Your Elvis blogmeister is in the middle of a busy week leading up to Thanksgiving, with two different groups of relatives coming to stay for a few days. So, it is time to take it easy and share with you an interesting Elvis article posted by my friend Ty at www.TheFilmFrontier.com.    more »

Laurel Goodwin was the biggest omission in ElvisBlog’s original “Star Trek Elvis Connection”. She played Laurel Dodge, Elvis’ love interest in Girls, Girls, Girls.   more »

This is Tygrrius, filling in again for Phil. As an Elvis fan, you are undoubtedly used to "greatest hits" and various other methods of re-packaging existing material. Today, I'm going to steal a page from RCA's playbook by taking a look at ElvisBlog's Greatest Hits.    more »

Everybody knows that Colonel Parker killed Elvis’ chances of becoming a serious actor. All Parker wanted was simple, light-weight plots with lots of songs. To him, the movies were simply a means to sell soundtrack albums. Of course, the films made a nice profit, too, for a long time, as the fans kept coming no matter what was served up to them.   more »

The following blog article is coming to you compliments of TheFilmFrontier.com. What you are about to see is a correlation between Elvis and young Darth Vader racing the hot vehicles of their days.   more »

When Bubba Ho-Tep was released back in 2003, I did not watch it in a movie theater. As an independent film made on a shoestring budget, its run was mostly limited to the film festival circuit. However, it received much critical praise, and by the time the Bubba Ho-Tep came out on VHS, there was enough buzz to make it a ‘must have’ for me. I loved it.   more »

In the ElvisBlog column two weeks ago, I mentioned the DVD of Jailhouse Rock I bought in Rome while on vacation. For some reason, the Italians changed the title to Il Delinquente del Rock & Roll. I can’t figure out why they chose to do this, because Jailhouse Rock has a direct translation – Casa Carere Rock.   more »

Earlier this year, we had fun looking back at the 1956 New York Times review of Elvis’ first movie Love Me Tender. To say the least, the reviewer didn’t like it. Do you think Elvis fared any better in the review published in Time Magazine? Of course not.   more »

The New York Times published its review of Elvis’ first movie “Love Me Tender” on November 16, 1956. Fortunately, it is back in print as part of the Times special commemorative THE KING, containing 80 articles about Elvis. Just the title was enough to tell me there was no way the review would be positive: “Culture Takes A Holiday.” When I read that, I knew Elvis was going to get clobbered.   more »

Turner Classic Movies hasn’t given the above title to their TV schedule for August 16 – but they could. TCM will show 24 hours of consecutive, commercial-free Elvis movies on the 29th anniversary of his death. Fourteen movies in all. What a treat for Elvis fans this year.   more »

One website I return to frequently is TVNow. I have bookmarked the link to their monthly list of Elvis shows on television, which I use to make my Elvis movie watching plans. Of course, I have all of his films on tape and could watch them any time I want, but I prefer to catch them when are broadcast.   more »

Surprise, this is not an article about the phrase made famous by Al Dvorin. It is a review of a movie of the same name that went straight to video. I figure you ought to get the word on it now while the DVD is still available. A year from now it may be hard to find. Elvis Has Left The Building is a quirky little film starring Kim Basinger, who still looks terrific at age 50+.    more »

Although I’ve been only a modest Johnny Cash fan over the years, I am fully aware of his talent and immense contribution to American music.  So, his bio-pic “Walk The Line” was a must-see when it came out on DVD.  This is one movie you don’t want to miss.  Joaquin Phoenix did a superb job portraying Johnny Cash.  He was at least as good as Reese Witherspoon, who won an Oscar playing June Carter.

 

Because the careers of Elvis and Johnny Cash overlapped for a short while at Sun Records, I knew Elvis would have to be in the movie.  He was – in four different scenes -- but I’m not totally happy with the way Elvis was portrayed.

 

The scene first occurred in 1954 when Cash was a struggling door-to-door salesman in Memphis.  He walked around a corner onto Union St. and saw two fellows unload an upright bass from their car and carry it across the street and into a small storefront.  Any Elvis fan would identify the young men as Elvis and Bill Black.  Cash looked in the window and could faintly hear music.  He walked around back, and through an open door he heard Elvis and Bill and Scotty playing “Milk Cow Blues.”  Soon Johnny Cash is back at Sun studios doing an audition for Sam Phillips.

 

Elvis’ next scene is at a concert in Texarkana, Texas in 1955.  Almost the whole gang from Sun Records was on the bill:  Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Roy Orbison.  This would have been a terrific show had it really occurred, but it never happened.  Jerry Lee’ history at Sun Records didn’t start until late 1956, and Roy Orbison came along after him.  This instance of playing loose with the truth should have sent me a warning that something worse was coming.

 

However, the actor playing Elvis has four lines of dialog in this scene, including “Sounded good tonight, Cash – real tight,” and “Want some chilli-fries?”  Elvis also makes two complimentary comments about June Carter, but parts of them were too mumbled to distinguish, even with repeated listens.

 

The movie jumps to a scene in a car, part of a tour caravan through Texas in 1956.  Johnny and June and Jerry Lee mention they are going to Tyler and that they had just played Austin.  Soon they stop in Calvert, Texas for the night, and all the fellows, including Elvis, hang around outside drinking beer.  One fellow has a baggie of something in his hand, and asks Cash if he wants some.  When Cash asks what is it, the fellow tells him, "It'll just make you want to drive all the way to Jacksonville -- and enjoy yourself when you get there."

 

Then comes the part that really bothers me.  The fellow tells Cash, “Elvis takes 'em,” and with that validation Cash agrees to try some.  The implication is that Johnny Cash’s downward spiral with amphetamines started because of Elvis.  This is a low blow.  Sure, Elvis had his problems with prescription drugs in the latter part of his life, but none of the references I’ve checked cite any use in 1956.  The earliest noted use of amphetamines by Elvis is as a soldier in Germany to stay awake during all-night maneuvers.  It just bugs me that the people behind the movie took such liberties with Elvis.

 

The last scene with Elvis in it is at a concert in Texarkana, Texas, later in 1956.  This time we get to see Elvis perform.  However, part way through the song, the camera shifts to backstage action by Johnny Cash.  While Cash has his first dalliances with groupies, we hear Elvis singing “That’s All Right.”  Is that a coincidence, or is the movie giving subliminal validation by Elvis for more bad behavior? 

 

It spite of these quibbles, I thought “Walk The Line” was a wonderful movie with superb acting.  At its core it is a love story with a happy ending.  Without June Carter, we would have lost Johnny Cash a lot earlier and America would have missed a lot of great music.

 

©  2006   Philip R Arnold    www.elvisblog.net

The common complaint about Elvis movies is that they are all pretty much the same story with different actresses for love interests.  Elvis is either a racecar driver or pilot or boat owner, who just happens to be a singer, too.

 

So, you have to give credit to “Kissin’ Cousins” for breaking from the standard formula a bit.  I watched it again on Elvis’ birthday as part of the four-movie special presented by cable channel Turner Classic Movies.  Unfortunately, family obligations prevented me from seeing the other three: “Jailhouse Rock,” “It Happened At The Worlds Fair,” and “Viva Las Vegas.”  But “Kissin’ Cousins” started at 6:15 AM and was over by 8 AM, so I finished it before anyone else even got up.

 

What makes “Kissin’ Cousins” different is that there are two Elvises, or at least Elvis playing two characters.  One is Josh Morgan, the familiar black-haired Elvis, but the other is mountain man Jodie Tatum, a very distant cousin who looks identical except for his sandy-colored hair.  Josh has two other very distant Tatum cousins, Serena and Azalea, beautiful hillbilly girls who both go after Elvis early in the script.  This has happened in other Elvis movies, but I love the way he solves this dilemma.  This time, his character is an Army Lieutenant, so he simply orders a Sergeant to take one girl off his hands.  Nice assignment.

 

Of course, it wouldn’t be right unless both Elvises end up with a girl, so a beautiful WAC from the Army steno pool is introduced to be Jodie’s love interest.  She wants nothing to do with him at first, but Jodie keeps after her, and finally his singing wins her over.  Gee, that never happened before.

 

As with most Elvis movies, there are several song-and-dance scenes in “Kissin’ Cousins.”  So, where do all the extra girls for this come from?  Well, you see, the Tatum clan’s property is up on a mountain.  Down below is Kitty Hawk Valley, where no baby boys have been born for over twenty years.  (How’s that for pushing the limits of willing suspension of disbelief?)  I just love the parts when fifteen or so of the love-starved Kitty Hawk girls make raids up the mountain to snag themselves Tatum men.  No wonder Jodie has never left the mountain.  He’s had his choice of these lovelies all these years.

 

“Kissin’ Cousins” was a fine way to celebrate Elvis’ birthday, and I commend Turner Classic Movies for again bringing us blocks of Elvis films on special occasions.  The next time should be the Fourth of July, and I’ll be watching.

 

©  2006   Philip R Arnold   www.elvisblog.net

 

There is one Elvis movie you will never see available on DVD.  It truly is awful, but that’s what makes it such an interesting subject for an Elvisblog article.

 

My nominee for the worst Elvis movie of all time is “Stay Away, Joe.”  How many of you readers have even seen it?  Not too many, I’ll bet.  When it was released in 1968, it reached only #65 in the box-office rankings for the year.  Now, 37 years later, if the movie rating code included a “Not PC“ rating, “Stay Away, Joe” would get one.

 

The movie portrays young Indian men on a reservation in Arizona as beer-drinking, women-chasing hell-raisers, and Elvis (Joe Lightcloud) is right there with them for every brawl and midnight party.  The fights are almost slapstick and good-natured, but there’s a lot of them.  I did find some humor in their frequent runs to the liquor store to get more beer, and they sure could put away a lot of it.  A good bit of the total viewing time of the movie occurs while the boys are drunk.  After one all-nighter, Joe is found covered in beer cans under the front porch of the family’s ramshackle home.  It was supposed to be humorous, but I’ve got to think Native Americans would find these stereotypes highly offensive.

 

Fortunately, the worst totally-stupid drunk action is not done by Joe, but by his buddy Bronc.  The Lightcloud family had received 20 cows and a bull from the US government under an experimental program to show that reservation Indians weren’t lazy and shiftless.  All the Lightclouds had to do was raise and grow the herd.  Well, the night the cattle arrive, they have a huge drunken party on the spur of the moment.  There is no food, so Joe instructs Bronc to barbeque up one of the government cows.  Have you figured out what’s coming?  Of course, Bronc cooks and serves the bull, their only bull.  Uh-Ohh.

 

After blowing their opportunity, the family resorts to selling off the rest of the herd, one-by-one, to buy things they need for their home.  Just when it appears the worst fears of the govenment men have been realized, Elvis/Joe saves the day.  He comes up with a way to raise a bunch of cash quickly and bail out everything, but it’s pretty far-fetched.

 

There are two good things that can be said about “Stay Away, Joe.”  Elvis looks great -- tanned and rugged in his redskin make-up.  Also, the credits open during extended aerial views of the beautiful redrock formations around Sedona, AZ, accompanied by an Elvis vocal on a serious western song, “Stay Away.”  It all feels like you are about to see a good western, but noooo…

 

Elvis does three other songs in the movie, and one is notable.  Elvis/Joe sings the song, “Dominique” about their replacement bull (selected by Bronc, of course), which has no interest whatsoever in chasing after any of those 20 lovely cows.  An ode to an impotent bull.  Very strange.

 

I have a VHS copy of “Stay Away, Joe.”  Someday, when I retire, I’ll put it up for sale.  I’m counting on its rarity to make it a desirable Elvis collectible.  I don’t think there are many of them around (and that’s probably how it should be).

© 2005   Philip R Arnold

Most of us Elvis fans have dozens of his movies on video, so we can watch one any time we want.   Instead, do you tend to let the tapes sit unused, but never miss it when an Elvis movie shows up on TV?  I do.  A casual scan of the cable movie options the other night revealed that “Clambake” would be on Showtime West at 8 o’clock.  Perfect.  Not to be missed.

 

I happily announced to my wife what I would be watching, and her response was, “How many times have you seen it?”  She always forgets that it doesn’t really matter how many times.  In fact, with repeated viewings, you get to know the story so well you can start watching for other interesting things.  “Clambake” is full of them.  It also has Shelly Fabares, who looks so fine.  Elvis had her in three of his movies, so he must have thought so, too.  Some folks are waiting for Ann Margret’s intimate memoirs about Elvis to be published, but I’d really like to hear from Shelly Fabares

 

In Clambake, Elvis’ character (very rich) switches identities with a water-skiing instructor.  After she falls for Elvis, thinking him to be poor, he shows her his driver’s license to prove his real name.  His date of birth is clearly visible, but it is 1940, not 1935.  Wonder why they wanted to take five years off his age?  Of course, Elvis looks great in “Clambake,” so the younger age seems to fit.

 

“Clambake” takes place in Miami, and the end of the movie has Elvis and Shelly driving along a beach parkway.  Palm trees are clearly visible, but so is something else – mountains in the background.  Mountains in Florida???  Now, I look forward to seeing them every time.  What a hoot.

 

My favorite part of the movie comes at the end of a musical number which features something found in all of Elvis’ beach movies – pretty girls in tight outfits dancing around.  When the song ends, five of the girls sit down on chairs behind a table.  Elvis moves down the line, kissing each one.  Wouldn’t you lady readers love to have been sitting on one of those chairs?  If you think about it, Col Parker probably missed one heck of a good marketing opportunity on this one.

 

© 2005  Philip R Arnold

Once again, I have found convincing proof that Elvis’ hold on American culture is unmatched by any other popular icon.  He keeps showing up in the most unexpected places.  For example, the animated movie “Quest For Camelot.” 

 

This is a 1998 release from Warner Brothers Animation, following right after their huge success with “Space Jam.”  It features the voice talents of many notable actors, including Pierce Brosnan, Jane Seymour, John Gielgud, and Gary Oldham.  The story is yet another variation on the fables about King Arthur, Excalibur, and the Knights of the Round Table.  The main villain has lots of black magic, and he uses it against the young hero and heroine during their quest to find the stolen Excalibur and return it to the king.  Of course, there was lots of action and heroics galore.

 

There is also a love story, four songs (Celine Dion provides the voice for one), and humor.  The comic relief in this movie comes from a timid two-headed dragon named Devon (Eric Idle) and Cornwall (Don Rickles).  He/they can’t fly, can’t breath fire, and can’t get along with each other.  They are constantly quibbling, which leads to a duet on the song, “I Can Get Along Without You.”

 

The song is standard soundtrack pop music, but the big finale is belted out in heavy blues fashion, similar to the way Elvis ended “I Got A Woman.”  The dragon suddenly has on a white, Las Vegas-style Elvis jumpsuit.  Both heads have black Elvis hair, and they wear his trademark sunglasses.  The choreography even has a couple of classic Elvis moves.  Now, I’ve seen everything: A two-headed dragon in a sword and sorcery movie doing Elvis.  He really is everywhere.

The Fourth of July is nearly here, and Turner Classic Movies cable channel has a treat lined up for us Elvis fans.  How does nine straight hours of Elvis movies sound?  I probably won’t be up for the start of “Follow That Dream” at 6 AM, but I’ll watch “Kissin’ Cousins” at 8.  “Spinout” at 9:45 is a must, because it’s another chance to see Elvis and Shelly Fabares together.  She’s #1 on my list of favorite Elvis co-stars, and she looks so fine in this one.  I’ll skip “Double Trouble” at 11:30, so I can spend some time with the family over lunch.

 

Then, at 1:15, I will be parked in front of the TV to watch “Live A Little, Love A Little.”  Yes, I know this movie was made in 1968 when those last really crummy Elvis movies came out.  But it’s so bad, it’s good.  Actually, it's a bad movie with so many weird things in it, that it merits watching at every opportunity.  “Live A Little, Love A Little,” has been described as Elvis’ strangest movie, and here are some of the reasons.

 

The first dialog occurs on a beach when Elvis meets the very beautiful Michele Carey, and it takes her just 90 seconds to ask him if he wants to make love to her.  Wow.  I wonder how many times that happened to Elvis in real life.  Carey’s character spends the rest of the movie alternately screwing with Elvis’ mind and coming on to him.  About 30 minutes into the movie, Elvis has a fight with two guys.  One is his buddy (at that time), Red West, and Elvis really pounds him as the fight ends.  I supply my own dialog for this scene:  “That’s for writing that rotten book about me, you creep!”

 

Next up comes the famous dream sequence featuring the song, “The Edge Of Reality.”  The movie was made during the era when “trippin’” and “far out, man” were part of the popular vernacular, and the film’s director apparently wanted to connect Elvis to this culture.  He succeeded: it is a totally bizarre mess you can’t take your eyes off.  The ending has many colored spotlights swirling around Elvis, then shooting in to bathe him in light, and then darting away.  Definitely “trippin'.”

 

“Live A Little, Love A Little” is the only movie Elvis has sex in, but we don’t get to see anything about it.  We get a hint before it happens by seeing Elvis remove a board she had used to separate the bed into exclusive sides.  The next morning he finds her lipstick note on the mirror, “Thanks for making me a whole woman.”  I say, “Phooey.  Thanks for not even showing us the foreplay.”

 

Another anticipated moment in this movie is Elvis singing the original version of “A Little Less Conversation.”  The 2002 remix is better, but this version hold up well, and it’s fun to see the origin of the song.

 

Big thanks should go out to Turner Classic Movies for their Elvis Fest on the Fourth.  They’ve done this before and probably will again.  Far out, man.

© 2005  Philip R Arnold