So many similarities to 'Gidget' (1959)
***SPOILERS***
I've seen Gidget many times, so recently when I saw This Could Be the Night on TCM, I couldn't help noticing strong similarities:
Rocco was Kahuna. Tony was Moondoggie. Anne and Gidget talked about learning what they needed to know from books and were categorized as highly educated. They had reputations of being "inexperienced" or "not the type" of people to spend time alone with men, or to work in a racy night club or go to a Luau (jokingly referred to as an "orgy" in Gidget).
The older men, Rocco and Kahuna, helped introduce Anne and Gidget to everyone and treated them better than Tony and Moondoggie did, yet Anne and Gidget fell for the younger guys (Tony/Moondoggie) who were interested in other women (the older men were considered too old or experienced for these particular ladies).
Gidget and Baby were nicknames given to these ladies by people they eventually became close to during the films. Many of the people in their new surroundings did not treat them well at first, but Gidget and Baby won them over.
Anne and Stowe Devlin (the guy who ate his dinners in the restaurant office) discussed how they could be categorized as "tourists" in their little part of the world. Moondoggie referred to Gidget as a tourist ("No tourists!").
In Gidget there was a scene with Kahuna and Gidget consuming alcoholic beverages while alone together in a beach shack and they almost kissed once. After Gidget left the shack, Moondoggie came in and had a fist fight with Kahuna for being alone there with Gidget. In This Could Be the Night there was a scene with Tony and Anne consuming alcoholic beverages while alone together in his apartment and all they did was kiss. After Anne left, Rocco showed up and hit Tony a couple of times for being alone there with Anne.
There was a line from Gidget about how she'll "be pickled in a jar" -- referring to how she'll remain inexperienced whether she wanted to or not. In This Could Be the Night, Anne used a similar expression regarding pickling and her lack of experience.
In This Could Be the Night there was a scene which opened with the camera aimed in the general direction of the record player which was playing jazzy, big band type of music. The camera panned to the right to show Patty in the next room facing toward the right side of our screens and moving to the music. In Gidget there was a scene which opened with the camera aimed at the record player which was playing jazzy, big band type of music. The camera panned to the right to show Gidget in the next room facing toward the right side of our screens and moving to the music.
Anne's best female friend was a feisty, short-haired girl. Gidget's best female friend was a feisty, short-haired girl.
Some people say Moondoggie saw Kahuna as a father figure-type since Moondoggie initially refused to go along with what his father wanted him to do with his life and instead chose to follow Kahuna's path in life. Rocco is more or less a father figure-type for Tony.
Tony came to Anne's rescue a couple of times (although not necessarily life-threatening situations). Moondoggie came to Gidget's rescue a couple of times.
Anne and Gidget improved Rocco and Kahuna's lives. Rocco was eating healthier, drinking less and wearing new clothes because of Anne. Kahuna decided to give up the life of a surf bum and got a job as a pilot because of the impact Gidget had on his life.
Both films had musical numbers performed by important characters.
The book, Gidget, came out the same year as This Could Be the Night, so it's feasible that the Gidget screenplay was inspired by This Could Be the Night.