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Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine
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Wikipedia article
'Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine' is a 1965 American International Pictures comedy film, made in Pathcolor, directed by Norman Taurog. It stars Vincent Price, Frankie Avalon, Dwayne Hickman, Susan Hart and Jack Mullaney, and features Fred Clark. It is a parody of the then-popular spy film trend (the title is a spoof of two James Bond films: the 1962 film 'Dr. No' and the 1964 hit 'Goldfinger'), made using actors from AIP's beach party and Edgar Allan Poe films.
Despite its low production values, the film has achieved a certain cult status for the appearance of horror legend Vincent Price and AIP's beach party film alumni, its in-jokes and over-the-top sexuality, the claymation title sequence designed by Art Clokey, and a title song performed by The Supremes.
The movie was retitled 'Dr G. and the Bikini Machine' in England due to a threatened lawsuit from Eon, holder of the rights to the James Bond movies.
The success of the film on its 1965 release led to a sequel, made the following year, entitled 'Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs'.
Plot
Price plays the titular mad scientist who, with the questionable assistance of his resurrected flunky Igor, builds a gang of female robots who are then dispatched to seduce and rob wealthy men. Avalon and Hickman play the bumbling heroes who attempt to thwart Goldfoot's scheme. The film's climax is an extended chase through the streets of San Francisco.
Cast
* Vincent Price as Dr. Goldfoot
* Frankie Avalon as Craig Gamble
* Dwayne Hickman as Todd Armstrong
* Susan Hart as Diane
* Jack Mullaney as Igor
* Fred Clark as D. J. Pevney
* Alberta Nelson as Reject No. 12
* Milton Frome as Motorcycle cop
* Hal Riddle as Newsvendor
* Joe Ploski as Cook
'Robots'
* Patti Chandler
* Mary Hughes
* Salli Sachse
* Luree Holmes
* Sue Hamilton
* Laura Nicholson
* Marianne Gaba
* China Lee
* Issa Arnal
* Deanna Lund
* Pamela Rodgers
* Leslie Summers
* Sally Frei
* Kay Michaels
* Jan Watson
* Arlene Charles
* Alberta Nelson
'Cameos'
* Harvey Lembeck
* Deborah Walley
* Aron Kincaid
* Annette Funicello
'Cast notes'
* Frankie Avalon and Dwayne Hickman play the same characters they did in the previous year's 'Ski Party', except that the characters' names were swapped.
* Annette Funicello makes a brief cameo appearance as a girl locked in medieval stocks in Dr. Goldfoot's lair. Frankie Avalon lifts her head, then looks at the camera and says, "It can't be!" Pregnant with her first child at the time, Funicello was placed in the stocks in order to hide her stomach.
* Harvey Lembeck also makes a cameo appearance as his Eric Von Zipper character, enchained along with his motorcycle in Goldfoot's lair. Lembeck also appeared as Goldfoot's assistant, Hugo, in the TV special 'The Wild Weird World of Dr. Goldfoot'.
* Among the girls who play Goldfoot's robots are Deanna Lund, three years before joining the cast of Irwin Allen's science fiction series 'Land of the Giants'; China Lee, a former 'Playboy' Playmate married to Mort Sahl; Luree Holmes and Laura Nicholson, the daughters of James H. Nicholson; and Alberta Nelson, who was also in all seven of AIP's Beach Party films as a member of Eric Von Zipper's motorcycle gang, The Rat Pack.
Production
Development
The original idea for this motion picture came from James H. Nicholson, the President of American International Pictures, who wanted to showcase the versatile talents of AIP contract player Susan Hart. Nicholson provided the story, and is credited as "James Hartford." He hired Robert Kaufman to write the first draft. Director Norman Taurog hired Elwood Ullman to do a rewrite, and Taurog remained intimately involved with the content. Deke Heyward later claimed, without substantiation, that he completely rewrote Robert Kaufman's script.Tom Weaver, Michael Brunas, John Brunas, "Louis M. Heyward" 'Science Fiction Stars and Horror Heroes: Interviews with Actors, Directors, Producers and Writers of the 1940s through 1960s' McFarland (1991) pp.157158, 166The original title was announced as 'Dr Goldfoot and the Sex Machine', and the film was to be directed by William Asher. Taurog shortly thereafter assumed the helm as director, and Dwayne Hickman joined the cast. Filming began in late summer 1965, with one of AIP's largest-ever budgets. It was the first AIP movie to cost over a million dollars.
Vincent Price stated in a 1987 interview with David Del Valle that the original script was a camp musical, comparing it to 'Little Shop of Horrors'. Price stated, "It could have been fun, but they cut all the music out", though he is not clear whether the footage was actually shot or the idea was abandoned during production. According to Susan Hart:
One of the best scenes I've seen on film was Vincent Price singing about the bikini machine it was excellent. And I was told it was taken out because Sam Arkoff thought that Vincent Price looked too fey. But his character was fey! By taking that particular scene out, I believe they took the explanation and the meat out of that picture... It was a really unique explanatory scene and Vincent Price was beautiful in it, right on the money.Weaver, Tom. "Susan Hart", 'Double Feature Creature Attack: A Monster Merger of Two More Volumes of Classic Interviews', McFarland, 2003. p.138
According to Norman Taurog's biographer:
The original plan had been to follow the AIP formula and have songs integrated throughout the film, but Norman brought in Elwood Ullman to do a rewrite ... and the final script read like a good-natured spoof on the James Bond films with no songs. This apparently disappointed Vincent Price, who had been looking forward to singing.
Shooting
The film is notable for its scenic photography of San Francisco. The streetcar scene was filmed at the West Portal tunnel. Filming went for over 30 days, taking place on location in San Francisco and on the backlots at the Producers Studio and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios. The day after the company returned from San Francisco, rioting broke out in Watts in South Los Angeles. On August 30, the unit moved to MGM Studios Lot 2 to shoot on their "New York Street" set for a couple of days before returning to the Producers Studio.The climactic chase sequence was filmed in the Bay Area. The stuntmen included Carey Loftin, Paul Stader, Troy Melton, Jerry Summers, Ronnie Ron-dell, Bob Harris, Louis Elias, David Sharpe, Harvey Parry, and Bill Hickman.Michael A. Hoey, 'Elvis' Favorite Director: The Amazing 52-Film Career of Norman Taurog', Bear Manor Media 2013
When designing Goldfoot's lair, Daniel Haller re-used some of his designs from 1961's 'The Pit and the Pendulum'. Stock footage of battleships from another AIP release, 'Godzilla vs. The Thing' appears during the climax.
Susan Hart's hair was done by Jon Peters.pp. 138-139 Weaver
Accident
During filming in Los Angeles, the city was gripped by a heatwave. Sometimes temperatures on one of the sound stages reached over by mid-afternoon. On the afternoon of August 15, 1965, the company was returning from lunch when one of the electricians, Roy Hicks, passed out from the heat and fell to his death from a catwalk.Theme song
The theme song was recorded by The Supremes as a single-sided unreleased promotional single.Ribowsky, M. (2009), 'The Supremes: A Saga of Motown Dreams, Success, and Betrayal', Da Capo Press, , p.417[http://motownjunkies.co.uk/2014/07/03/670/ The Supremes]Reception
The film had its premiere at the Golden Gate Theatre in San Francisco, where Nicholson had been a manager.Irene Can't Wait for 'Heaven Train' 'Los Angeles Times' (September 20, 1965) The key cast members embarked on a 30-day tour of 18 cities in 13 countries to promote the film.
Box office
According to Norman Taurog's biographer, the film "was a moderate success in the United States, but did quite well in Europe, particularly in Italy."Critical response
The 'Los Angeles Times' said the film "has enough fresh, amusing gags to make it entertaining... Price is splendid."Harford, Margaret. "'Goldfoot' Sparkling Comedy" 'Los Angeles Times' (November 13, 1965)Sequel
AIP Television produced a musical TV special episode promoting 'Doctor Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine' that appeared for one night in temporary place of the ABC scheduled show 'Shindig!' This show, called 'The Wild Weird World of Dr. Goldfoot', starred Vincent Price, Tommy Kirk and Susan Hart, and featured many songs that may have been cut from the cinema release.The title of the television show may have been inspired by the November 1965 'The Incredible World of James Bond' designed to give publicity to the upcoming release of 'Thunderball'. Louis M. Heyward and Stanley Ross wrote the 30-minute short comedy musical TV special which aired Nov 18, 1965 on the ABC network.
In July 1965 it was announced a sequel would be made the following year called 'Dr. Goldfoot for President', to begin filming May 14, 1966 for a September 14 release."AIP to Discontinue Second Features", 'Box Office' (July 5, 1965) Vincent Price returned for the 1966 sequel, 'Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs', directed by Mario Bava.
See also
* List of American films of 1965
References
'Notes'
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