Beach party movies were an American 1960s genre of feature films created by American International Pictures (AIP) with their surprise 1963 hit, Beach Party, and copied by virtually every other studio. Precursors to the genre were Columbia Pictures 1959 release Gidget, starring Sandra Dee as a teenage surfer girl, and 1961’s Gidget Goes Hawaiian. American International’s films took the Gidget idea, added more music and far more bikinis, and removed nearly all references to parents. The films helped popularize surfing and surf music, and they often included on-screen performances by well-known pop groups.
Beach party movies
