Don't Let it Get You

For my New Zealand film class, I watched John O'Shea's 1966 musical Don't Let it Get You. Although the film is not one of my favorites, I was interested in its resemblance to 1960s American beach party movies.
Don't Let it Get You follows the adventures of an Australian drummer (Gary Wallace) who sells his drums to buy a ticket to Rotorua for a music festival. He meets singer Howard Morrison, who tries to help him get a gig with a band. Unfortunately, all the bands already have drummers. Gary has to find a way to play while simultaneously wooing a girl who has also caught the eye of a rival drummer. The plot is pretty thin, and the film is mostly a showcase for contemporary New Zealand musicians. Howard Morrison, Lew Prime and Kiri Te Kanawa all play themselves.
Rotorua is portrayed as a great attraction for young people, and Don't Let it Get You is certainly a film for teens. There are many shots of musicians and festival-goers gallavanting by the pool, dancing, courting and enjoying their youth. Judy's mother, the one authority figure in the film, is seen as a bit uptight at first. She is the one hinderance to Judy's good time.
Everyone else is having a good time though. In one scene, Lew Prime and The Impacts pull up in a car, singing and playing the guitar, and soon a dance party is underway at Caltex. Oftentimes, the music does not seem to fit a scene at all and there is simply a sequence of an entertainer singing to a crowd.
As in the beach party film, there is some conflict between the "real" world (that without music, full of parents and other authority figures) and the "ideal" (the world that we see when the music is playing). There is also conflict between the males who vie for Judy's affection. Music, however, is the centerpiece and the film would be crippled without it.
Another similarity Don't Let it Get You has to the beach party film is the critical reaction it received. Although the film was popular with New Zealand viewers, most critics panned it as a piece of fluff work. Nevertheless, it is an important film and an homage to New Zealand pop musicians who might otherwise have been forgotten.