By Glenn Erickson
Catalina Caper
Brief Synopsis
A group of teens try to foil a group of crooks searching for a stolen scroll.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Lee Sholem
Director
Tommy Kirk
Don Pringle
Del Moore
Arthur Duval
Peter Duryea
Tad Duval
Robert Donner
Fingers O'Toole
Ulla Stromstedt
Katrina
Film Details
Also Known As
Never Steal Anything Wet
Genre
Comedy
Crime
Musical
Release Date
Jan
1967
Premiere Information
San Diego, California, opening: 26 Apr 1967
Production Company
Executive Pictures
Distribution Company
Crown International Pictures
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 7m
Sound
Mono
Color
Color
Synopsis
College pals Don Pringle and Charlie Moss are spending their summer on Santa Catalina Island scuba diving and girl chasing. At the same time, Arthur Duval and his incompetent accomplice, Larry Colvis, are plotting to sell a fake Chinese scroll to a Greek millionaire who specializes in buying stolen art. As part of their scheme, Duval and Colvis have stolen the genuine scroll from a museum in order to convince the millionaire's art expert, Borman, of the authenticity of their merchandise. When the real scroll falls overboard during a scuffle on Duval's rented yacht, Don and Charlie are enlisted to recover the treasure. The plot is complicated by the arrival of criminal Fingers O'Toole and by the growing suspicions of the harbor patrol, but the scroll is eventually returned safely to the museum.
Director
Lee Sholem
Director
Cast
Tommy Kirk
Don Pringle
Del Moore
Arthur Duval
Peter Duryea
Tad Duval
Robert Donner
Fingers O'Toole
Ulla Stromstedt
Katrina
Jim Begg
Larry Colvis
Sue Casey
Anne Duval
Venita Wolf
Tina Moss
Brian Cutler
Charlie Moss
Peter Mamakos
Borman
Lyle Waggoner
Angelo
Lee Deane
Lakopolous
Michael Blodgett
Bob Draper
Bonnie Lomann
Redhead
Britt Nilsson
Brunette
Donna Russell
Blonde
James Almanzar
Sid
Carol Connors
Little Richard
Timothy Garland
The Cascades
Adrian Teen Models
Crew
Jack Bartlett
Producer
Bond Blackman
Producer
Michael Blodgett
Choreography
John Caper Jr.
Music Supervisor
Robert Caramico
Camera
Bruce Clark
Assistant to the prod
Dick Dixon
Assistant Director
Sherman H. Dryer
Executive Producer
Wendell Franklin
Assistant Director
Herman Freedman
Film Editor
Jerry Long
Music Composition
Ted V. Mikels
Director of Photography
Salvatore Mungo
Associate Producer
Willis Osborn
Associate Producer
Earl Phillips
Props master
Sam Pierce
Story
Mark Snegoff
Makeup
Rod Sutton
Sound Recording
Ron Terry
Production Manager
Clyde Ware
Screenwriter
Dorothy Worner
Wardrobe
Film Details
Also Known As
Never Steal Anything Wet
Genre
Comedy
Crime
Musical
Release Date
Jan
1967
Premiere Information
San Diego, California, opening: 26 Apr 1967
Production Company
Executive Pictures
Distribution Company
Crown International Pictures
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 7m
Sound
Mono
Color
Color
Articles
Catalina Caper -
American-International Pictures struck a gold mine with 1963's Beach Party, a fairly inane comedy buoyed by the popularity of Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon. Other studios assembled teen party movies about Palm Springs, or more serious surfing epics, but inside of two years the fad was on its way out. A minor attempt to combine the beach party vibe with a crime thriller is 1967's Catalina Caper, an independent production filmed in 1965 but held back from release for a full two years. By that time beach 'n' surf epics had become obsolete, supplanted by more exploitative movies about motorcycle gangs and youth rebellion. The semi-comic Catalina Caper stars Tommy Kirk as a scuba diver hired to recover a precious Chinese Scroll lost overboard near Catalina Island, for a crook (frequent Jerry Lewis foil Del Moore) who seeks to sell a fake to a Greek millionaire. The producers lined up a score of models and dancers to be various girls in bikinis, and hired Little Richard, The Cascades and Carol Connors to perform songs. The film's original title 'Never Steal Anything Wet' is also the title of a tune sung over the main titles by Mary Wells. The show had other difficulties in the commercial market. Former Disney star Tommy Kirk, outed as gay, had been dropped by Disney and was in the later stages of a career tailspin. Variety praised the animated main titles by the Murakami-Wolf company but called the film an insubstantial effort that failed to capture the fun of A.I.P.'s Beach Party pictures. It was finally released by Crown International, an exploitation distributor.
By Glenn Erickson
By Glenn Erickson
Catalina Caper -
American-International Pictures struck a gold mine with 1963's Beach Party, a fairly inane comedy buoyed by the popularity of Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon. Other studios assembled teen party movies about Palm Springs, or more serious surfing epics, but inside of two years the fad was on its way out. A minor attempt to combine the beach party vibe with a crime thriller is 1967's Catalina Caper, an independent production filmed in 1965 but held back from release for a full two years. By that time beach 'n' surf epics had become obsolete, supplanted by more exploitative movies about motorcycle gangs and youth rebellion. The semi-comic Catalina Caper stars Tommy Kirk as a scuba diver hired to recover a precious Chinese Scroll lost overboard near Catalina Island, for a crook (frequent Jerry Lewis foil Del Moore) who seeks to sell a fake to a Greek millionaire. The producers lined up a score of models and dancers to be various girls in bikinis, and hired Little Richard, The Cascades and Carol Connors to perform songs. The film's original title 'Never Steal Anything Wet' is also the title of a tune sung over the main titles by Mary Wells. The show had other difficulties in the commercial market. Former Disney star Tommy Kirk, outed as gay, had been dropped by Disney and was in the later stages of a career tailspin. Variety praised the animated main titles by the Murakami-Wolf company but called the film an insubstantial effort that failed to capture the fun of A.I.P.'s Beach Party pictures. It was finally released by Crown International, an exploitation distributor.
By Glenn Erickson
Quotes
I've never seen so many trying to cover so much with so little.- Don
Trivia
The film's original title was "Never Steal Anything Wet", a title echoed in the bizarre lyrics of the opening title song.
Notes
Filmed on location in Santa Catalina and Malibu, California. The working title of this film is Never Steal Anything Wet.
