KCET, LOST LA - Selling the Stoke: Surfing Toward the “The Endless Summer”

In January of 1964, audiences lined up during a raging blizzard in Wichita, Kansas to see a new documentary by a relatively unknown young filmmaker. Perhaps the title lured those seeking to escape the freezing Kansas winter. If so, the opening credits alone rewarded their tenacity, as a schooner rides high in the distance while palm trees sway in the tropical breeze. Golden light shimmers across a dancing sea and two silhouettes glide across the rolling waves. The opening minutes of Bruce Brown's “The Endless Summer” provided a cinematic glimpse into an idyllic fantasy world of sun, sea, and surf.