Now, what about the set for the bikini contest?

A first impression, perhaps being the intent of the producer, was it adjoined the Pavilion.  But that didn't seem right at all and we kept thinking "We know that place!"  Once again while carefully studying the individual frames whom should we recognize but none other than a much younger Harold Bessent, aka "Fat Harold", who today owns Fat Harold's Beach Club in Ocean Drive and Harold's On The Ocean (HOTO's) in Cherry Grove which are incorporated into North Myrtle Beach.  He was playing one of the judges for the bikini contest.

Wait a minute!  That had to be the original Fat Harold's deck on the beach at Ocean Drive before it was demolished to make way for the present day Ocean Drive Beach & Golf Resort.  Yes, indeed that was Harold's place disguised for the movie including extra thatching being added to roof lines, a large banner type cloth covering one of the banisters and a "U" shaped stage added with the left entrance being on top of a staircase down to the beach and the right side attached to the deck where a section of the rail had been cut away.  Of course it seemed familiar - we had been there many times including for "real" bikini and occasional wet T-shirt contests (not sure the latter were sanctioned events, but nevertheless were fun).

So, after much ado the mysteries were solved and we hope the next soul wanting to know about the locations where the movie was filmed will find this commentary on the internet.

Here are a few more frame captures.  As with the other small pictures in this write-up, click on them to see larger versions.

More information about Shag: The Movie along with a comments forum can be found at this IMDb link.  Be sure to notice the links on that page to "more" content and the multiple pages of topics and comments that have been posted.

The most glaring example of what is factually wrong with the premise of the movie involves the character of Jimmy Valentine. This Fabian-like individual was the antithesis of what was acceptable to shagging aficionados and the very idea that people would somehow be enthralled by him and that he would be treated as a welcomed, sought after celebrity was just beyond ludicrous. Keep in mind, we’re not talking about the general population at that time, but rather what constituted the views and behavior of those very much into the Carolina Beach Music scene. To put the matter another way, a Jimmy Valentine would have been every bit as incongruous and offensive as Elvis or the Beach Boys from California. True shaggers in that period (and many still today) saw their dislike of such as part of what set them, their music and their dance apart and in that respect helped define their collective persona.

So, that was the single largest misrepresentation in the movie, but there were other, lesser offenses noted. The drunken house party was just completely off the charts and the figment of someone’s very considerable imagination. That sort of thing on that scale did not occur in the early ‘60’s in Myrtle Beach or its surrounds. Most definitely lots of PJ (Purple Jesus – a concoction of grain alcohol and grape juice) was consumed and it could make one do crazy things (oh, the stories we could share in that respect). Indeed it was ladled from all manner of containers including wash tubs and even commodes set up as punch bowls (not actually connected to a sewer system), but the extreme ridiculousness portrayed was no doubt confused with the likes of Animal House fraternity type behavior from a later period.

Now, onto the lesser factual problems. Most of the attire pictured was highly accurate and well done. One major exception was jeans being worn by shaggers and worse yet with the cuffs turned up and white socks. Someone was definitely confused with Northern style versus that in the Carolinas at the time. That appearance, for the most part, had seen its demise among the Carolina Beach Music cognoscenti by the summer of 1963. Someone in a Myrtle Beach shag club dressed like that would have been perceived to be a real bumpkin. Even today when jeans are so pervasive and have become so much a part of the American lifestyle it still shocks us seeing them being worn by people who are shagging, which is now not unusual.

The dress de rigor for guys in the evenings was evolving to a preppy look: Khaki or Madras trousers, blue Oxford cloth button down collar long sleeve shirts, a real ‘gator belt (for those who could afford them), and brown (not black) Bass Weejun loafers. In cooler weather an Alpaca sweater would be worn or draped on one’s back with the sleeves across the shoulders and loosely tied in front. Regardless of the temperature, socks were never worn. Speaking of shoes, the almost exclusive use of Capezio style by the girls in the movie was also somewhat dated and more of a "Northern thing" by that point in time. A noteworthy number of the girls were also wearing the Bass Weejun loafers in the evenings at the clubs. On the subject of evening attire, even at the Pavilions, seeing a guy dancing shirtless as in the movie would have been a real anomaly and the sign of someone who didn’t fit in. During the daytime, it would not be unusual, particularly at the open-air venues near the beach, to see people wearing swimsuits and shorts grabbing a Blue (Ribbon) and maybe doing a few steps.

Speaking of not fitting in, the idiot wearing the sombrero would have had his butt kicked and been summarily tossed from any of the shag clubs or places primarily patronized by people interested in such. That sort of totally stupid "uncool" behavior would not have been tolerated. Big Bob is another of the characters whose representation as being part of the scene is at best debatable. He’s one of what we called "greasers" and could be found lurking around the periphery. You certainly saw no one like that shagging.

We could go on quite a bit more with itemization of factual misrepresentations, but it would serve no worthwhile purpose. However, we will note for those not personally familiar with shagging (one should never say "shag dancing" – that would be like saying "waltz dancing"), the dancing as performed by some of the principal characters left a lot to be desired and surely was nothing that could have won a contest in those days. They obviously had received some expert instruction in a few of the proper steps and moves, but they lacked the "smoothness" and faultless transitions that are such an essential ingredient.  Some of the newspaper articles we found from the time when the movie was released mentioned one of the producers had taken certain liberties in modifying the moves portrayed, thus detracting from their complete authenticity.  For those not familiar with the dance here's a good example in its contemporary form being well done:  Shagging

Do you get the feeling that those truly involved with Carolina Beach Music and shagging in that period viewed themselves as pursuing something uniquely their own and in that respect different from the rest of the country at the time? If any of us stopped to think about it, the answer would have been "Yes". And for those of us with the advantage of personal experience and hindsight, and even for those who have subsequently embraced the music and the dance, that answer is still true today and is felt with a great sense of pride.

In closing we do have to say that when we recently saw the movie again while doing our research we actually enjoyed it. Maybe it's age and a tendency for greater acceptance and a less critical attitude on our parts, but this time around we put the factual problems aside and didn’t find ourselves so concerned that others who didn’t know better would get the wrong impression of something that has mattered greatly to us in our lives. It is after all a good story about a far less complicated time.

                                                                                  Best wishes,

                                                                                   Ed and Sandra                                                                                      EandS@carolina.rr.com