Her plan backfires when the surfer she hired pawns the job off on none other than Moondoggie, unaware that he was the one Gidget wanted to make jealous. It's not your typical sixties teen beach movie about surfing, sand, and sex. Although the original Gidget was blonde, subsequent Gidgets sported a variety of hair colors. She quickly becomes infatuated with him, but he shows no romantic interest, however Frances is more attracted to surfing than man hunting. (1959). Howard Thompson wrote in the New York Times of April 23, 1959, "[The film] is enough to make anybody leave one of the neighborhood theatres, where it opened yesterday, and light out for Long Island Sound. Release Dates / ... (uncredited), Blonde Girl Dancing "Iconic swimsuit designer the subject of new exhibition at BYU Library", The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story, White Hot: The Mysterious Murder of Thelma Todd, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gidget_(film)&oldid=984090186, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 18 October 2020, at 03:11. If you're at the local video store one night and want something that's not too complex and is just good, clean fun, then GIDGET is highly recommended!!!!! Choose an adventure below and discover your next favorite movie or TV show. An unsophisticated young woman from the Mississippi swamps falls in love with an unconventional southern gentleman. Hoping to make Moondoggie jealous, Gidget hires one of the other surfers in the gang to be her date to a luau party on the beach. Comedy. Francine (Gidget) is desperate: her parents want to force her to come with them on vacation to Hawaii - just during the two weeks when her beloved "Moondoggie" is home from College. In 1987, Gidget was spoofed in the off-Broadway play Psycho Beach Party. The film was shot during the winter of 1959 at Leo Carrillo State Park. Certificate: Passed Gidget (1959) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. | Kahuna cheerfully warns Moondoggie that Gidget is quite a woman. The popularity of the film led to a "Miss Gidget" contest which was won by Barbara Bouchet in 1959. Eventually Moondoggie says something that upsets Gidget and, as she flees the luau, she runs into Kahuna and agrees to take him to a nearby beach house. Tom Zoerner . Official Sites A father's attempts to protect his college-age daughter from trouble backfire and he finds himself in the middle of scandal after scandal. It also paints a very convincing picture of the beach-bum lifestyle, much more so than the Frankie Avalon–Annette Funicello beach party movies."[12]. A Los Angeles doctor falls for a Mississippi girl working as a nurse's aide in his hospital. Due to an accident while swimming in the sea, Francis meets the surfer Moondoggy. 10 Of Sally Field's Best Performances, Ranked By Rotten Tomatoes, Sally Field, Linda Ronstadt and ‘Sesame Street’ to Be Recognized at 2019 Kennedy Center Honors, Sally Field, Linda Ronstadt and ‘Sesame Street’ Among 2019 Kennedy Center Honorees, Join A Television Family: 1960-1979 Edition, Best Surf Slang That Is Also a Movie Title, Favorite Character-Titled TV Series: Before 1990, Tom Zoerner . 32 of 33 people found this review helpful. In 1969, a telemovie Gidget Grows Up starring Karen Valentine was aired. Although they make fun of her at first, they teach her to surf. / ... Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. ", Title: They're fun and teach a lesson without being too preachy. Gidget finally gets married and rebels against the social caste system in her new husband's company. Looking for something to watch? In 2000, a film was released based on the play. She can persuade her parents to allow them a journey to Rome, together with two of her and two of his friends. Moondoggie admires Kahuna and wants to emulate him by joining Kahuna in working his way on a freighter to go surfing in Peru at summer's end, instead of going to university as his self-made father plans.