You might be wondering why you see a photo of Annette Funicello & Frankie Avalon and not Liz. Well, I'll tell you. Liz wasn't in this movie! At least we don't see her in it. Let me explain. Back in 1964 Elizabeth Montgomery was married to producer/director William Asher. He was largely responsible for Bewitched. While he kept busy with TV he was also still making movies. He wrote & directed many of the "beach" movies like Beach Party (1963), Muscle Beach Party (1964), How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965, also with a Liz cameo) & Beach Blanket Bingo (1965). Now while it's common practice to have one actor dub in the voice of another, it's was just a little surprizing to me to discover our Elizabeth doing two voices in this film. You have to wonder what the circumstances were regarding this looping.
One voice over is of an actress in the movie that was surely capable of of doing her own speaking. She is seen and heard throughout the movie, accept for the loop while reading the headline of a newspaper. (See the video capture & listen to the accompanying sound wav). That bit is what made my ears perk up the first time I saw this movie. I had just turned on TV & figured I'd leave on this silly movie while I did the dishes. Now Liz wasn't credited at all in this romp, so when I heard her speak from the living room I ran in from the kitchen with wet hands to see a headline - but no Liz! I knew it had to be her! I called a friend who promptly told me I was going "nuts." So the next time the movie was on I decided to tape it. There she was again and now I had it on tape to prove it. I played it for a couple of my friends who are also Liz fans and they then agreed with me. It was Liz!
On viewing the movie a second time I also realized that Liz was suppling the voice for another character. Her name was "Ladibug." Liz was using her phoney, comedic French accent. The same accent that I had heard in an early TV appearance from 1962. Click on this photo to hear for yourself. The scene is from "Mr. Lucifer" and is 336KB.
Below you can hear two snipets from "Bikini Beach." I guess the Ashers never thought we'd catch on to their little inside joke. Video tape is a real blessing. Who knows where else we may find an uncredited Liz cameo.
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Liz did this off camera voice over for one of the actresses |
She was heard again throughout the film as "Ladibug" |