gag.. and liked them just as well as I did back then.I think it was a nice way to show kids a real actor, in the midst of this froth. And not in any way demeaning. A shaman, an old man with magic powers and mystery... whats wrong with that.. it's fitting. I loved the character then and now. He has his own set, his supporting players, and reccurs through-out the movie. At no point is he upstaged or interrupted by the youthful players.But Elizabeth Montgomery's cameo was indulgent and bugged me then even as now.Eric Van Zipper was great then, and even now a delight. One of the "mice" is a quite pretty blonde called "puss".. she's so serious- it plays well.Some-one mentioned musical "book-numbers".. I thought that was kind of cool.. and the fun part- setting it up, moving from dialogue to song to number.. was there, while the bad part- the music itself- was mercifully truncated. It played fine by me.Speeding up the race scenes was something borrowed from the greats of silent film... and made fun something that might have been tedious..I'm reminded now of the courtship motorcycle ride with Annette and the male lead.. that Was tedious.."Bonehead" is a wonderful character actor.. loved the girl sent by the witch doctor.. the clumsey gag was good..I liked the way the race was previewed by the sabatour explaining to Van Zipper how it would go down, and then we recognize it, before it happens, and enjoy it more that way. We know there is a tiger in the pit.By the way, no-one mentioned the gay innuendo involving the tiger. The blonde mouse says she's not OK with a woman being eaten by a tiger.. and the heavy says "well this tiger only likes to eat boys..." later, when Von Zipper is spared by the tiger, he exclaims.."I've never been so insulted..." Also, the island girl squeezes torpedo juice from a very phallic looking torpedo. The torpedo enters the screen nose first, with a shocking imagery.What else.. Liked the suits on the beach... nice juxtaposition.. and Micky Rooney was fun, and has nothing to be ashamed of in this, either. Contrast it with his and Buddy Hacket's dreary bit in "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World".Yeah, it's sophisticated- and I liked it. I'd of rated it higher, but I didn't want to give you the wrong idea.

wes-connors Annette Funicello is always tempting and/or is a temptation when left alone, so sailor Frankie Avalon goes to Witchdoctor Buster Keaton and sends an enchanted Pelican to watch over her. That doesn't stop Dwayne Hickman as "Ricky". Mickey Rooney as "Peachey Keane" arrives on the beach to search for "The Girl Next Door", and he finds an eager ally in Harvey Lembeck's "Eric Von Zipper", naturally...Is there such a thing as a "Cheap Beach Party" movie? This one could not wait for Ms. Funicello to either get in shape or have the baby. Mr. Avalon is hardly present at all; strangely enough, he is missed. The film is unimaginative in recycling ideas both good and bad. Astute observers will know the "twitch" in the ending cameo isn't even done correctly. On the plus side, Mr. Keaton has more to do this time around, and it's good to see he and Mr. Rooney in a film. The song material sounds better at the end, and the opening credits are the highlight. Still, the "Beach Party" film series looks more tired with every entry… ** How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (7/14/65) William Asher ~ Annette Funicello, Dwayne Hickman, Mickey Rooney

Skragg Like Jackie19, it's nearly my least favorite of the beach movies, but luckily, that isn't much of an insult. Along with all the regular actors, there are the great guest actors. Buster Keaton's witch doctor (along with Bobbi Shaw's native girl) may not be the most enlightened image of a Polynesian, but he manages to be very funny in the part. (I'm sure plenty of people see these movies as a big, embarrassing step down for people like him, but I see no good reason why.) And of course, Irene Tsu as the girl who tries to tempt Frankie. Then, there's Len Lesser, who's just about as great a comical villain in this one as Timothy Carey is in Beach Blanket Bingo. And of course, Mickey Rooney. Someone mentioned the "touching her boob" bit that he gets away with, but one of his scenes also has a fairly funny gay joke. Rooney asks one of the surfers (someone in that scene alone) if he's seen the exciting girl that so much of the film is about, the one that all the boys are crazy about, and the character says in a lisping voice, "Certainly not!"

dkmharry My 12 year old watched this with me this morning (it was raining) and she was laughing at the old fashionedness of the movie. I would have rather watched a better example of the "beach movie" but we still had fun.At one point Mickey Rooney tells one of the bikini clad girls how cute she is and goes to chuck her on her chin, and on the way to her chin, his hand clips her right breast. My daughter said, "Hey, did he just touch her boob?" Well, we have TIVO and rewound the movie. Yes he did. How'd that get by the censors?But the musical scenes were hysterical for her, and we both agreed that Annette looked way too old to be hanging out with all of the bikini girls! And why wasn't she screaming when she took that motorcycle ride?