AIR PATROL

Willard Parker

AIR PATROL (1962). Director: Maury Dexter. 

A painting worth $350,000 is stolen from a gallery. Since a copter was used in the robbery, Lt. Vern Taylor (Willard Parker of Naked Gun) calls in Sgt. Castle (Robert Dix) of Air Patrol for assistance. Suspects include the gallery owner Murcott (John Holland); his testy secretary, Mona (Merry Anders of The Hypnotic Eye); ex-movie star Millard Nolan, a former owner of the painting (Douglass Dumbrille of King of the Mounties); and a pilot named Dunning (Ivan Bonar). 

Merry Anders

It's a question why Twentieth-Century Fox decided to film this short black and white production in CinemaScope, as the script is distinctly minor-league, like a television pilot for a cop show. However, at least the flick takes advantage of Los Angeles locations, including the Sepulveda Dam and drain tunnels and the Hollywood Bowl. The chase sequence at the end has minimal suspense because none of the good guys or gals are in danger, only the villain of the piece. While the acting is generally good, sometimes the performances give the impression that the actors were handed the script only a few minutes before shooting. Russ Bender of Anatomy of a Psycho is also in the film and plays a cop. Maury Dexter also directed Surf Party. 

Verdict: Acceptable crime drama is nothing special. **1/2. 

SURF PARTY

Bobby Vinton and Patricia Morrow

SURF PARTY (1964). Director: Maury Dexter. 

Terry (Patricia Morrow) and her friends Sylvia (Lory Patrick) and Junior (Jackie DeShannon) drive out to California and the surf district in their camper and encounter the friendly shop owner, Len (Bobby Vinton), who teaches them about surfing. Terry's brother Skeets (Jerry Summers) lives in a ritzy beach house that is actually owned by his paramour Pauline (Martha Stewart). While Terry is getting closer to Len and Junior is cuddling up to the nerdy Milo (Ken Miller) -- who is injured surfing near pilings -- Sylvia is falling for Skeets, not knowing that he is kept by a cougar. Sgt. Neal (Richard Crane) casts a suspicious eye on all of them. 

Jerry Summers and Lory Patrick

DeShannon and Vinton were both very popular pop singers of the sixties and later. Vinton doesn't just sing a song or two in this, he is the full-fledged male lead, and I have to say I think I like his very credible acting a bit more than his singing. One wishes he had had a bigger acting career although he did appear in a couple of westerns, as well as TV shows, sometimes playing himself. (His son played Vinton in Goodfellas.) Jerry Summers is also notable as the aging gigolo; Summers started out as a stunt double then became an actor with a long list of credits. Starting out as a child actress, Morrow eventually appeared on more than one Peyton Place TV series. Martha Stewart had appeared in a few well-known movies but had only one more television credit after this movie. Jimmie Haskell's surprisingly somber score (for the dramatic scenes) is good and there are some bouncy song numbers: "Never Comin' Back;" "Pearly Shells;" and "If I Were an Artist." Maury Dexter also directed The Young Swingers. Released by 20th-Century Fox. 

Verdict: Not as bad as I expected although there are a couple of dull stretches. **1/2. 

THE YOUNG SWINGERS

Molly Bee and Rod Lauren

THE YOUNG SWINGERS (1963). Director: Maury Dexter.

Mel Hudson (Rod Lauren) manages a Hootenanny club called the Vanguard. The owner of the building, a witch named Roberta Crawford (Jo Helton), wants the club out of there and employs dirty tricks to get them gone, using her lawyer Bruce Webster (Justin Smith) to do most of the work for her. Her granddaughter, Vicki (Molly Bee), takes over while Roberta is out of town, and strikes up an acquaintanceship -- and more -- with Mel. Can they get her aunt to change her mind? Meanwhile everyone, including Mel, Vicki, Fred (Gene McDaniels), Pete (Larrs Jackson, who also does impressions), and the Sherwood Singers perform some perfectly pleasant numbers. 

Gene McDaniels

The Young Swingers is not a good movie, but at least everyone in it has a more than decent voice, and most sound much better than the pop singers of today, most of whom sound alike (and are auto-tuned on top of it). Rod Lauren sings better than he acts in this -- he seems tranquilized most of the time -- but he was to become more expressive in such films as Black Zoo (in which he played a mute character). Years later he was accused of hiring someone to murder his Filipino wife. Molly Bee first came to fame at 13 warbling "I Saw Daddy Kissing Santa Claus" and had a respectable vocal career with only a few film credits. Larrs Jackson (aka Jack Larson), who does a lousy impression of Groucho but isn't bad at Ed Sullivan and Walter Brennan, had quite a number of credits after this. Of all the singers in this perhaps the most impressive is Gene McDaniels, who sings two snappy numbers and sings them really well. He should have become as famous as Johnny Mathis and others. 

Verdict: Good songs, good singing, but no real story. **1/4.