tavm Review of Pajama Party

Pajama Party (1964)

Pajama Party is harmless, painless fluff that should fill 90 empty minutes perfectly...

[4/10 · 10 September 2009]

Having recently discovered both Buster Keaton and Avalon/Funicello Beach movies, I decided to go on fancast.com and watch Pajama Party. Instead of Frankie, Annette is paired with first Jody McCrea-playing not Bonehead but a similarly characterized Big Lunk-and then her Disney co-star in the Merlin Jones pictures, Tommy Kirk, here playing a Martian named Go Go. Along the way there's Elsa Lanchester, Jesse White, Keaton with usual AIP partner Bobbi Shaw, Harvey Lembeck in his usual role as Eric Von Zipper, dancer Candy Johnson, singer Donna Loren in her usual single number, and Susan Hart-who was about to become Mrs. James Nicholson, co-founder of American International-in an alluring fringe-bikini role where objects explode or wither. Oh, and there's also Dorothy Lamour-a native of New Orleans from my current home state of Louisiana-in a number about old customs versus new with some choice words like "sarong". This movie is mostly a silly mess with some good songs and some funny moments like when Buster and a perfume lady (Luree Nicholson, James' daughter) keep spraying each other or when that chair keeps closing in on White or when Buster inadvertently gets onto Ms. Shaw's body (while she's wearing a towel, of course!). And how about all those alarms that Ms. Lanchester keeps turning off in order to get at her late husband's money? Or when Ms. Shaw keeps kissing different men with the red cap? Otherwise, not much makes sense and after a while, you want the whole thing over real quick. Still, Pajama Party is harmless and painless fun and the end credits, as always, provide some visual amusement.