Monthly Archives: October 2020

 

I’m so glad I found this post when I was digging for a good oldie to repost.  It started out as a regular movie review that included publicity stills, lobby posters, and maybe a screen-grab or two of scenes from the movie.

 

But I got carried away with making screen-grabs and did twenty-one of them.  I made heavy use of pause, single-frame-advance (and back) and created a lot of great shots this way.  Then I wrote a narrative around all my pictures.

 

So, here is a really fun look at Elvis’ movie, “Tickle Me.”

 

 

Here is an example of one thing that makes Tickle Me work for me. This shot happened when Elvis first arrived at the Circle Z Ranch. I could have selected another fifteen or twenty similar pictures of beautiful girls ogling Elvis from other scenes in this movie.

 

This is Elvis’ love interest, played by Jocelyn Lane, one of my favorite Elvis costars. This is how she first sees Elvis as he starts work at the Circle Z health ranch.

 

And this is a few seconds after he first sees her. Don’t the students usually face the instructor when doing exercises? Oh, well, that wouldn’t be as much fun.

 

The view gets Elvis so shook up he tumbles over a patio table. It’s one of the best physical humor bits Elvis did in his movies. There wasn’t a stunt double. He did it.

 

In addition to Jocelyn Lane and a bevy of beautiful women, Tickle Me also has pretty good music. Elvis is backed up by three different bands, including this one in a bar the night before he reports to the ranch.

 

Then there is this band at a luau at the ranch. Elvis must have liked that jacket. He wears it in a lot of scenes.

 

And finally, Elvis is backed by these guys in a dream sequence. I prefer to call it a double-dip-dream because both Elvis and Jocelyn are wide awake and see the same flashback to a saloon a hundred years earlier. Think about that for a minute.

This is not the only wonderfully ludicrous element of the film.

 

Here Elvis sings and an invisible band provides the musical accompaniment.

 

Same deal here. Lots of sound coming from that invisible band, again.

 

Here’s an interesting tid-bit about the music in Tickle Me. Elvis did not record any new songs for it. Instead, the movie featured songs culled from these old Elvis albums: Pot Luck, Something for Everybody, and Elvis is Back. Probably some kind of cost saving idea of Col. Parker’s.

 

So, in addition to girls and music, what else does Tickle Me have to offer? How about bad guys in creepy-looking masks:

 

 

Actually, this is a real donkey. He apparently lives in the ghost town where Jocelyn (alone, and later with Elvis) looks for her grandfather’s hidden gold coins.

 

See the donkey? Once Elvis and Jocelyn get to the ghost town, the sort-of plot kicks in, but so does a bunch of silliness.

 

Like the hotel supposedly restored by the State Historical Society. The doors are not locked, no one is there to welcome visitors, and it has hot running water and wooden chests full of clothes to change into.

 

Which worked out well for Jocelyn after she got caught in a thunderstorm. She does an excellent job of being wet and mad at Elvis in this scene.

 

But Elvis calms her down once he gets her inside.

 

Elvis also had to calm down the beautiful ranch manager who asked him, “You’re not afraid of a little kissing with your boss, are you?”

Elvis looks directly at the camera and winks. A nice touch. Can you remember Elvis doing it in other films?  I can’t.

 

There’s one thing I always look for in Elvis movies. It’s the fight scene with Red West. Someday I’ll tabulate how many of them there are and do a blog post on them.

 

Here’s Red pulling his date away after she threw herself at Elvis.  Gee, we’ve never seen that before, have we?

 

 

As usual, we will end this pictorial essay with Elvis kissing his leading lady.

 

Elvis and Jocelyn Lane kissed four times in Tickle Me. That might be a record. I don’t know.

 

This is such a fine photo of Elvis hugging his costar, but the kiss quickly followed.

 

 

Strangely, they did not kiss when they found the gold, or when they got married, or when they took off on their honeymoon. Too bad. That certainly would have set the movie record for Elvis kissing his love interest.

 

Tickle Me premiered nationally on May 28, 1965.

 

© 2015 Philip R Arnold, Original Elvis Blogmeister All Rights Reserved www.ElvisBlog.net

 

Elvis, Elvis Presley, and Graceland are registered trademarks of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.

 

This is the cover of a book by famous music writer Alanna Nash.  I have read some of her other writings, and she does a good job.  Please note the subtitle, “Elvis Presley and the Women Who Loved Him.”

Alanna Nash was very successful at getting excerpts from her books placed in magazines.  Such was the case with the Ladies Home Journal and an article from her book.  It was titled, “The Women Who Loved Elvis.”  Here is another look at an ElvisBlog post from 2013 about this article.

 

That enticing title graced the cover of the August 2007 issue of the Ladies Home Journal.  As soon as I read the first line of the subtitle, “Very Private Confessions,” I knew this was prime material for an ElvisBlog article.

A good many ElvisBlog readers probably missed the Ladies Home Journal article by leading Elvis writer Alanna Nash.  It featured seven lovely ladies associated with Elvis in a variety of ways.

The subtitle “Very Private Confessions” turned out to be quite a stretch.  I looked specifically for them and have listed below my best guess at each woman’s “Confession.”

 

June Jaunico:   Elvis’ girlfriend for over a year in 1955/56.

“We got so wrapped up in kissing on our very first date – nothing too sloppy, it was marvelous – a little pecking here and there, a little nibble here and there, then a serious bite.”  (This one is a very sweet confession, but wouldn’t a real confession have been about what she and Elvis did on date number five or six, not on the first one?)

 

Wanda Jackson:   Sang in concerts on tour with Elvis and was his girlfriend in  1955/56.

“In the early part of ’56, he gave me one of his rings… We stood by his car and he asked me to be his girl… I had a crush on him, and being able to know him and know his heart made me admire him a lot.  So, I said I’d be his girl.”  (Good move, Wanda)

 

Raquel Welch:     Had a bit part in the 1964 movie Roustabout.

  “One of his guys came over and said, “Elvis is having a little party at the house, and if you’d like to come up…” I had a very strict upbringing, and I didn’t like the setup, so I didn’t go.”  (Big mistake.  Bet you wish you had that one to do over again, Raquel.)

 

Mary Ann Mobley:   Appeared in Girl Happy and Harum Scarum

“Elvis and I felt a common bond, coming from Mississippi.  He thought I understood him… This is an odd thing to say about Elvis Presley, but it was like I was working with my brother.  We never dated.”  (Sorry, but there is nothing else remotely approaching a confession in Mary Ann’s section.)

 

Jo Smith:   Wife of Elvis’ very close cousin Billy Smith

“He loved you to talk babytalk to him, and we had to take care of him and cater to him like a small child… He liked to be put in bed and be told good night.”  (You have to assume this took place in the time after Priscilla and before Linda Thompson.  Can’t see Jo Smith tucking Elvis in bed when either of them was around.)

 

Linda Thompson:   Elvis’ girlfriend from 1972-76.

“But I think it’s wonderful if you can be all things to each other.  And he and I were.  He called me ‘Mommy.’  And he was like my father at times.  And we were like brother and sister at times, and we were like lovers at times.  (Looks like they played ‘cowboys and Indians’ at times, too.)

 

Kathy Westmoreland:   Recorded and toured with Elvis in the 70s.

“My last in-depth conversation with Elvis was just a few weeks before he died.  I remember he said, ‘Kathy, what’s it all about?’  And I said, “I think that is for you to find out for yourself.’”  (Kathy’s section in the article was very short and mostly about sad topics.  This is about the most upbeat thing she said.)

 

Here is a selection of other interesting quotes by some of the ladies.

June Jaunico didn’t hear from Elvis for a while after that first date.  “It turned out he was calling and my older brother wasn’t bothering to tell me.  Finally, he said, ‘Some guy with a hillbilly accent called.’”

Wanda Jackson and her dad were backstage on the first stop of a tour with Elvis in 1955.  “All of a sudden my dad and I started hearing screaming.  My daddy said, ‘I wonder if there’s a fire or something.  Let me go look.’  I started getting my things, and he came back and said, ‘No, relax.  But you’ve got to see this for yourself.’  He took me to the wings, and there was Elvis singing and moving and gyrating, and all these girls standing at the foot of the stage, screaming and reaching for him.”

Raquel Welch had a revelation about how sexy a guy could be when she saw Elvis in concert for the first time.  “Like many adolescents of the 50s, I had been completely gaga over Elvis.  I saw him live in San Diego in one of his early shows.  It was my first rock ‘n’ roll concert ever.”

Linda Thompson quote seems to dispute reports that Elvis knew he would die young.  “I think it’s terrible for people to say they couldn’t imagine Elvis growing old.  Everybody has that right, even if they are a sex symbol. He wanted to live to be an old man.”

And, we sure wish he had.

 

 

©  2013    Philip R Arnold, Original Elvis Blogmeister    All Rights Reserved.     www.ElvisBlog.net

 

Elvis, Elvis Presley, and Graceland are registered trademarks of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.

 

One of the interesting things I do when reposting old ElvisBlog articles is to click on all the included links and see if they still work.  On this post from 2010, I took issue with something published on www.spinner.com.  But, when I clicked on its link, nothing came up, so I went to Wikipedia. Spinner was sold to AOL in 1999, combined with another site in 2002, revamped in 2008, and shut down completely in 2008.

I would like to think it served them right for being so stupid about Elvis, as you will see below. 

 

 

Like all of you, I am a big Elvis fan who recently celebrated his 75th birthday on January 8.  Perhaps you had an experience like I did on that day.  A number of friends sent me e-mails telling me to check out Elvis links on the web they thought would interest me.  You got some, too, didn’t you?

One friend suggested I check out www.spinner.com for their article “75 Reasons We (Still) Love Elvis.”  Spinner.com is a music website, but when I checked it today, their top three stories were about the bands Ting Tings and Mission of Burma and singer Jason Karaban.  So, it is safe to say that their sphere of interest generally doesn’t include music of the 50s, 60s or 70s.

 

In my opinion, the Spinner staff members who put together their list could not possibly be true Elvis fans.  They simply needed a total of 75 items, and they didn’t know enough about Elvis to come up with that many good ones.  Here are some of their stupidest reasons they supposedly still love Elvis:

#64 The NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies’ blue suede sneakers
#57 Luka Blooms’s version of “Can’t Help Falling in Love”
#54 Dexter Romweber, bastard son
#52 Bobbie Ann Mason’s brief “Penguin Live” bio
#41 Eminem, “Without Me”
#40 Other Elvises: Costello, Grbac, Stojko, Perkins
#37 Fine Young Cannibals’ version of “Suspicious Minds”
#36 Dead Kennedy’s version of “Viva Las Vegas”
#29 His sons-in-law: Nic Cage and the King of Pop
#21 Spinal Tap’s harmony-challenged rendition of “Heartbreak Hotel”
#12 Kim Jong Il’s man-crush

 

OK, they picked five other artists’ versions of famous Elvis songs and four other people who have the same Elvis first name.  What totally lame reasons to say they still love Elvis Presley.  How do you like the two ex-sons-in-law they picked?  Why not the fathers of Elvis’ four grandchildren:  Danny Keough and Michael Lockwood?

I had to Google Bobbie Ann Mason to find out what “Penguin Live” was all about.  It is a book about Elvis that must be terrible, because you can buy it on Amazon.com for 92ȼ new or 8ȼ used (Seriously. Shipping is $3.99).  Likewise, Wikipedia reveals that Dexter Romweber is a modern-day singer who affects an Elvis-style stage demeanor.  Yes, sir, those two certainly make me still love Elvis.

When I Googled Kim Jong Il and Elvis, at least a photo came up.  It was a Photoshopped picture from a parody website called Kim Jong Il Gallery in 2006.  I don’t know how Spinner.com derived a man-crush from this:

 

To be fair, about half of the Spinner.com list did make sense.  Here are some of the ones I like:

#74 Nickname: “The Memphis Flash
#71 Shaking hands with Nixon
#68 Vernon and Gladys
#67 Scotty Moore and Bill Black, hanging on for dear life
#61 Singing to a basset hound
#60 The “Jailhouse Rock” dance
#49 The American Eagle cape
#43 Graceland
#34 Sideburns
#25 The Elvis stamp
#18 “Elvis In Concert”
#16 Buying his black-and-pink “cat clothes” from Lansky’s on Beale Street
#8   “Elvis: That’s The Way It Is”
#6   The Million Dollar Quartet
#5   Grilled peanut butter and banana sandwiches
#3   “The ’68 Comeback”
#2   “That’s All Right”
#1   “Thank you… thank you vurry much!”

They actually did a pretty good job on the ones at the top of the list.  But, if you or I were to sit down and make our own list of reasons we still love Elvis, we would have no trouble coming up with more than 75 good ones.

I think I’ll give the list a try on his birthday next year – “The Top 76 Reasons ElvisBlog Loves Elvis.”  I promise you Dexter Romweber, Kim Jong Il and Michael Jackson will not be on it.

 

If you’ve got time on your hands because of the Covid 19 shutdowns, here’s an exercise  for you.  How about compiling your own list of 25 reasons you still love Elvis.  If you send it to philarnold@charter.net, I’ll publish it next week.  This could be interesting.

 

©  2010    Philip R Arnold, Original Elvis Blogmeister    All Rights Reserved    www.ElvisBlog.net

Elvis, Elvis Presley, and Graceland are registered trademarks of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.

 

I hope some of you will find a collectible or two here you like.  Keep in mind that the prices are delivered – no shipping costs get added.  I must admit I guessed too low on the postage for two of the items I sold last time.  It was so high on one that it came to more than the selling price. Oh, well. It still went to a good home.

Directions on buying procedure is at the end of this post.

One other point, the price delivered to Canada would be at approximately 50% higher than the listed price.

 

Editors’ Note:  The decals are sold.

Four Elvis Decals:

This is two versions of the same Elvis picture. I particularly like the white version that would look so cool on a dark background. They measure 4” x 5-1/2”.

 

These are two copies of the same decal showing Elvis in the famous Sundial jumpsuit. They measure 4” x 5”.

All four decals for just $5 delivered.

 

Las Vegas Elvis Figurine:

McFarlane Toys is well-known for top quality, highly-detailed figurines, and this is a shining example.

See the fringe hanging down from the sequined white jumpsuit typical of those Elvis wore in Las Vegas? That is a great example of how excellent the detail work is.

The figurine and base are almost 8 inches tall.

Las Vegas Elvis is no longer available from McFarlane. The best price on eBay is $28 plus $9 shipping for a sealed one like mine (there are also prices of $50, $70, and even over $100). But this wonderful Elvis collectible can be yours for $23 delivered.

 

Editor’s Note:  The ticket is sold.

Elvis Concert Ticket:

This ticket was from a June 5, 1976 concert at the Omni in Atlanta. It is preserved in thick, clear acrylic plastic. Very nice presentation.

The acrylic is heavy, so I’ll be eating a lot of postage. $7 delivered to you.

 

Editor’s Note:  The puzzle is sold.

All About Elvis Puzzle:

This is a 1,000 piece puzzle that is 27” by 20” when put together. It features a photo of Elvis from the pool scene in Jailhouse Rock. But this is a puzzle with something special. All around its perimeter are boxes (called scenes) with text and little pictures detailing Elvis’ life history. What’s special is that inside the boxes are clues telling you what pieces to find next.

The back of the packaging calls it:

A terrific story-telling puzzle. Each scene uncovers fascinating facts or amazing trivia… and then leads you to the rest of the story.

This unusual puzzle has a range of prices on eBay, but the cheapest is an opened one for $12 plus $8 postage. Mine is still-sealed. With that much postage, my price of $14 delivered is a good deal.

 

Editor’s Note:  The Elvis stamp assortment has been sold.

 

An Elvis Stamp Assortment:

This is a numbered sheet of the famous Elvis stamp released on January 8, 1993. Don’t you wish stamps still cost 29 cents? There are 40 stamps in this sheet, so at the very least it is $11.60 worth of usable postage. But the real value is because it is a numbered sheet of historical important Elvis stamps.

 

This is an even better sheet of 40 stamps, because it is presented inside a sealed Commemorative Edition cardboard sleeve.

 

This one takes some explaining. You can see the single stamp in the center. It is also postmarked with a First Day of Issue postmark. The sleeve is the size of the jackets on 45 records. The center cut-out is just like they used to be, and the thumb-pull cut-out was very common on old 45 sleeves.

I wanted to see what this item was going for on eBay, but I didn’t know what to call it in the search box. After three tries I found Elvis Presley 1st Day of Stamp Issue Ceremony Program. And below it in the scroll was First Day of Issue Stamp, 45 RPM Record Sleeve & Program.

Because my copy is still sealed, I did not know there was a program inside. You can barely make out the January 8, 1993 date. The Postal Service had an extravagant first day of issue release ceremony at Graceland on Elvis’ birthday, and that’s the program inside.

Side note: I tried to find some pictures of the ceremony on Google, but I didn’t have time to really dig deep. I remember watching it on TV, or maybe just a clip on CNN, but one thing stuck in my mind. Jerry Lee Lewis was there.

 

These are envelopes the Postal Service sold back when the stamp was issued. They have a big B&W picture of the Elvis stamp printed on it, but there is enough room to put on an address. I have one blue and two white envelopes.

 

The Postal Service did so many special things with the Elvis stamp. One of them was giving us fans a chance to vote on the image for the stamp. In the months leading up to the release, you could go up to the post office counter and ask for ballots. They were on postcards. You marked your pick and sent the card back to be tabulated.

The top image above was generally called the “Young Elvis” stamp, and the other was tabbed the “Old, Fat Elvis.” This was so wrong because the drawing was based on a photo taken at the Aloha From Hawaii TV special when Elvis was only 38. The fat tag was totally outrageous, because Elvis trained and dieted for months before that show, and he was in terrific shape.

 

The items offered in this Elvis Stamp Package so far are all worthy collectibles. But I am offering so freebies, as well.

 

This is a promo mailing piece the Postal Service put out to promote the stamps. Inside it showed and described all the other Elvis stamp goodies they were offering.

 

The Postal Service wasn’t alone in selling items related to the Elvis stamp. Graceland got in on the act in a big way.

 

This is the catalogue of all the products Graceland was offering with the Elvis stamp on them. Here is a partial list:

Music box
Watches
Earrings
Tie tac
Desk clock
Wall clock
Poster
Pewter letter opener
Pewter collectible Spoon
Pewter keyring
Beer stein
License plate
Puzzle
Stained glass
Pillow
Sweatshirt
T-shirt
Baseball cap
Oven mitt and potholder
Hand towel
Refrigerator magnet
Beach towel (I brought one of these and used it a lot)
Shot glass
Coffee mug

Graceland never missed an opportunity to sell Elvis collectibles, did they?

 

So, that’s the whole Elvis stamp package: a numbered sheet of 40, another sheet presented inside a sealed Commemorative Edition sleeve, First Day of Issue Stamp in 45 RPM record sleeve & program, three envelopes printed with the stamp picture, the Elvis stamp ballot, and two freebies. Snap this one up for $50.

 

The Elvis Stamp Watch:

This is one of two items in the Graceland catalog that I am offering for sale. It is the rectangular watch, and you can see that the original price was $39.95 (plus shipping).

It comes in the original box and has never been worn. It can be yours for $14.

 

Elvis Stamp Stained Glass:

This is another picture of a listing in the Graceland catalog. I would call it stained-glass-lite, because it doesn’t have individual pieces of glass held together with solder. But it still looks very nice hanging from a suction-cup hook on a window. The catalog picture doesn’t show the gold-color chain and frame around the glass.

A bonus feature is that you can view it from both sides, and looking at the back flips the Elvis picture and we see Elvis facing left.

Although the original price was $39.95 plus shipping, this item goes for $16 delivered.

 

Okay, If you like any of these offered items and would like to purchase them, let me know by email at philarnold@charter.net. Please don’t put it in Comments. Do indicate if you want a PayPal invoice, and I’ll get one right out. If you’d rather pay by check, let me know, and I’ll hold your selection for you until it arrives.

Thank you so much for your support.

Phil Arnold
Original ElvisBlogmeister