Gidget Gets Married (1972)

After her ex-surfer boyfriend (Michael Burns) completes his military service, he returns home to marry his girlfriend (Monie Ellis). They relocate from California to Florida where he has a job with a prestigious company. But when the company's rigid rules (they are told where to live, who to associate with, where to shop etc.) interfere with their life, the wife rebels and puts her husband's promising career in jeopardy. Based on the character created by Frederick Kohner in the book GIDGET: THE LITTLE GIRL WITH BIG IDEAS and directed by E.W. Swackhamer (THE DAIN CURSE). After three theatrical films (Sandra Dee, Deborah Walley, Cindy Carol), a TV series (Sally Field) and a TV movie (Karen Valentine) based on the Gidget character, this telefilm marries her off. It's a tedious effort hampered by a dull Gidget at its center. The previous actresses playing Gidget had various degrees of screen presence but at least they all had a semblance of a personality. Monie Ellis is a cipher. There are some familiar faces in the supporting cast but no one comes off well. With Don Ameche, Joan Bennett, Paul Lynde, Macdonald Carey, Elinor Donahue, Roger Perry, James Sikking and Helen Funai.