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Wild Wild Winter
(1965 Film)
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About This Film/Cast/Music
Cast
Music Acts
Photos
Cast:
Gary Clarke as Ronnie Duke
Chris Noel as Susan Benchley
Steve Franken as John Paris
Music Acts:
Astronauts
Beau Brummels
Dick & Dee Dee
Jackie & Gayle
Jay & the Americans
Wild Wild Winter (1965): It was released by Universal in 1965 and filmed in color. My only complaint is that Jackie & Gayle appear for only a few minutes in this movie. Just one song doesn't seem quite fair, but "Snowball" is a definite must-listen! I really enjoy it!
Gary Clarke is the lead in this picture, and he's really cool...the king of the swingers! He plays surf bum Ronnie Duke who is called in by his buddies to help them solve a little problem. These friends of his are going to Alpine College, set in the mountains. They're trying to get lucky with the ladies but Susan Benchley, the leader of the girls' sorority, has them all convinced that boys just want them for one thing. They figure if they called in Ronnie to romance Susan she would ease up and give the girls the "okay" to swing with the boys. Ronnie hatches a grand scheme and gets Susan to fall for him, but complications always develop. How in the world does he get involved with gangsters and a skiing championship? How is Ronnie going to win the skiing championship and save the college, especially since he can't ski? You've got to see this movie to find out. I'm not going to spoil it for you.
This movie is blessed with clever writing, great acting, fantastic music, and wonderful filming! This movie is unique because it's a beach-party movie, but set almost entirely in the mountains! Throughout the movie you'll see terrific groups perform like: Jackie & Gayle, The Beau Brummels, The Astronauts, Dick and Dee Dee, and Jay and the Americans.
Gary Clarke-
He plays the male lead in this movie: Ronnie Duke. Gary looks something like Kurt Russell with shorter hair, but is much funnier. He's also quite cool at the same time. Ronnie Duke is the king of the swingers, a surfing instructor called in by the frat boys of Alpine College to solve their problem. Duke's mission: to romance Susan Benchley in order to weaken her hold on the sorority girls that don't want to play around with the boys. But as Ronnie romances Susan, he actually starts falling in love with her and it becomes much harder for him to play his game.
Chris Noel-
I thought she did great in this movie as the female lead Susan Benchley. A pretty, naive blonde who can't help but weaken around Ronnie like so many of the other girls he comes into contact with.
Steve Franken-
The antagonist of the movie: John Paris. Steve Franken has been in tons of movies, TV shows, voice-overs, etc. If you haven't seen him in a show, you've undoubtedly heard his voice at some time. In this movie, he is the obnoxious skiing champ fiancee of Susan Benchley with the prep-school accent. He figures out early on that Ronnie Duke is a fake and every attempt to expose his rival drives Susan Benchley further into Ronnie's arms. It's incredibly funny.
They perform "A Change of Heart" in this movie which is absolutely incredible! This is good-time, heavy, happy music...a real party song. I think someone could release a song like this nowadays on radio and it would be a big hit.
Beau Brummels-
Dick and Dee Dee-
A remarkable boy/girl duet. I like Dick and Dee Dee for many reasons. Dick has a usually masculine-sounding voice, but occasionally he can make himself go really, really high like a high-pitched girl. I think it's impressive how he can switch from one to the other. Dee Dee is neat to see because she's one of the few girls of a boy/girl group that actually looks like she's having fun and not just there for a showpiece. She isn't stiff or rigid and actually gives off a party-time vibe. The song they perform is called "Heartbeats".
Jackie & Gayle-
A groovy girl/girl duet, forged from the fires of the New Christy Minstrels, shaking off the folk flavor for pop-rock. I think "Snowball" is fantastic. Check out the little go-go dance Gayle does!
Jay and the Americans-
A big-name group probably best known for the hit song "This Magic Moment". They perform "Two of a Kind" at the end of this movie. Quite good, indeed!
Photos:
Gary Clarke as Ronnie Duke
Chris Noel as Susan Benchley
Steve Franken as John Paris
Music Acts:
Astronauts
Beau Brummels
Dick & Dee Dee
Jackie & Gayle
Jay & the Americans
Wild Wild Winter (1965): It was released by Universal in 1965 and filmed in color. My only complaint is that Jackie & Gayle appear for only a few minutes in this movie. Just one song doesn't seem quite fair, but "Snowball" is a definite must-listen! I really enjoy it!
Gary Clarke is the lead in this picture, and he's really cool...the king of the swingers! He plays surf bum Ronnie Duke who is called in by his buddies to help them solve a little problem. These friends of his are going to Alpine College, set in the mountains. They're trying to get lucky with the ladies but Susan Benchley, the leader of the girls' sorority, has them all convinced that boys just want them for one thing. They figure if they called in Ronnie to romance Susan she would ease up and give the girls the "okay" to swing with the boys. Ronnie hatches a grand scheme and gets Susan to fall for him, but complications always develop. How in the world does he get involved with gangsters and a skiing championship? How is Ronnie going to win the skiing championship and save the college, especially since he can't ski? You've got to see this movie to find out. I'm not going to spoil it for you.
This movie is blessed with clever writing, great acting, fantastic music, and wonderful filming! This movie is unique because it's a beach-party movie, but set almost entirely in the mountains! Throughout the movie you'll see terrific groups perform like: Jackie & Gayle, The Beau Brummels, The Astronauts, Dick and Dee Dee, and Jay and the Americans.
The Cast:
Gary Clarke-
He plays the male lead in this movie: Ronnie Duke. Gary looks something like Kurt Russell with shorter hair, but is much funnier. He's also quite cool at the same time. Ronnie Duke is the king of the swingers, a surfing instructor called in by the frat boys of Alpine College to solve their problem. Duke's mission: to romance Susan Benchley in order to weaken her hold on the sorority girls that don't want to play around with the boys. But as Ronnie romances Susan, he actually starts falling in love with her and it becomes much harder for him to play his game.
Chris Noel-
I thought she did great in this movie as the female lead Susan Benchley. A pretty, naive blonde who can't help but weaken around Ronnie like so many of the other girls he comes into contact with.
Steve Franken-
The antagonist of the movie: John Paris. Steve Franken has been in tons of movies, TV shows, voice-overs, etc. If you haven't seen him in a show, you've undoubtedly heard his voice at some time. In this movie, he is the obnoxious skiing champ fiancee of Susan Benchley with the prep-school accent. He figures out early on that Ronnie Duke is a fake and every attempt to expose his rival drives Susan Benchley further into Ronnie's arms. It's incredibly funny.
The Music:
The Astronauts- The
soundtrack LP for "Wild Wild Winter" is quite rare and commands a high
price nowadays. This is for good reason. Jackie & Gayle
had a wonderful song with "Snowball" and the other musical numbers in
this film are also very well done. Between the comedy and the
music, you've GOT to see "Wild Wild Winter"!
They perform "A Change of Heart" in this movie which is absolutely incredible! This is good-time, heavy, happy music...a real party song. I think someone could release a song like this nowadays on radio and it would be a big hit.
Beau Brummels-
They're super-famous for the songs "Laugh Laugh (I Thought I'd Die)" and "Just a Little". The song they perform in this
movie is called "Just Wait and See". This
song is a real psychedelic rocker and if you
weren't already a fan of the Beau Brummels by the time
you've heard this song, you will be afterwards.
you've heard this song, you will be afterwards.
Dick and Dee Dee-
A remarkable boy/girl duet. I like Dick and Dee Dee for many reasons. Dick has a usually masculine-sounding voice, but occasionally he can make himself go really, really high like a high-pitched girl. I think it's impressive how he can switch from one to the other. Dee Dee is neat to see because she's one of the few girls of a boy/girl group that actually looks like she's having fun and not just there for a showpiece. She isn't stiff or rigid and actually gives off a party-time vibe. The song they perform is called "Heartbeats".
Jackie & Gayle-
A groovy girl/girl duet, forged from the fires of the New Christy Minstrels, shaking off the folk flavor for pop-rock. I think "Snowball" is fantastic. Check out the little go-go dance Gayle does!
Jay and the Americans-
A big-name group probably best known for the hit song "This Magic Moment". They perform "Two of a Kind" at the end of this movie. Quite good, indeed!
Photos:
The Astronauts
Beau Brummels
Gary Clarke
Dick & Dee Dee
Steve Franken
Jackie & Gayle
Jay & the Americans
Chris Noel
Beau Brummels
Gary Clarke
Dick & Dee Dee
Steve Franken
Jackie & Gayle
Jay & the Americans
Chris Noel