I am often surprised to hear about how often the state of Idaho has been used as the backdrop for Hollywood films. With Christmas nearing, it was just brought to my attention that a holiday musical starring two movie and entertainment legends was filmed just 80 miles north of Twin Falls.

There's a new holiday movie to add to your watch list in the next couple of days. The motion picture, "Ski Party," which was filmed in 1965 in Sun Valley, has turned 55 years old. It stars Frankie Avalon and Deborah Walley, and also features Annette Funicello.

The story involves a group of friends who decide to head to the mountains for a weekend ski retreat. The male lead, Avalon, then takes a liking to the resort's ski instructor. Music, dancing--there's even appearances by legendary soul rocker James Brown, and sixties surf band The Hondells--and a lot of cheesy dialogue ensues.

I think I recall watching this film a time or two growing up, as both my parents were big fans of this genre of film. It's dubbed as a comedy, but there are mentions of the holiday season throughout the film; the ugly sweaters alone do a great job of representing Christmas.

If you enjoy movies that are fun, and full of music and dance of this time period--and can stomach the comedic writing of the 1960s--you might want to fire this one up between now and December 25. If for no other reason, to see what Sun Valley had to offer 55 years ago.

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