I usually get really bored with the Beach Party movies, but to my surprise I actually found this one to be rather entertaining, in a mind numbing sort of way of course. The absence of Frankie and Annette in this, the last film of the series, really didn't detract from the film at all. What detracted from it, as was the case with all of the Beach Party movies, was the insane number of people that were running around all over the place. See, I'm of the opinion that I'd rather have a few quality characters that are well written and well acted than some twenty odd characters and tons of extras that are not only poorly written, but really add nothing of any value to the film.

The funny thing about this movie is that once I found out it was the last film of the series, I dreaded doing the review, and I actually put it off for a long time because frankly, the Beach Party movies have always kinda bored me. I usually have a hard time making it through them in one sitting. Now to be honest, I didn't make it through this one in one sitting either, but that's mostly because I get fidgety while I write reviews and I need to take breaks every now and then. So not being able to sit through this one is no reflection on this particular film or the quality thereof.

The general story here is that Hiram Stokely made a fortune by swindling people in the carnival business, and now that he's dead, he has 24 hours to do one good deed, and if he succeeds, then he not only gets to go to heaven where he can spend eternity with his gorgeous old flame Cecily, but they're going to make him young again as well. The only stipulation is that he's not allowed to leave the crypt. So he sends Cecily to make sure that Reginald Ripper and his cronies don't succeed in scaring off the rightful heirs and taking all the money for themselves.

There are three rightful heirs to his estate. The first is Chuck, played by Tommy Kirk. I don't know what he does, or what his background is because it's never explained in the story. Then there's Lili, played by Deborah Walley, who's basically got no real reason for being there other than giving Tommy Kirk someone to hang out with. Both their fathers were swindled by the late Hiram Stokely, so they've both been included in his will as a way to make amends for what he did. Then there's Aunt Myrtle, who's played by Patsy Kelly. She's an aging hipster who has no real connection to Hiram that I could see, but that doesn't matter, because her only real reason for being there was to give Reginald someone his own age on the good guy's side to interact with. None of these three are really anyone you would particularly care about, and their parts are so poorly written that basically they're relegated to being not much more than window dressing. The only one of the three that has a real part is Chuck, and it's more through action than it is through character development.

Then we have good ol' Eric Von Zipper and the Rat Pack, played by Harvey Lembeck and the usual gang of Rat Pack regulars. Harvey Lembeck always kinda reminds me of Lou Costello the way he plays the Von Zipper character. I've never been a huge fan of Abbott and Costello, but I do find myself liking Harvey Lembeck. Lembeck for me is more likeable and entertaining to watch than Lou Costello ever was. Basically, in this movie there's a bit of a difference with the role he and the Rat Pack play. Usually they're trying to thwart the beach kids at something or other, but this time they're just kinda out for themselves and not really actively trying to get in anyone's way. When they find out that Hiram's fortune is actually hidden somewhere in the house, they start looking for it on their own, and pretty much have very little contact with either the beach kids or the bad guys. Most of the scenes the Rat Pack are in usually involve just them and no one else. Maybe that's why I enjoyed those scenes more than the others. Because there wasn't some poorly written character in there messing things up. In contrast to the rest of the characters in this movie, the Rat Pack's characters were all pretty well written and definitely well acted.

The only other character in the film that was relatively well written and definitely well acted was that of Reginald Ripper. I've always been a HUGE Basil Rathbone fan, so I'd love watching him even if he was in a crappy little 30 second cat food commercial. He's always had an incredible presence on screen, and his ability to act without taking himself too seriously makes everything he does a joy to watch.

One thing that really disappointed me was that Jesse White wasn't better utilized. He's always great to watch on screen, and even though he's always saddled with the role of one of the baddies, or as someone who's kinda jerky, he always plays it perfectly and makes the characters fun to watch. Most people probably think of him as the Maytag repair man from the television commercials, but lovers of classic cinema will probably always remember him best for roles like these.

The fact that it had Boris Karloff, Basil Rathbone and Susan Hart are all in this film added immeasurably to my enjoyment of it. Again though, as I've been speaking of wasted and poorly written characters, Susan Hart was almost completely wasted in this story. Her only real parts are at the beginning and at the end, and all the rest of the time she's relegated to being a two-dimensional ghost in an invisible bikini that doesn't really say all that much. She's so incredibly beautiful and so nice to watch on screen yet she's always given these stupid parts without much dialogue where she ends up being more window dressing than anything else. If you want to see her in a role where she's given more to work with, then you should see Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine. She stars with Vincent Price, Tommy Kirk, Frankie Avalon, and Dwayne Hickman in that one. It's got the same general feel of the Beach Movies, but it's got a far better story, better characters and it's a LOT more fun. She really gets to shine in that one compared to the roles she's usually handed. Hell, in one of the earlier Beach Party movies, she was just the "hot chick" that everyone drooled over and was given little to no dialogue. Such a waste of a beautiful actress. She's got a whole sex kitten vibe about her and a smile that could make even a gay man melt in his slippers. I found myself wondering as I watched this movie, what she looks like today. She's probably around 54 years old now, but I'll bet she's still really beautiful. I couldn't imagine her being any other way.

As Beach Party movies go, this is the one to see. It's got less annoying musical numbers than the others, the story, despite it's lack of character depth, is actually quite fun and entertaining, and the performances of Harvey Lembeck and Basil Rathbone will leave you with a smile on your face. The best part is, if you're not a fan of the musical bits, there's always the fast forward button. Not only will it get you past the musical numbers that really have nothing to do with the rest of what's going on in the film, but it'll make the film shorter as well. So it's a win / win situation. Although I probably sounded overly negative in my write-up of this film, I actually did have a good time watching it, and I'm giving it a good rating because of that. Naturally I had to knock some off for some of the poor character development and things of that nature, but I'm adding some for the self aware humor and the great performances. After taking everything into consideration, I'm happy to give The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini...