Mondo Daytona

Other Titles:	View 1 Title
Year:	1968
Country:	USA
Language:	English
Genre:	Documentary, Music
IMDB:	IMDB Page
Rating:	6.0 Rate
Collection:	Seen It Wishlist
Community:	1 Has Seen


Director	Frank Willard
	Barry Mahon
Selected Cast	Billy Joe Royal as himself, narrator
	The Swinging Medallions as themselves
	The Tams as themselves
	Mike Sharp as himself [as "Spooky" Mike Sharp]
	Grand Funk Railroad as themselves
Soundtrack	Mike Sharp

Notes

Originally released in 1968 as a semi-documentary about Spring Break in Daytona Beach, Florida, featuring some popular music artists from that era. Re-cut by Barry Mahon in 1970 with staged performances by Grand Funk Railroad.

Images

Comments and Reviews


Twistin 18th May 2020		Rated 6/10 A primitive relic of it's time that is not without its charms. Some quick interviews with 1968 teens on the beach intercut with musical performances: Billy Joe Royal performs "Down in the Boondocks" (a great music video-style sequence), "These Are Not My People", and "Hush" and features pre-Paul Revere & the Raiders' Freddy Weller on guitar (!) The Swinging Medallions deliver their hit "Double Shot of My Baby's Love" (an alternate version with sanitized lyrics!) and "She Drives Me Out of My Mind"...interesting band featuring two singers who cannot stay out of each other's faces. The Tams, a Southern beach music staple, render their hit "What Kind of Fool", as well as "Laugh It Off". Color commentary on the beach goings-on is voiced-over by Billy Joe Royal himself. Two years later, Florida bargain-basement director Barry Mahon dusted off the retired print and tacked on a new title & psychedelic opening credits sequence for seven minutes set to Grand Funk Railroad's "Paranoid", a lifetime supply of heavily distorted drug fuzz. Later, the band performs some more songs, dropped in clumsily in the middle of the film, setup on a stage playing to the camera, then again at the closing. It's amazing to see the difference in teen music culture over a mere two years. But the true clash is that Mahon didn't seem to understand that the older film was populated with AM pop music, which was in stark contrast to the underground FM rock in his new footage. But we know he didn't care. The idea was to make money from this new film he'd shot and he took the simplest path to making it appear to be a new feature length production. How does this Frankenstein patch-up job hold up well into the new millennium? I found it to be a likable enough bit of curio that has plenty to scoff at, but still has some merit as a time capsule. The Grand Funk footage made me laugh a lot and surprisingly, most of the 1968 music performances were pretty decent all things considered. For something so obscure and off the beaten path, the print is in pretty darn good condition. If you liked the teen culture from these two eras, I would definitely recommend seeing this, if you can find it. 6 people found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?

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