Low Budget/Low Quality
Catalina Caper (1967)
Inducted 2018
Catalina Island is, as the song says, about 26 miles away from the mainland in Southern California. Its proximity to Hollywood made it an attractive shooting location, though it rarely depicted itself. After 1967’s Catalina Caper, island residents probably wished that their tropical paradise had remained mostly undepicted.
Starring a down on his luck Tommy Kirk, the film is a forgettable beach comedy patterned after his former Disney co-star’s far more successful films. Whereas his former co-Star Annette Funicello voluntarily left Disney to make more mature films, Tommy had been fired due to his bad attitude and scandalous behavior. Therefore the pickings were much slimmer for him. Also featuring an early in his career Lyle Waggoner and the too talented for this film Little Richard, the film doesn’t really aim high, yet it doesn’t even hit that low target. Today, the entertainment value of the film can mostly be derived from its scenic portrayal of a vintage Catalina Island.
While the film is mostly remembered today due to it starring Tommy Kirk, it is best not to mention it were you to bump into him. He’s not particularly fond of it.
