Original subtitles

♪ [folk rock]

Gidget, I've changed my mind.

Oh, no, you don't. You're not chickening out now.

I don't feel so good.

Larue, you asked me to come along

to make sure you didn't pull this.

Now, come on. Your friends are waiting. I've been thinking.

They're not really friends. I mean, we're

in the same guitar class and all that,

but they were just being polite.

They didn't really want me to meet them today.

If they didn't, they wouldn't have asked you.

Think beautiful, remember?

Hi!

Oh, hi, Larue.

Well, glad you could make it.

Hi. Uh, this is my friend, Gidget.

Gidget, Paul and Doug. Hi.

Hi. Sure. I've seen you on campus.

Hey, you don't happen to play the guitar too?

Me? Gosh, no.

I just came to listen to Larue. She's great, don't you think?

Hey, Paul, I think this little chick is

just the thing we've been looking for.

Well, listen. I don't know anything

about music. That's all right.

She could play the tambourine and sort of front for the group.

Now, wait a minute. Relax. There's nothin' to it.

Here, I'll show you.

Uh, give us a B-flat, diminished chord, Larue.

Now, you hit it on the downbeat.

Okay, I found it.

I found the B-flat, diminished chord.

[Gidget narrating] Isn't life fantastic?

I mean, you start out trying to do a good deed for someone,

and you wind up discovering a part of the beach...

and a group of boys you never even knew existed.

Anyone for a B-flat, diminished chord?

♪ [jazzy pop]

♪ If you're in doubt about angels ♪

♪ Being real

♪ I can arrange to change

♪ Any doubts you feel

♪ Wait till you see my Gidget ♪

♪ You'll want her for your valentine ♪

♪ You're gonna say she's all that you adore ♪

♪ But stay away Gidget is spoken for ♪

♪ You're gonna find that Gidget is ♪

♪ Mine ♪

♪ [folk rock]

♪ Oh, pretty thing you look out of sight ♪

♪ Tonight

♪ Pretty thing I want to lock you up ♪

♪ Tonight ♪

[applauding, cheering]

You guys have a real boss sound. Well, thanks.

Say, how about doin' a number at the noon dance tomorrow?

It's okay by us. What do you say, Gidget?

Well, I'm not really in the group.

But Larue would love to. Uh, Peter, this is Larue.

Hi. Well, I'll see you tomorrow outside the gym.

Okay. Take it easy.

Hey, Gidge, what do you mean you're not really in the group?

Well, all of you are musicians except me.

I don't really do anything.

Today has been a ball, but I'd better cut out now.

See you around, Gidge. Bye.

Oh, no, you don't.

When a girl's as cute as you, they don't have to do anything.

Besides, the tambourine sounds good with the group.

And besides, you're our good luck charm.

Come on, now. You can't cut out on us now.

Well, if you guys insist-- Oh, we do.

We'll practice at your house

tonight. We wanna cream 'em tomorrow.

Uh-- Come on. See you tonight.

Yeah, bye. Bye, Gidget.

Oh, good-bye, uh--

[together] Larue.

There. Didn't I tell you a little

self-confidence would change your life?

Yes, sir, that's what you said, all right.

[yelping]

If a third hand would help, I'd be happy

to volunteer. Thanks anyway, Daddy.

No time. Gotta get to school early. Rehearsal today.

Last night and this morning? Mm-hmm.

Sweetie, this may be a somewhat hazardous observation,

but it seems to me that carrying a tune...

has never been one of your more memorable achievements.

So what sparked this great enthusiasm for music?

Simple. Therapy. Therapy?

Mm-hmm. For Larue.

See, if I wasn't standing there pushing her the whole time,

she'd just turn around and run.

And that would blow my whole plan. For Larue?

Right.

Performing in public, like the noon dance today,

is the best thing in the world to bolster a girl's ego.

Dig? I think so.

Besides, it's fun.

For Larue.

♪ All I ever sing is la, la, la, la, la, la ♪

♪ La, la, la, la, la, la

♪ La, la, la, la, la, la la, la ♪

♪ La, la, la, la, la, la la, la, la, la, la, la ♪

♪ La, la, la, la, la ♪ [applauding]

♪ A little Susie somethin' cute as a pumpkin ♪

Whoo! ♪ Little Susie somethin' cute as a pumpkin ♪

♪ [ends] [applauding]

♪ So let's all sing out love ♪

♪ Sing out wisdom

♪ Sing out goodness Sing out freedom ♪

♪ To everybody this whole land over ♪

♪ Sing out love for one and all ♪

[applause]

Hey, neat. Oh, thank you.

Boss, you guys. Thank you.

That was really nice, Gidget. Thanks, Chris.

Nice goin', Gidget. Oh, and, uh-- Larue.

Larue. Try and stay with the beat, huh? Oh, listen.

Pete Stone called this morning. And are you ready?

He wants us to headline the Color

Day show. How does that grab you?

Great! Hey, that's really groovy.

How fantastic! Well, see you later.

toodles. We'll see you, Gidge.

Isn't that fab? We're gonna headline the Color Day show!

Gidget, I may be tone deaf, but I

can still manage things like words.

Hey, are you mad or something? No. Why should I be mad?

Well, you shouldn't be. We've got it made.

Isn't it fantastic how a whole

career can just pop out of nowhere?

It sure is, buddy. It sure is.

Larue?

♪ [rock on TV]

[thinking] Every so often, I can't understand...

why adults can't figure the teenage mentality.

It's very predictable.

Oh, well, I guess Larue's just going

through a stage I haven't gotten to yet.

Will power, girl. You've got to study! ♪

[applause]

That was The Horribles!

Swinging Teens is always looking for that new sound.

So if you have it, baby, or if you've heard it,

or you know where to find it, write in and let us know.

It's the Swinging Teens Group of the Year contest,

Station KXIW, Hollywood.

[thinking] I ask you.

Can you get to the moon if you don't launch the rocket?

I answer you. No!

Let me see. What was that address again?

Rick Arden, care of Swinging Teens Group of the Year contest,

Station KXIW, Hollywood.

"Dear Mr. Arden. As a leading theatrical agent in this town,

"I feel your attention should be

called to a brilliant young group...

"who really should be on your show.

"They are called The Young People-- [chuckles]

"And they will make another triumphant return appearance...

"at Westside High School Tuesday night.

"Sincerely, Francie Larue,

"executive secretary, Top Teen Artists, Incorporated.

P.S. You asked for the new sound. Here it is."

End quote.

Francie Larue yet.

Uh, you're not putting us on, are you, Mr. Arden?

Why should I put you on? I told you I like the group.

Oh, great! And you're really booking

us for an on-the-air audition?

Right. [excited chattering]

Okay, cool it, cool it. And listen to your old dad.

You kids have 10 days, and you'd better use 'em.

I want all the rough edges

- smoothed off, dig? - [all agreeing]

Now, you show me a little professional

finish, and I'll show you a career.

Keep the good thought!

Listen, it's a living.

What a break! Yeah.

Hey, I wonder what he meant by "professional finish."

Probably everybody finishing together.

Who asked you to play so fast?

Cut it out, you guys. Don't you see what he meant?

Well, look at us. What do we look

like? Just a regular bunch of kids.

Exactly. Just a regular bunch of ordinary teenage kids.

Now, what's so professional about

that? Gidge, you know, you're right.

And we're so wrong.

Gidget and the Gories?

What happened to The Young People?

We left them back at the beach.

- We've gone spooky. - So I see.

Well, that folk-singing stuff is okay for school.

But we're in a different bag now.

We've gotta compete with the pros.

The pros. Somehow, I don't seem to remember Dinah Shore...

or Lena Horne or even Frank Sinatra dressed like that.

Oh, Dad, don't put me on.

You know, I'm talking about the big ones.

The Animals, The Undertakers, Cannibal and the Headhunters,

The Midnighters, Sonny and Cher--

The kids that are making it.

The symptoms must have been there. Why didn't I see them?

And this is to be your new, uh, approach?

Image is the word.

You should have heard our rehearsal just now.

The guys have put amplifiers on their

guitars, and the sound is so out of sight.

Why, you can't tell us from The Rolling Stones.

That's good-- to be

indistinguishable from someone else?

Oh, of course. Dad, let's face it.

Conformity is in. I'd better refrain from comment.

Why does everybody look as if I've

robbed a bank? We're gonna be famous.

I mean, doesn't it knock you out or anything?

Well, say something!

Uh--

G--

♪ [loud rock]

Hey, hey, hey! Cut! Hold it! Hold it! Whoops. Sorry.

It still doesn't work. The sound just

isn't there. There's no-- no soul.

Yeah, and no clink. Or a throb.

No thump. Can I be of any help?

Oh. Hi, Dad. Oh, boy, are we hung up.

The balance is off. We've lost the sound.

Do you think you might be able

to find it in the next half hour?

I have a paper to finish this afternoon.

We're just about through, aren't we, kids?

Yeah, well, unless we are able to grasp...

that elusive melodic line we are missing, we certainly are.

Oh! Dad, this is our new drummer.

He's a genius. Ringo, my dad, Professor Lawrence.

Dad, Ringo Feinberg. Hello, Ringo.

Groovy.

Yeah, well, carry on, kids. But quickly, huh?

Ringo Feinberg?

♪ [resumes]

Take 10, you guys. Come on into the kitchen, Gidget.

I wanna talk to you for a minute.

Gidget, the guys and I have been talkin', and-- Oh, that's swell.

Would you like some cookies? How about some milk?

It's no use. It just won't work.

You're gonna have to face it, Gidget. We're dropping Larue.

Oh, Paul, give her a few more days.

She's a little snorky now, but she'll be all right. Honest.

Look, messin' around on the beach is

one thing, but this is somethin' else.

We want that job, and Larue just fouls us up.

Well, I'm no help to you either. Why don't you drop me?

Are you kidding? You're our front, dum-dum.

Look, be a big girl. I'll send her in, and you tell her.

- Me tell her? - Well, if you don't, we will.

Oh, excuse me.

Gidget-- Larue--

What were you gonna say? That's okay. You go first.

Oh, no, it can wait. I don't think it can.

What do you mean? Oh, come off it, Gidget. I'm not stupid.

You're supposed to tell me I'm out of the group, right?

What makes you say that? Are you kidding?

If looks could kill, I would have been dead a week ago.

Don't panic. I couldn't be happier.

Actually, I was looking for a way to quit.

Here. This stuff gives me the hives.

Besides which, my parents flipped

when they saw my last report card.

Oh, Larue.

Besides which, all this isn't me. At heart, I'm a classicist.

Good-bye, Gidget. Where are you going?

I saw the most marvie Elizabethan

songbook for lute and guitar.

Now all I need to find is an Elizabethan to play it for me.

- Larue? - [crying] Oh, hi, Mr. Lawrence.

Everything's all turned upside down.

All I ever wanted to do was help Larue.

Well, that was the only reason I got involved in the group.

Wasn't it?

That's something you're gonna have to figure out for yourself.

And the sooner, the better.

Hi.

Am I disturbing you?

Why should tonight be any

different from the rest of the day?

Here are some release forms for you to sign for me to go on TV.

Okay.

If we win the audition, you'll probably have to sign lots more.

Yeah, I should imagine.

If we win the audition, I'll probably have to get an agent...

and join the union...

and, uh, probably quit school.

Well, we'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it.

It certainly is mature of you to, uh, not make a hassle...

and put your foot down like some parents would.

Is that what you want me to do?

Of course not. That would be dumb.

We haven't won yet. No, you haven't.

No.

None of this has turned out quite

like you thought it would, has it?

Well, it's just getting so complicated.

Whatever happens, I have great confidence in your judgment.

Well, good night, Dad.

Good night, honey.

[door opens] Come in. Come in.

Have a seat, Mr. Lawrence. Thank you.

Out.

Well, what can I do for you?

Well, actually nothing. I was in the neighborhood.

I thought I'd drop off these release forms. Thanks.

Gidget Lawrence is my daughter.

Oh, yeah. A cute little thing. Her group is on this week.

Yes, she told me.

She also said something about recording

contracts, regular TV appearances if they won.

Is all this really on the level?

You better believe it. New kids are big business, Mr. Lawrence.

- Yours might make you rich. - If they win.

I think the network people will like them.

They knocked me out. Good cleanie groups are hard to find.

cleanie groups?

Yeah, you know-- kids who just

stand there and sing. No gimmicks.

Fresh. Healthy.

That's what you liked about them?

Their, uh, ungimmicked freshness?

Oh, yeah.

Practically all you got today is

moaners and wailers and funny jumpies.

And spookies?

Right! The whole sickie bag.

These kids are so far out of today's

market, they're in, if you get what I mean.

I think I do. And I wanna thank you.

What's to thank? It's a living, you know?

Listen, is there some problem with the kids?

Well, there was. But I believe it's been resolved.

[Gidget narrating] That's what he thought. To be perfectly honest,

Larue had been avoiding me like poison for the last three days.

Now, that's no way to treat a best friend,

even one who puts a knife in your back.

♪ [strumming] [TV: western]

Larue? Turn the TV off, Mom. Can't hear you.

Gidget! [air blowing]

Hi, Larue. Aren't we friends anymore?

But of course we are. I just

haven't had a chance to call you...

because I've been so terribly busy and--

Oh, Gidget, I'm so glad to see you!

Oh! Oh, Larue, I just feel like such a rat.

You're not a rat. I am.

A jealous rat, and that's the worst kind.

It's just not fair the way things worked out.

Well, I'll admit I was upset for a while there,

like the whole time, but I'm okay now.

I had this long talk with my mom. She's great.

She said we all get our chance to

shine, but mine just hasn't come yet.

So when I get to college, watch out.

I was gonna call and wish you luck tomorrow.

You were? Honest?

Mm-hmm. 'Cause I wanted to tell you something.

If you have to leave Westside and go to a professional school,

well, I'm not gonna get another best friend.

Oh, Larue.

And when Gidget and the Gories are

climbing that old ladder of success,

I personally will form your first fan club.

Oh, Larue. You're the most loyal human being I ever met.

Heck. Isn't that what friends are for?

Yeah. That's exactly what they're for.

♪ [rock on TV]

Rick Arden thinks he's auditioning

a clean-cut folk-singing group.

That's what he saw at the high school. That's what he bought.

You mean that, by changing their act, they've--

They have hoisted themselves by their own guitars, as it were.

Yeah, yeah, yeah! [kids cheering]

And now, last but not least,

your Swinging Teens Group of the Year contest...

presents a new bunch of youngsters from Westside High!

[cheering]

Just between us, kids,

I got a surprise at rehearsal today.

This is not quite the same group I heard a few weeks ago.

I liked their sound then.

They were fresh, and they were different. [cheering]

However, I like them even better now!

[cheering] Kids,

you are about to hear the youngest, the wildest,

the freakiest sound around today.

The new stars of Swinging Teens.

The big stars of tomorrow. Our winner and yours,

The Gories!

♪ Let me show you where it's at ♪

♪ Let me show you where it's at ♪

♪ [continues] There she is, the vampire of the surfing set!

There's nothing worse than a funny psychologist.

Listen, it's a living. Hi, everybody.

Hi, Larue. Hi.

Hey, what's everybody so gloomy about?

Oh, honey, we just didn't expect to--

Gidge! Gidget!

That's not you!

Brilliant, John. You may make it yet.

In 20 words or less, what happened?

What happened is Gidge went to the guys and said,

"Either take Larue back, or I quit."

[Gidget] And they said, "Yeah? Catch you later."

It took 'em about 20 minutes to find

another girl to fit the outfit...

and about an hour to teach her the routine.

Well, I always said I didn't add much to the group.

But you were having so much fun.

Yeah, I know. But I got to thinking.

Being out in front of all those people and

having them make such a fuss about you--

Well, it's just about the most exciting thing in the world.

But when you know deep down inside that

you don't really deserve the applause,

that it's not you they're applauding

because you're not saying anything,

well, it makes you feel kind of--

- Guilty. - Icky.

And besides, there's something else

very important to be considered.

And what might that be?

Take a look at this pale thing.

It hasn't seen the light of day in so

long, it's practically growing fungus.

I gotta get back to the beach.

The sweetest words I ever heard.

And I will be the first one in the water, ladies,

if I may be permitted to drive you.