ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

Let's face it, the King of Rock 'n Roll was a likable guy, and his movies are fun, even if you don't like his music.

Of course, everybody likes his music, so everybody likes his movies -- partly because he was such a likable guy.

Admittedly some are better than others. Some are serious and some are funny -- and some are funnier than others. A few of them are so serious they surprised everybody by showing us Elvis could act. Hollywood didn't let him show us that very often (more's the pity).

Everybody has their own favorites, and one of mine is Girl Happy.





The pluses for this one include a great cast with lots of hot ladies (Mary Ann Mobley, Shelley Fabares, and a dozen others who are to die for, as they say). Elvis' buddies are his band members, and they can't open their mouths without witty dialog pouring out, thanks to a brilliant script by Harvey Bullock and R.S. Allen.

Even Shelley Fabares' gangster daddy has funny lines. Shelley calls him from college to say she's going to Fort Lauderdale for spring break. Daddy is outraged.

"What! No daughter of mine is going off to some army Camp!"

Afterwards he vents his rage to a sympathetic Elvis when he says, "When you get married, never have girls! Especially daughters!"

Okay, so it's funnier when you hear it in the movie, but the delivery of all the comedic lines is impeccable, and the movie's pacing shifts through the gears and gets right to the high one in the first sixty seconds. It doesn't downshift until The End.

For example, you haven't lived 'till you've seen Elvis and his posse rescue an inebriated Shelly from a smooth Latin lover by stealing his cabin cruiser (trailer and all) with the busy couple inside. They dump it into the motel swimming pool!





The highly appealing set of the motel pool area is the focus of key scenes in the story, but the movie isn't confined to it. The Fort Lauderdale club in which Elvis and the boys perform several numbers is packed with attractive extras who dance around with more energy than ought to fit onto one movie screen.

And when sweet, demure Miss Fabares appears on stage in shorts, heels, and a skimpy gold Lam?? top, the temperature gauge on my DVD player climbed up into the danger zone!







The DVD is sharp as a sniper scope, which isn't always true of every Elvis movie, so I'm sure glad it's true of this one. If you're in the mood for an Elvis movie, this one is the cream that floats right on top.

So, what's your movie with the King?
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Brent Gair]

This is a tough call but sentimental considerations push BLUE HAWAII to the top of my list.



I first saw Blue Hawaii in a makeshift theater under a tent built on the sand at West Hawk lake here in Manitoba. The hot summer night, sand and beach made for a perfect venue. Like the later Beach Party movies, BLUE HAWAII was instrumental in cementing my belief that a perfect moment consists of cruising to the beach with a pretty girl and a convertible. Watch the video.

https://youtu.be/W1ICfLo3CEY


Elvis also sang this catchy tune written by Ed Wood's gal pal Dolore Fuller.

https://youtu.be/ccY1ZXPCexg

[Bud Brewster]

By gum, I was trying to think of another Elvis movie that matched Girl Happy's good-natured fun, with a group of guys who are loyal to Elvis, and plenty of girls to ogle at.

I saw this one at the East Point Theater near Atlanta when it was first released — the same place I saw Beyond the Time Barrier one year earlier, which stars Darlene Tompkins. She's also in Blue Hawaii, but she's given no chance at all to shine likes she does in that fine little sci-fi gem.

Elvis's co-star in Blue Hawaii is the gorgeous, Joan Blackman — who was Earl Holliman's hot-to-trout girlfriend in Visit to a Small. She smashed the personal force field of alien Jerry Lewis with a hot kiss!

We also get to watch John Archer (Destination Moon) romance Nancy Walters, showing the Right Stuff in the realm of romance, just as he did in the race to the Moon.

Blue Hawaii concludes with a stunning wedding ceremony that I vividly remember from that first viewing in 1961 — along with the hit song that played frequently on the radio. The album was number one for 39 weeks in the Top 10 on Billboard‍ '​s Top Pop LPs chart.
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

Most of what's written below is part of the thread I started for this fine Elvis movie, but I decided a version of this post belongs in this thread too,

So, here it is!

The story is top notched — an imaginative tale about a rich guy (Elvis) who meets a slaphappy poor boy (Will Hutchins, who also appears in Spinout) at a gas station during a long road trip, and he befriends our hero.

Will Hutchin's whimsically suggests that they trade places . . . and Elvis suddenly realizes that a version of "The Prince and Pauper" would solve the problem he has with girls pretending to love him for his money instead of his true noble nature!

Ah, but Elvis isn't just a rich boy who wants to be loved for his sparkling personality. His father owns a big oil company whose research-and-development division works on new hi-tech products, and Elvis has secretly developed on a formula for a tough coating that will make speedboats able to resist the brutal pounding the hulls endure during high speed races!

The exciting climax in this enjoyable Elvis movie involves our hero proving that his tough new coating works — and also showing his billionaire father that he doesn't need to live in the shadow of his rich daddy!

Meanwhile, the enjoyable romance between Elvis and the lovely Shelley Fabares works out quite well . . . as it did in several other Elvis epics.
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Gord Green]

My favorite Elvis movie was his first one, LOVE ME TENDER.

When first released Elvis just got a mention at the bottom of the poster.



As his fame became evident he recieved more prominence in the promotion of the picture.





His performance was actually quite good, and showed him to be a fery effective actor.



This review from IMDb lays it out pretty well:

This was a critically acclaimed introductory role for Elvis. This was not one of the more cheesy moneymakers that Col. Tom Parker stuck him with for the remainder of his career (Girl Happy or Blue Hawaii for instance).

Elvis plays Clint Reno, one of the Reno brothers who stayed home while his brother went to fight in the Civil War for the Confederate army.

When his brother Vance comes back from the war, he finds that his old girlfriend Cathy has married Clint. The family has to struggle to reach stability with this issue. Vance is involved in a train robbery, while a Confederate soldier, of Federal Government money.



There is a conflict of interest, when Vance tries to return the money, against the wishes of some of his fellow Confederates.

Elvis showed great depth as an actor in his role as Clint Reno and also showed the potential to broaden his career from the premier musical superstar of our time into one of the crossover megastars that we see commonly today.

His music is an integral part of the movie but it isn't put on display the way his future movies do. When you watch this film, try to remember he hadn't done any of those 90-minute rock-n-roll videos with the likes of Ann-Margaret and Nancy Sinatra.



LOVE ME TENDER is worth viewing if the viewer is willing to set aside their preconceived expectations of "just another Elvis movie."

[Bud Brewster]

________________________________

This is one of the few Elvis movies I've never seen, but based on your comments I should definitely watch it in the near future.

Thanks, Gord!
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Robert (Butch) Day]

My favorite Elvis movie — for obvious reasons — is It Happened at the World's Fair (M-G-M 1963); It allows me to revisit the 1962 Seattle Worlds Fair The Century 21 Exposition — The Space Age fair for All Sci-Fi fans!



On the defunct board I had a post about some of the more sci-fi elements of the fair. Should I repost it? (It was under the Retro Future thread.)
_________________
Common Sense ISN'T Common

[Bud Brewster]

________________________________

Sure, Butch, that sounds great.

By the way, I tried to find one single site that hyphenated MGM. I couldn't. I was just making sure I wasn't typing it wrong. Is it optional?
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Robert (Butch) Day]

Yes it is. The old studio ALWAYS printed their name as "Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer" and it was shortened by reviewers and critics (a bunch of annoying little insects) as "MGM". It's just an old habit with me.
_________________
Common Sense ISN'T Common

[Bud Brewster]

________________________________

A nice trailer for my favorite Elvis Presley movie!

________________Follow That Dream - Trailer


__________
_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)