Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine.

Review #1174: Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine.

Cast: 
Vincent Price (Dr. Goldfoot), Frankie Avalon (Craig Gamble), Dwayne Hickman (Todd Armstrong), Susan Hart (Diane), Jack Mullaney (Igor), Fred Clark (D.J. Pevney), Patti Chandler (Robot), Mary Hughes (Robot), Salli Sachse (Robot), Luree Holmes (Robot), Sue Hamilton (Robot), Laura Nicholson (Robot), and Marianne Gaba (Robot) Directed by Norman Taurog (#421 - Palm Springs Weekend and #523 - It Happened at the World's Fair)

Review: 
Admittedly, I suppose the basic proposition of "James Bond meets a beach party" must have sounded pretty enticing to turn into a movie, particularly if you have Vincent Price to inject some classiness (or ridiculousness, perhaps) into the whole affair. This was made on a budget of over a million dollars by American International Pictures, who could make and release films of various kinds, such as horror or beach party movies, and I suppose there really must've been something about the latter genre that was big for the 1960s, so what better way to build on that by combining/spoofing it with another thing big for the decade - spy films. James H. Nicholson (co-founder of the studio) helped write the story, while Elwood Ullman and Robert Kaufman helped do the screenplay. Reportedly, the original intent of the film was to have songs integrated throughout the film, for which Vincent Price was looking forward to sing. However, this did not come to pass, which disappointed him. Actually, I imagine it would've been pretty interesting to hear, but Samuel Z. Arkoff (AIP co-founder) thought he sounded too "fey" - wrap your head around that.

The end product is a movie that has a bunch of cheap gags and okay acting, with Price being the only one who really seems to shine with some sort of energy. I can't say that I disliked my experience with the movie, but I didn't find this movie to have enough in terms of successful humor and gags to really make this a worthwhile film to recommend. Price is entertaining, playing this ridiculous role with a fine sense of humor, and he is the only thing to really keep the film from derailing too much into lame gags. He can't elevate the movie into anything really good, but he does save the experience from being bland at least. Avalon and Hickman are okay, but they aren't too particularly interesting to follow along with, with the bumbling and stumbling only going so far before the film seems to grow tired. I couldn't help but think of Our Man Flint (1966), which also served as a spoof of the Bond film while being pretty silly, but somehow that film ends up working much better with its gags and spy hero. At least the song in the beginning by The Supremes is charming, complete with claymation designed by Art Clokey. The sequence at the end involving the streetcar in San Francisco is pretty interesting at least. There isn't really a terrible performance, but the movie simply doesn't have enough consistent energy to make its thin plot and gags work completely. Upon release, the movie was mildly successful, most notably doing well in Italy, which inspired a sequel called Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs that was released the following year. If one is looking for something that is simply silly without needing too much investment, perhaps this will fit right up the alley.

Happy Boxing Day, folks.

Overall, I give it 6 out of 10 stars.