Top 10 Beach Movies for Memorial Day

Memorial Day marks the first day of summer for many of us on our calendars. That's the time to shed our layers and break out to enjoy the change of weather, hit the beach, catch the waves, and roll out the barbecue grill. Here are ten movies to get you ready for some hot fun in the summertime.

"Break Point" (1991 ) Largo Entertainment

Executive Producer:James Cameron
Producers: Peter Abrams, Robert L. Levy
Co-Producers: Rich King, Michael Rauch

Director: Kathryn Bigelow

Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
MPAA: R (Violence, language, brief nudity)
Runtime: 120 min

Cast: Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey, Lori Petty, John Mc Ginley, James LeGros

Plot: A group of thieves calling themselves the Ex-Presidents are robbing banks wearing masks of Presidents Reagen, Nixon, Carter, and Johnson. FBI agent Johnny Utah, played by Reeves, has the task of finding the group and infiltrating them. He believes they can be found at the beach and are a group of surfers. Reeves character, Utah has to first, learn to surf if he wants to really win their support and be believable. Mad adventure, nice surfing scenes, beautiful beaches, and lots of drama makes this movie exciting to watch. James Cameron of Titanic fame and ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow work together on this film as executive producer and director.

Trailer:www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3766485273

"A Summer Place" (1959) Warner Bros

Producer: Delmer Daves

Director: Delmer Daves

Genre: Romance, Drama

Runtime: 130 min

Cast: Sandra Dee, Troy Donahue, Richard Egan, Dorothy Mc Guire, Constance Ford

Plot: At an exclusive summer resort on an island off the coast of of Maine, love, lies, adultery, and betrayal come together in this emotional film that was a big hit with movie goers when it was released in 1959. Millionaire Ken Jorgenson (Richard Egan), vacations with his wife and daughter on Pine Island, Maine, where he worked as a lifeguard in younger days. As fate would have it, he hooked up with an old flame and local gal, Sylvia Hunter (Dorothy Mc Guire). Both are trapped in bad marriages. The word gets out about their little tryst and becomes a full-blown scandal. But, the scandal only serves to bring Jorgenson's daughter (Sandra Dee), and Sylvia's son, (Troy Donahue), closer together as they search for real love, and not wanting to end up like their parents: in a loveless marriage and making wrong decisions. This is a classic picture and on my list of favs.

Trailer:www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi4159046681

"Beach Blanket Bingo" (1965) Alta Vista Productions

Producer: Samuel Z. Arkoff, James H. Nicholson
Co-Producer: Anthony Carras

Director: William Asher

Genre: Comedy, Musical, Romance

Runtime: 98 min

Cast: Frankie Avalon (Frankie), Anette Funicello (Dee Dee), Deborah Walley (Bonnie Graham), Don Rickles (Big Drop), Paul Lynde (Bullets), Linda Evans (Sugar)

Plot: Everything revolves around Sugar, played by one of my favorite actresses, Linda Evans. She played in "The Big Valley" with Barbara Stanwyck and Lee Majors, and the juicy night soap opera "Dynasty" with Joan Collins. Sugar is a popular songstress who is kidnapped by a motorcycle gang. Everyone runs around trying to rescue her, amidst lots of singing, romance, beach bingo, dancing, partying, and mayhem. Entertaining and light, there's not much of a plot, but there is a lot of fun and zany characters, (Don Rickles, Paul Lynde), and all the girls look great in their bikinis on the beach.

Entire Movie:www.imdb.com/video/hulu/vi26869785

"Where The Boys Are" (1960) MGM

Producer:Joe Pasternak

Director: Henry Levin

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Runtime: 99 min
Cast: George Hamilton, Yvette Mimieux, Jim Hutton, Paula Prentiss, Chills Wills, Frank Gorshin, Dolores Hart, Connie Francis

Plot: Mimieux, Prentiss, Hart, and Francis , four college students looking for fun during spring break, drive to Fort Lauderdale for sun, fun, and romance.

"Pajama Party" (1964) American International Pictures

Producer: Samuel Z. Arkoff, James H. Nicholson
Co-Producer: Anthony Carras

Director: Don Weiss

Genre: Comedy, Musical, Romance, Sci-Fi

Runtime: 82 min

Cast: Annette Funicello, Harvey Lembeck, Buster Keaton, Dorothy Lamour, Don Rickles, Frankie Avalon

Plot: Gogo, the teenage Martian, comes to Earth to scout out the land for a Martian invasion. He meets a rich widow and begins a relationship with her son's girlfriend, who would rather be on the beach playing volleyball. Meanwhile, some shady characters are trying to rob the rich widow, Aunt Wendy, of her fortune, and don't forget about the impending invasion from Mars, all working together for the finale: a pajama party hallabaloo.

Entire Movie: www.imdb.com/video/hulu/vi2869953049

"Gidget" (1959) Columbia Pictures Corporation

Producer: Lewis J. Rachmil

Director: Paul Wendkos

Genre: Comedy

Runtime: 95 min

Cast:Sandra Dee, James Darren, Cliff Robertson
Plot: One very special summer, Francis (Sandra Dee), was swimming and met surfer, Moondoggy (James Darren). She wants to learn to surf, so Moondoggy and his friends teach her. They consider her someone they can pal around with. They nickname her Gidget and make her one of the gang. But Gidget wants to earn the love of Moondoggy, which is not that easy.

"Gidget Goes Hawaiian" (1961) Columbia Pictures Corporation

Producer: Jerry Bresler

Director: Paul Wendkos

Genre: Comedy, Musical, Romance

Runtime: 101 min

Cast: James Darren, Deborah Walley, Carl Reiner, Peggy Cass

Plot: Moondoggy is coming home from college for spring break, but Gidget's parents have a trip to Hawaii planned. In Hawaii, she mopes around missing Moondoggy, so her father arranges for him to fly out to join them. From there its fun, party, singing, and a good old fashioned beach adventure.

"Swept Away" (2002) Screen Gems

Producer: Matthew Vaughn
Co- Producers: Adam Bohling, David Reid

Director: Guy Ritchie

Genre: Comedy, Romance

MPAA: R (language, some sexuality, nudity)

Runtime:89 min

Cast: Bruce Greenway (Tony), Madonna (Amber), Elizabeth Banks (Debi), Jeanne Tripplehorn (Marina)

Plot: Forty-year-old Amber is a wealthy socialite who has attitude, is moody, and never satisfied. Her husband Tony takes her on a cruise from Greece to Italy, but she , of course, is not happy. The first mate of the ship gets the brunt of her anger. When a storm shipwrecks the two of them on a deserted island, life and surprises begin.

Trailer:www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi160235801

"The Beach" (2000) Twentieth Century Fox

Producer: Andrew Macdonald
Co-Producer: Callum Mc Dougall

Director: Danny Boyle

Genre: Adventure, Drama, Thriller

MPAA: R (violence, some strong sexuality, and drug content)

Runtime: 119 min

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio (Richard), Virginie Ledoyen (Francoise), Robert Carlyle (Daffy), Tilda Swinton (Sal)

Plot: Richard goes to Thailand looking for adventure. While in Bangkok, he obtains a map that leads to a secret island that is suppose to be deserted. He takes along a couple of friends and together they set out to find this island. When they do, it seems like a tropical paradise, heaven on Earth. Closer examination and more time spent there reveals ugly and deadly secrets they could have never imagined.

"Cast Away" (2000) DreamWorks SKG

Executive Producer: Joan Bradshaw
Associate Producer:Cherylanne Martin, Steven J. Boyd
Producer: TomHanks, Jack Rapke, Steve Starkey, Roger Zemeckis

Director: Roger Zemeckis

Genre: Adventure, Drama

MPAA: PG-13

Runtime: 143 min

Cast: Tom Hanks (Chuck Noland), Helen Hunt (Kelly Frears), Paul Sanchez (Ramon), Lari White (Bettina Patterson), Leonid Cites (Fyoder)

Plot: Stressed out hard taskmaster and Fed Ex employee Chuck Noland lives by the clock-every second. And, he makes ever worker accountable for every minute they are on the clock. Taking a business trip on Christmas Day, this over-worked and way-too-dedicated manager hits rough weather and his plane goes down near a deserted tropical island. Upon arrival, it looked like getting back to civilization was virtually impossible. Noland learns to survive for four years, then got tired of waiting for rescue, built a raft, and headed out into the ocean, taking his chances. He was rescued, but when he returned home, his girlfriend Kelly, (Helen Hunt), had married someone else. It is when he gets back to the mainland that he sees all the lessons he learned and how that island changed his life for the better.

Trailer:www.movieplayer.it/trailer/1432/cast-away-trailer-1

Rhonda Manning, www.imbd.com, about.com, Associated Content.