A Swingin' Summer

Cheapjack fun-in-the-sun teen opus from United Screen Arts probably had worse acting, directing and cinematography than most television shows from the same era. Two guys and a gal from Los Angeles take a car trip up to Lake Arrowhead for summer jobs, but the plug has been pulled on the village's big music concert; the trio comes up with the cash to put on a show themselves (unwittingly taking money from the girl's wealthy father), featuring happening acts like Gary Lewis, the Rip Chords and the Righteous Brothers. James Stacy brings some low-keyed cool to the witless proceedings, but co-stars William Wellman Jr. and Quinn O'Hara act about as well as they dance (not a compliment). The main reason to see the film isn't the top-billed stars, anyway--that honor would go to Raquel Welch, who gets an "introducing" credit as a kissless sexpot in black-rimmed glasses who quotes Freud. Welch (whose future husband, Patrick Curtis, is listed as the associate producer) didn't possess the show-biz savvy at this point to transcend the third-rate material, but she makes the most of it, and even gets her own song. The music acts add some bounce, but the location is poorly photographed and the 'dramatic' macho one-upmanship seems to come out of nowhere. *1/2 from ****