The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966)

No one would ever mistake The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini for anything remotely resembling great art, but in the right frame of mind it's a load of fun. Part of the "Beach Party" series of AIP flicks, Ghost is sheer nonsense. The screenplay is ridiculous, grafting a horror setting onto the Beach Party world for no real reason. As is usual, the screenplay is weak, and the cotton candy-and-lollipops world it creates is pure fiction, but it's a blast. Granted, one is inclined to laugh at rather than with it, but one gets the idea that the filmmakers had this at least partially in mind when they made it. Like others in the series, Ghost has a slightly surreal quality to it, caused by mixing together different styles and tones with no real logic, and with not being too terribly concerned with how it all turns out. Tommy Kirk and Deborah Walley are the nominal stars, and they're perfectly fine in a cute and perky kind of way, although there's not much chemistry between them. But the real attraction is the supporting cast, with Basil Rathbone and Boris Karloff is fine form and bringing more talent to the material than one would expect. Susan Hart is delectably eye candy as the titular character, and Harvey Lembeck is on hand with his peculiar and peculiarly amusing style of humor. The Bobby Fuller Four is a bit bland, but Nancy Sinatra shakes things up with "Geronimo" and Quinn O'Hara does even better with "Don't Try to Fight It Baby." Silly but hard to resist, Ghost is a fine way to spend a summer night. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide