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Del Tenney's
The Horror of Party Beach
Updated 3/31/2008 with more photos.
cast
John Scott, Alice Lyon, Allan Laurel, Eulabelle Moore, Marilyn Clarke, Agustin Mayor, Damon Kebroyd, Munroe Wade, Carol Grubman, Dina Harris, Emily Laurel, Sharon Murphy, Diane Prizio, The Del-Aires, and Del Tenney
film background
Made in the spring of 1964 for a paltry $60,000, The Horror of Party Beach is Del Tenney's best-known film. He released this, along with The Curse of the Living Corpse, on a double-bill in May 1964. While Tenney's other features are populated with some well-known actors, interestingly this is his only film with a complete cast of unknowns. John Scott portrayed Hank Green, the protagonist of the film. Alice Lyon, who was a college roommate of Tenney's wife, Margot Hartman, was cast as Elaine Gavin, Hank's love interest. (Lyon was at one time the sister-in-law of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy.) And Del Tenney himself makes a brief appearance as a handsome gas station attendant who flirts with a car full of B girls.
the plot
Hank Green (John Scott) and his girlfriend (Marilyn Clark) drive to a local Long Island beach to have a good time and listen to the band, The Del-Aires. However, Hank and his girl have an argument, which results in Hank getting into a fight with a motorcycle gang. They break up over this incident---she wants to have fun and party, but Hank is ready for more serious endeavors. As she walks toward the beach to reflect on her new freedom, she is murdered by several sea monsters.
Shots of the monsters from The Horror of Party Beach
The monsters have been created by the careless dumping of radioactive waste into a nearby harbor. The monsters go on to kill twenty girls at a slumber party, and it's up to Hank, a young scientist, and Dr. Gavin, Elaine's father, to destroy the monsters.
LEFT: John Scott and Agustin Mayor duke it out. CENTER: A drunk stumbles upon a gruesome scene. RIGHT: As Elaine Gavin, Alice Lyon is menaced by one of the monsters in a promotional photo. This scene is not in the film
Interestingly, Dr. Gavin's maid Eulabelle (portrayed by Eulabelle Moore) stumbles upon a way to kill the sea monsters by pouring sodium on them. Hank, Elaine, and Dr. Gavin manage to kill all the sea monsters, and at the end of the film, everything is back to normal at the beach. (Eulabelle Moore died at age 61 in late 1964, about six months after the premiere of the film).
LEFT: Local teens dance to the beat of the Del-Aires at the end of The Horror of Party Beach. RIGHT: The Del-Aires, consisting of Ronny Linares, Bob Osborne, Garry Jones, and John Becker
The Del-Aires, a garage rock band from New Jersey, appear throughout The Horror of Party Beach. The band was locally very popular and they actually released an album which included songs from the movie, such as The Zombie Stomp and You Are Not A Summer Love. Unfortunately, it is unclear whatever became of the Del-Aires.
More than 40 years have passed since the lensing of The Horror of Party Beach, and the film still enjoys a large cult following, thanks in no small part to Mystery Science Theater 3000, which aired The Horror of Party Beach during its eighth season.
Unfortunately, Del Tenney left filmmaking for other ventures, such as his real estate business and his stage work in New York. With the considerable amount of money he made from this film and The Curse of the Living Corpse, his career goals broadened beyond the scope of a drive-in filmmaker out of necessity, for his last film, Voodoo Blood Bath (aka I Eat Your Skin) initially was unsold. Tenney did not have another film ready to release along with Voodoo Blood Bath, so the film was shelved until 1971, when producer Jerry Gross obtained the rights to the film. Gross changed the film title to I Eat Your Skin to release along with his low-budget shocker I Drink Your Blood.
The Horror Of Party Beach (1964)/The Curse Of The Living Corpse [DVD](1964) DVD
Frankie and Annette never had problems like the kids in "The Horror of Party Beach," as toxic waste, sea slime and dead sailors combine near a seaside resort to create aquatic monsters eager to prey on surf daddies and beach bunnies. Features the hit song "Zombie Stomp" by The Del-Aires; John Scott, Alice Lyon and Eulabelle Moore star. Next, a deceased millionaire in late 19th-century New England returns from the grave to personally bestow upon his horrified family a bloody bequeathal. "The Curse of the Living Corpse," from "Party Beach" director Del Tenney, stars Helen Warren. Candace Hilligoss and (in his film debut) Roy Scheider. 162 min. total. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; audio commentary; interview;
The Del Tenney Collection [DVD] DVD
Two-disc set includes "The Horror of Party Beach," "The Curse of the Living Corpse," and "Violent Midnight."
more del tenney movies
Psycho-Mania (1963)
Tenney and his wife Margot Hartman (who also starred) loosely based their screen treatment on the real-life murder of a Connecticut coed. This now-modest shocker was once considered exploitation cinema of the most vivid variety. The film stars James Farentino and Dick Van Patten. Unlike his other films, Tenney did not direct this one, serving as producer and screenwriter instead.
Curse of the Living Corpse (1964)
Tenney turned sculptor Gutzon Borglum's Connecticut estate (owned by Tenney's father-in-law) into an ambient Victorian setting. Detailing the varied and grizzly deaths of several members of a vindictive New England clan, the film's graphic chills are exploited by a young Roy Scheider in his screen debut and beautiful Candace (Carnival of Souls) Hilligoss.
I Eat Your Skin (aka Voodoo Blood Bath) (1964)
Here's my favorite Del Tenney film. Don't let the title confuse you, as there's no skin-eating going on in this flick. After Tenney was banned from filming in Stamford, Connecticut, by the mayor (due to a couple of serious accidents on the set of The Horror of Party Beach), he filmed this not-bad thriller on location in and around Miami, Florida, with a working title of Caribbean Adventure. For some reason, Tenney was not able to make a second film for a drive-in double bill, and the film was not picked up for release until 1971. The film stars William Joyce.
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