Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine
Encyclopedia
Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine is a 1965 American International Pictures
film directed by Norman Taurog
and starring Vincent Price
, Frankie Avalon
, Dwayne Hickman
, Susan Hart and Deborah Walley
. This is a parody of the then-popular spy film
trend, particularly the 1964 James Bond
hit Goldfinger
.
who, with the questionable assistance of his resurrected flunky Mullaney, builds a gang of female robot
s who are then dispatched to seduce and rob wealthy men. (Goldfoot's name reflects his and his robots' choice in footwear.) Avalon and Hickman play the bumbling heroes who attempt to thwart Goldfoot's scheme. The film's climax is an extended car–bike–cable car
–boat-on-wheels chase through the streets of San Francisco.
alumni, its in-joke
s and over-the-top sexism
, the claymation title sequence designed by Art Clokey
, and a title song performed by The Supremes
. (The lyrics of the song use the phrase "Dr. Goldfoot and his bikini machine", reflecting the film's original title, which was changed before release.)
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. An AIP Television special that appeared on Shindig!
in November 1965 called The Wild Weird World of Dr. Goldfoot 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
.
The film is notable for its scenic photography of San Francisco, California. The cablecar scene is filmed at the West Portal tunnel.
Susan Hart's hair was done by Jon Peters
.
In Britain this film was released as Dr. G. and the Bikini Machine due to legal action by a London-based Doctor Goldfoot.
, three years before joining the cast of Irwin Allen
's science fiction series Land of the Giants
. Frankie Avalon and Dwayne Hickman play the same characters they did in the previous year's Ski Party
.
, directed by Mario Bava
.
American International Pictures
American International Pictures was a film production company formed in April 1956 from American Releasing Corporation by James H. Nicholson, former Sales Manager of Realart Pictures, and Samuel Z. Arkoff, an entertainment lawyer...
film directed by Norman Taurog
Norman Taurog
Norman Rae Taurog was an American film director, and screenwriter.Between 1920 and 1968, Taurog directed over 140 films, and directed Elvis Presley in more movies than any other director...
and starring Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
, Frankie Avalon
Frankie Avalon
Frankie Avalon is an American actor, singer, playwright, and former teen idol.-Career:By the time he was 12, Avalon was on U.S. television playing his trumpet. As a teenager he played with Bobby Rydell in Rocco and the Saints...
, Dwayne Hickman
Dwayne Hickman
Dwayne Bernard Hickman is a former American actor and television executive at CBS.He is known primarily for his "teenage" actor roles on television sitcoms. The naturally brown-headed Hickman is best known for playing Chuck MacDonald, Bob Collins's crazy teenaged nephew, on the popular 1950s...
, Susan Hart and Deborah Walley
Deborah Walley
Deborah Walley was an American actress.-Biographical Information:Deborah Walley was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to Ice Capades skating stars and choreographers Nathan and Edith Walley. She attended Central High School in Bridgeport. At fourteen she was playing summer-stock theatre. She...
. This is a parody of the then-popular spy film
Spy film
The spy film genre deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way or as a basis for fantasy . Many novels in the spy fiction genre have been adapted as films, including works by John Buchan, John Le Carré, Ian Fleming and Len Deighton...
trend, particularly the 1964 James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
hit Goldfinger
Goldfinger (film)
Goldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond series and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1964, it is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title...
.
Synopsis
Price plays the titular mad scientistMad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
who, with the questionable assistance of his resurrected flunky Mullaney, builds a gang of female robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
s who are then dispatched to seduce and rob wealthy men. (Goldfoot's name reflects his and his robots' choice in footwear.) Avalon and Hickman play the bumbling heroes who attempt to thwart Goldfoot's scheme. The film's climax is an extended car–bike–cable car
San Francisco cable car system
The San Francisco cable car system is the world's last permanently operational manually operated cable car system, in the US sense of a tramway whose cars are pulled along by cables embedded in the street. It is an icon of San Francisco, California...
–boat-on-wheels chase through the streets of San Francisco.
Production
Despite its low production values, the film has achieved a certain cult status for the appearance of Price and other AIP Beach Party filmBeach Party film
Beach party movies were an American 1960s genre of feature films created by American International Pictures with their surprise 1963 hit, Beach Party, and copied by virtually every other studio...
alumni, its in-joke
In-joke
An in-joke, also known as an inside joke or in joke, is a joke whose humour is clear only to people who are in a particular social group, occupation, or other community of common understanding...
s and over-the-top sexism
Sexism
Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...
, the claymation title sequence designed by Art Clokey
Art Clokey
Arthur "Art" Clokey was a pioneer in the popularization of stop motion clay animation, beginning in 1955 with a film experiment called Gumbasia, influenced by his professor, Slavko Vorkapich, at the University of Southern California.After the Gumbasia project, Art Clokey and his wife Ruth came up...
, and a title song performed by The Supremes
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
. (The lyrics of the song use the phrase "Dr. Goldfoot and his bikini machine", reflecting the film's original title, which was changed before release.)
Vincent Price
Vincent Price
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. was an American actor, well known for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of horror films made in the latter part of his career.-Early life and career:Price was born in St...
stated in a 1987 interview with David Del Valle
David Del Valle
David Del Valle is a journalist, columnist, film historian, radio and television commentator on the horror/science-fiction/cult and fantasy film genres.-Career:...
that the original script was a camp
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
, comparing it to Little Shop of Horrors
Little Shop of Horrors (1986 film)
Little Shop of Horrors is a 1986 American comedy musical film adaptation of the off-Broadway musical comedy of the same name by composer Alan Menken and writer Howard Ashman, about a nerdy florist shop worker who raises a vicious plant that feeds on human blood...
. 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. An AIP Television special that appeared on Shindig!
Shindig!
Shindig! was an American musical variety series which aired on ABC from September 16, 1964 to January 8, 1966. The show was hosted by Jimmy O'Neill, a disc jockey in Los Angeles at the time who also created the show along with his wife Sharon Sheeley and production executive Art Stolnitz....
in November 1965 called The Wild Weird World of Dr. Goldfoot 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
The Incredible World of James Bond
The Incredible World of James Bond was a 1965 television special produced by David L. Wolper for United Artists Television to showcase the James Bond film series and promote the upcoming December 1965 release of the film Thunderball....
designed to give publicity to the upcoming release of Thunderball
Thunderball (film)
Thunderball is the fourth spy film in the James Bond series starring Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming, which in turn was based on an original screenplay by Jack Whittingham...
.
The film is notable for its scenic photography of San Francisco, California. The cablecar scene is filmed at the West Portal tunnel.
Susan Hart's hair was done by Jon Peters
Jon Peters
Jon Peters is an American movie producer.-Early life:Peters was born John H. Peters in Van Nuys, California, the son of Helen , a receptionist, and Jack Peters, a cook...
.
In Britain this film was released as Dr. G. and the Bikini Machine due to legal action by a London-based Doctor Goldfoot.
Cast notes
One of Goldfoot's bikini-clad female robots is played by Deanna LundDeanna Lund
Deanna Lund is an American film and television actress best remembered for her role in the Irwin Allen television series Land of the Giants, where she played the character of Valerie Ames Scott.-Early life:...
, three years before joining the cast of Irwin Allen
Irwin Allen
Irwin Allen was a television and film director and producer nicknamed "The Master of Disaster" for his work in the disaster film genre. He was also notable for creating a number of television series.- Biography :...
's science fiction series Land of the Giants
Land of the Giants
Land of the Giants was an hour-long American science fiction television program lasting two seasons beginning on September 22, 1968 and ending on March 22, 1970. The show was created and produced by Irwin Allen. Land of the Giants was the fourth of Allen's science fiction TV series. The show was...
. Frankie Avalon and Dwayne Hickman play the same characters they did in the previous year's Ski Party
Ski Party
Ski Party is a B-movie, directed by Alan Rafkin, and released in 1965 by American International Pictures. Ski Party is part of the 1960s Beach Party film genre, with a change of setting from the beach to the slopes - although the final scene places everyone back at the beach...
.
Sequel
Vincent Price returned for the 1966 sequel, Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl BombsDr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs
Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs is a 1966 Italian spy-spoof film directed by Mario Bava and starring Vincent Price, Fabian, Francesco Mulé, Laura Antonelli and the Italian comedy team of Franco Franchi and Ciccio Ingrassia....
, directed by Mario Bava
Mario Bava
Mario Bava was an Italian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer remembered as one of the greatest names from the "golden age" of Italian horror films.-Biography:Mario Bava was born in San Remo, Liguria, Italy...
.