The film belongs to the beach party genre of movies, popular in the s. School is out and the teenagers head for the beach. All is well until millionaire Harvey Huntington Honeywagon III Keenan Wynn comes around, convinced that the beachgoers are so senselessly obsessed with sex that their mentality is below that of a primate — especially Honeywagon's wunderkind pet chimp Clyde Janos Prohaska , who can surf, drive, and watusi better than anyone on the beach. With the teenagers demoralized and discredited, Honeywagon plans to turn Bikini Beach into a senior citizens retirement home. Annoyed by Frankie's reluctance to start their relationship towards marriage, Dee Dee Annette Funicello becomes receptive to Potato Bug's advances. According to Asher's claim, the group had agreed to act in the film but later dropped out as their rapidly growing fame especially after their appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show caused their fee to exceed the film's budget.