Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961)

A teenage girl (Deborah Walley) refuses to take a Hawaiian vacation with her parents (Carl Reiner, Jeff Donnell) but when her boyfriend (James Darren) urges her to go, she feels he's not committed to the relationship and breaks up with him. Directed by Paul Wendkos (THE MEPHISTO WALTZ), this is the second entry in the Gidget franchise following the 1959 film starring Sandra Dee. This lacks the charm of the 1959 film and while Deborah Walley is as cute as a button, she lacks Sandra Dee's effervescence. What we end up with is a sitcom-ish feature that feels like two different episodes tacked together. The movie doesn't take full advantage of the lush Hawaiian locations. Luckily, it has a nice quartet of old pros playing the parents who bring a lot to the party. In addition to Reiner and Donnell, there's Peggy Cass (AUNTIE MAME) and Eddie Foy Jr. (PAJAMA GAME) as the parents of Walley's rival (Vicki Trickett). With Michael Callan (the original Riff in Broadway's WEST SIDE STORY), who gets to show off his dancing skills which he rarely got to do in the movies and Joby Baker.