Gidget
The title character was based on the author's daughter, Kathy Kohner-Zuckerman, and her adventures growing up in the surf culture at the beach in Malibu during the 1950's. She is still petite, healthy and attractive and lives in Pacific Palisades with her husband. And yes, there was a "Moondoggie", who lives in California and is an artist.,When Gidget gets her lesson on her new surfboard, the fin is broken in half when it rolls over in the water, but is "repaired" when she and Moondoggie reach the beach.,Mr. Russell Lawrence: That's a man-hunter?
Mrs. Dorothy Lawrence: Who did you expect? Kim Novak?,Featured in Liquid Stage: The Lure of Surfing (1996),Gidget
Lyrics by Patti Washington
Music by Fred Karger
Sung by The Four Preps over the opening credits
Exclusive Capitol Recording Artists
Performed by James Darren (uncredited) on screen,What a time capsule! A film that hearkens back to a cultural era of innocence, "Gidget" screams 1950s, with clothes, lingo, attitudes, and characters that now seem quaint. Gidget (Sandra Dee), that "pint size" sixteen-year-old who lives in Southern California, scampers down to the beach and takes an instant liking to surfing. In the process, she meets a fraternity of youthful, shirtless beach bums. Surfing, fun, and romantic complications ensue.

All fluffy and frothy in the first half, the film's plot and characters reek of bubble-gum shallowness, with dialogue to match. But the plot turns more dramatic in the second half, and characters show at least some degree of depth. Gidget comes across as smart, determined and, given her age, dubiously skilled at psychology, with words that make a big impression on The Big Kahuna (Cliff Robertson), surfers' de facto leader. Ultimately, the film conveys the theme that events and people ... change.

Visuals feature bright, splashy colors and a photogenic cast. Rear-screen projection and cast doubles, for the surfing scenes, look hokey now, but were the norm in those days. Music trends romantic and lively. Naturalistic sound of ocean waves enhances a relaxed, carefree tone.

Although perhaps needed for story balance, plot sequences that involve Gidget's parents seem stodgy, and detract from the main focus on the relationship between Gidget and her beach pals.

Sandra Dee, despite her squeaky voice, gives a performance that was better than I had expected. James Darren and Cliff Robertson add competent support.

If ever there was a film that captures the carefree, innocent life of kids in the 1950s, this is surely it. Undeniably nostalgic to older viewers, and prehistoric to younger viewers, "Gidget" will continue to fascinate, emblematic of an era that will never return.,