Sergeant Deadhead

Sergeant Deadhead
Sergeant Deadhead
Directed by	Norman Taurog
Written by	Louis M. Heyward
Produced by	James H. Nicholson; Samuel Z. Arkoff
Starring	Frankie Avalon; Deborah Walley; Cesar Romero; Buster Keaton; John Ashley
Music by	Les Baxter
Production; company	Alta Vista Productions
Distributed by	American International Pictures
Release date	18 August 1965
Running time	90 mins
Country	United States
Language	English

Sergeant Deadhead is a 1965 musical comedy film starring Frankie Avalon. It features many cast members who appeared in the Beach Party movies.

Plot

Sergeant Deadhead is bumbling soldier who is accidentally blasted into space. When he returns home he is a national hero but has also developed a massive ego. A soldier who looks exactly like him, Sergeant Donovan, is found to take his place.

Cast

Frankie Avalon as Sgt. O. K. Deadhead/Sergeant Donovan
Deborah Walley as Airman Lucy Turner
Cesar Romero as Admiral Stoneham
Fred Clark as Gen. Rufus Fogg
Gale Gordon as Captain Weiskopf
Harvey Lembeck as Private McEvoy
John Ashley as Private Filroy
Buster Keaton as Private Blinken
Reginald Gardiner as Lieutenant Commander Talbott
Eve Arden as Lieutenant Kinsey
Pat Buttram as The President
Donna Loren as Susan

Production

Filming began in May 1965.^[1]

Reception

AIP made the film hoping that military comedies would provide them with a genre as popular as the beach party movies but it proved a commercial disappointment, Samuel Z Arkoff claiming it "bombed out".^[2]

Songs

All the songs in the film were written by Guy Hemric and Jerry Styner:

"Hurry Up and Wait" - sung by female cast over the opening credits
"How Can You Tell" - sung by Deborah Walley, Donna Loren and Bobbi Shaw
"You Should've Seen the One That Got Away" - sung by Eve Arden
"Two Timin' Angel" - sung by Donna Loren
"Let's Play Love" - sung by Deborah Walley and Frankie Avalon
"Let's Play Love (Reprise)" - sung by Deborah Walley and Frankie Avalon
"The Difference in Me Is You" - sung by Frankie Avalon

References

^ MGM Buys Windsor Novel, Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) [Los Angeles, Calif] 06 May 1965: d18.
^ Film Company Seeks a New Locale for Its Teen-Age Movies Special to The New York Times. New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 06 Nov 1965: 18.

External links

Sergeant Deadhead at IMDB
Sergeant Deadhead at the TCM Movie Database
Sergeant Deadhead review at New York Times
Soundtrack review at Beach Party movies

[1] MGM Buys Windsor Novel, Martin, Betty. Los Angeles Times (1923-Current File) [Los Angeles, Calif] 06 May 1965: d18.

[2] Film Company Seeks a New Locale for Its Teen-Age Movies Special to The New York Times. New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 06 Nov 1965: 18.

[1]

[2]

v t e Beach Party
Films	Beach Party (1963) Muscle Beach Party (1964) Bikini Beach (1964) Pajama Party (1964) Beach Blanket Bingo (1965) How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965) The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966)
Related	Ski Party (1965) Sergeant Deadhead (1965) Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965) Fireball 500 (1966) Thunder Alley (1967) Back to the Beach (1987)
See also	Beach party films