Roger Bacon Movies
- 1986
In this drama a veteran cop takes in a problematic adolescent who might have seen several policemen murdered. The old cop sees his action as a way of regaining his self-respect. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1966
A nebbish tries to become a ladies' man overnight, with disastrous results, in this comedy. Bob Handman (Brian Bedford) is a bright but painfully shy young man who is more than a bit nervous around the opposite sex. While attending a Mozart recital, he meets a beautiful woman named Doreen Marshall (Julie Sommars), and he displays his typical panache with the ladies by spilling his drink all over her. Bob somehow works up the courage to ask Doreen for a date, and she accepts; not sure what to do next, Bob calls on his buddy Ted (James Farentino), a self-assured playboy who tries to give Bob a crash course on how to handle women. However, the teacher outshines the student, and Doreen falls for Ted's easy charm while Bob gets drunk and bemoans the sad state of his love life. The Pad and How to Use It was based on a one-act play by Peter Shaffer, who later went on to greater success with Equus and Amadeus. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Brian Bedford, Julie Sommars, (more)
Out of the beaches and into the boudoirs go Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello and the rest of the gang in Pajama Party. Actually, the whole megillah is as innocent as a newborn babe, but there's plenty of smirking and snickering during a wild 'n' wacky girl's slumber party. Frankie Avalon has only a cameo, relinquishing center stage to Tommy Kirk, playing a teenaged Martian (!) studying the lovemaking rituals of Earthlings. Old-timers Buster Keaton, Dorothy Lamour and Elsa Lanchester also weave in and out of the proceedings, with Keaton the only one who doesn't look as though he wishes he were somewhere else. And of course there's good old Harvey Lembeck as good old Eric "Why Me?" Von Zipper. Director Don Weis took over for Beach Party's William Asher in Pajama Party, remaining in charge for the ill-fated sequel Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tommy Kirk, Annette Funicello, (more)
- 1963
Professor Bob Cummings is an anthropologist who uses a telescope to study the mating habits of teenagers, namely Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. However, Cummings' secretary Dorothy Malone wishes that his boss would get his mind off bikinis and surfers. Meanwhile trouble brews when Eric Von Zipper (Harvey Lembeck) tries to abduct Annette. Watch for cameo appearances by Vincent Price and Elizabeth Montgomery. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Cummings, Dorothy Malone, (more)
- 1963
This light romantic comedy filmed on location in Palm Springs finds couples engaging in a kissing frenzy of puppy love. Jim (Troy Donahue) has eyes for Bunny (Stephanie Powers), unaware she is the daughter of the local chief of police (Andrew Duggan). Connie Stevens, Jack Weston, Ty Hardin and Jerry Van Dyke. The Modern Folk Quartet makes an out-of-place appearance performing in a casino. Robert Conrad is the spoiled rotten rich kid who tries to interfere with love and romance with his lupine lusting. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Troy Donahue, Connie Stevens, (more)
This lightweight, nearly zero-gravity comedy by director Henry Levin relies on a novel by a male writer and a script by another man to come up with a nearly offensive story (in these more enlightened times) about how a woman can lie, manipulate, and generally deceive her husband, all in the "art" of hanging on to him. Sandra Dee is Chantal, married to Eugene (Bobby Darin, Dee's real-life husband), but first comes the story of how she hooked him. Next, comes the story of how he is trained to be a perfect husband, and then the final installment is unveiled. She uses a variety of tricks to keep him wondering whether or not he can trust her. For example, Chantal's mother calls her and "if a man answers" she hangs up, leaving the unhappy husband to think his wife has a clandestine lover. The premise that a woman's only role in life is to get and hold a husband has thankfully undergone a few revisions since 1962. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sandra Dee, Bobby Darin, (more)
