Slippery Surfing

I took another dip into Bruce Brown's back catalog with Slippery When Wet, again online. This was Brown's first movie, made in 1958.

If you don't know Bruce Brown, he is the classic surf documentary maker, director of The Endless Summer, the first surfing movie with a real distribution. But before he got famous, he was making these movies on a shoestring. Slippery When Wet, for instance, was made for $5,000, including film, transportation to Hawaii, living expenses for crew and 5 surfers, and profit ($1 for Brown, $2 for his producer).

But oh those waves. Brown takes 5 SoCal surfers to Hawaii's North Shore. They ride Waimea, Pupukea, Makapu'u, and Sunset. No real monsters, but lots of overheads waves, up to maybe 15 feet. Great stuff.

Brown's narration is great as always. He tries to work a storyline in, with goofy jokes about the surfer lifestyle (the kitchen has nothing but cans of beans on the shelves, in the fridge and in the oven). It's hard to tell how much is serious, how much is silly. The guys were really living on a few bucks a day, sleeping on the floor or bare springs, driving an old woody.

What was the Hawaiian surf scene like in 1958? Seemed pretty fully developed - they go to one beach on Sunday and find the breaks packed with locals. Interesting historically, but you know, the waves look pretty up-to-date.