A surfer behind the camera
Phil Wilson was a surfer who turned filmmaker in the 1960s, the golden age of the surf movie. He rides in his own first film, alongside the surfers he filmed.
Gone with the Wave came out in 1964: a 77-minute feature taking in Hawaii, California and Mexico, from the Makaha Championships to Laniakea, Sunset Beach, Waimea, the Banzai Pipeline, Honolua Bay and Kauai. It features Dewey Weber, Johnny Fain, Butch Linden, Paul Strauch Jr., Fred Hemmings, Buzzy Trent and a young Jeff Hakman, with a score by Lalo Schifrin and Stanley Wilson and narration by Johnny Magnus.
Surfing Way of Life followed in 1966, with the first coverage of Rincon in Puerto Rico and of Barbados on film, plus Cerro Azul in Peru, Malibu, Mexico and Hawaii. Johnny Fain and Butch Linden star, Lalo Schifrin scored it again, and Jack Sheldon narrated.
Both films are restored and streaming on Nalu TV.
