Zuma Beach (film)
Zuma Beach is a 1978 American made-for-television comedy film written and directed by Lee H. Katzin and starring Suzanne Somers.[1][2]
| Zuma Beach | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | Comedy Drama |
| Written by | John Carpenter William A. Schwartz |
| Directed by | Lee H. Katzin |
| Starring | Suzanne Somers Steven Keats Mark Wheeler Kimberly Beck |
| Music by | Dick Halligan |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Daniel H. Blatt Edgar J. Scherick |
| Producer(s) | Bruce Cohn Curtis Brian Grazer |
| Cinematography | Héctor R. Figueroa |
| Editor(s) | Bobbie Shapiro Robert L. Swanson |
| Running time | 100 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Warner Bros. Television |
| Distributor | Warner Bros. Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | September 27, 1978 |
Plot
A fading rock singer goes to the beach to get away from it all and winds up getting involved in the lives of the teenage beachgoers.
Cast
- Suzanne Somers as Bonnie Katt
- Steven Keats as Jerry McCabe
- Mark Wheeler as David Hunter
- Kimberly Beck as Cathy
- Perry Lang as Billy
- Michael Biehn as J.D.
- Biff Warren as Norman
- Les Lannom as Stan
- Rosanna Arquette as Beverly
- Gary Imhoff as Frank
- Leonard Stone as Johnson
- Steve Franken as Rick
- Richard Molinare as Frank
- Tanya Roberts as Denise
- P. J. Soles as Nancy
- Timothy Hutton as Art
- Janus Blythe as Jennifer
History
Suzanne Somers' fame was rising due to the success of the sitcom Three's Company, and she wanted to star in movies. Albeit a lightweight television film, Zuma Beach provided Somers with her first starring movie role.[3][4]
John Carpenter wrote the script for a producer "who just said he wanted a beach movie." He sold it to Warner Bros and it became a TV movie to star Suzanne Somers. Carpenter said he "was going to direct it, for about ten seconds, but one of my mentors, Richard Kobritz... helped me see I didn’t want to do it. It was vastly rewritten, so I really shouldn’t have taken credit for it, but I was a little asshole in those days."[5]
Tim Hutton had one of his first roles in the film.[6]
Reception
The Los Angeles Times praised the naturalness of Somers' performance.[7]
References
- Leonard Maltin. Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide. Plume, 1994.
- F. Maurice Speed. Film Review 1988-9. Columbus Books, 1989.
- Bernstein, Jay. Starmaker: Life as A Hollywood Publicist With Farrah, The Rat Pack and 600 More Stars Who Fired Me, pp. 184-85 (2011)
- Farley, Ellen and William K. Knoedelseder, Jr. (19 February 1978). Rub-a-Dub-Dub, Three Networks in a Tub, Washington Post (brief mention of upcoming film in February 1978 with Somers to star)
- "Interview with John Carpenter". Justin Beahm.
- NOTHING 'ORDINARY' ABOUT TIM HUTTON Champlin, Charles. Los Angeles Times 15 Jan 1981: h1.
- TV MOVIE REVIEW: Somers in Swim of Role That Suits Thomas, Kevin. Los Angeles Times27 Sep 1978: f18.