Frankie, away on temporary duty with the Naval Reserve in the South Pacific, worries that Dee Dee may find another man while he is gone (after all, he has certainly been getting cozy with the island girls himself), so on the recommendation of one of his gal pals, he gets the help of a witch doctor (Buster Keaton), who whips up a knockout, Cassandra (Beverly Adams), to distract any guys in Dee Dee’s vicinity. It just so happens, however, that one guy, Ricky (Dwayne Hickman), is immune to Cassandra’s appeal and sets his sights on Dee Dee instead. However, Eric Von Zipper is wowed by Cassandra, so he undertakes to woo her by making over his image to participate in a cross-country cycle race organized by J. Peachmont “Peachy” Keane (Mickey Rooney) on behalf of B.D. “Big Deal” MacPherson (Brian Donlevy). Numerous hijinks ensue, along with plenty of musical numbers — though but a single guest group (The Kingsmen) performs, the rest of the cast delivers numbers that reminded me of How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (presumably intentionally, as the name of Mickey Rooney’s character also echoes that of the lead character in that musical). Overall, though, despite some amusing scenes (and especially the final reveal of the witch doctor’s daughter), this is a weak entry in the nearly finished series of beach movies from American International.

  Mildly recommended. Otto judiciously thinks this movie is OK, but not great.

Movie 126 for 2021.