Aug. 5, 1964 - Opening today is “Ride the Wild Surf,” a romantic drama film. The cast includes Fabian, Shelley Fabares, Barbara Eden, Tab Hunter, Peter Brown, Susan Hart, and James Mitchum (son of Robert Mitchum).
Unlike the beach party movies currently riding a wave of popularity, this film is a departure from the typical Hollywood approach to surfing, as it is a drama, not a comedy. The film, which has exceptional big-wave surf footage shot in Hawaii, has only one pop song — the title track by Jan and Dean, which is heard once at the end. Most of the film was shot on Oahu.
Surfers Miki Dora, Greg Noll, and Butch Van Artsdalen performed a large part of the surfing seen in the film. Footage of Hunter, Brown and Fabian on surfboards was shot on the Columbia backlot, using back projection.
Jan and Dean were both scheduled to appear in the film, supporting Fabian, but they were pulled by Columbia Pictures after Dean’s friend, Barry Keenan, became involved in the kidnapping of Frank Sinatra Jr. last December. They were replaced by Hunter and Brown.
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