Girl Happy:
Love this movie! I adore Shelley Fabares, who played in a total of three Elvis movies. She was so gorgeous, but I was not fond of her hairdo. 🙂 This one had good music and I love the story line.
About: Elvis, Rusty Wells, has a band and they want to head to Fort Lauderdale for Spring Break, but the guy they are working for in Chicago, Frank, has booked them for more shows there. Elvis learns that Frank has a daughter who is going to Fort Lauderdale, and he’s worried about her. So, Elvis tricks him into hiring his band to keep an eye on her. Of course, Elvis falls for her, then she learns that he was hired to be with her. I know it might be cheesy, but I love the trope where the girl finds out guy was with her because of a bet, or like this one, because he was paid to be. Then, he has to prove he really loves her, in spite of the reason he was with her in the first place.
Side notes:
The song “The Meanest Girl in Town” was one of the only songs not composed for this movie. It had been written for Bill Haley and the Comets and recorded by then in 1964 under the title “Yeah She’s Evil”
When Rusty is backing the boat trailer up to deliver Valerie (and Romano) to the motel, the frames are segmented resulting in a jumpy image. This is because Rusty is actually driving forward and the film has been reversed.
Favorite song: Puppet on a String or Cross My Heart, Hope to Die
Favorite scene: I loved many of the scenes. There were some very cute lines, such as, when Elvis is trying to seduce Mary Ann Mobley, and he takes his phone off the hook. His dorky neighbor brings his phone to the door and says, “You’ve got a call. Your line isn’t working.”
Elvis says, “It hasn’t had a chance.”
I love that moment when Elvis’ feelings for Shelley Fabares changed. He’d been pursuing another girl, but when he finally notices her, you can it on his face, hear it in his tone. This video is just after that ‘moment’ but still, it’s cute…
Ha, and Elvis wore a dress to escape from jail. Somehow, he still looked masculine and sexy.
Harum Scarum
I think I spoke too soon here while back when I said Kissin Cousins might be my least favorite Elvis movies. This one is neck and neck. It was not great, although, as usual, I’ll suffer through about anything to look at Elvis. And, it holds a special place in my heart because it is the movie that my sister, Ruth, remembers me showing her when we were probably 5 and 7, or maybe 4 and 6, and saying, “Look at that guy, isn’t he cute?” or something like that, and we became obsessive Elvis fans from then on. I also love that Mary Ann Mobley (she passed away last December from breast cancer) was in it. She was also in Girl Happy, although she wasn’t his leading lady. She adored Elvis and had nothing but good things to say about him, about how kind and gracious he was. One of her quotes:
‘I’ll forever be indebted to Elvis’, Mobley said.We’d sit around and talk, and we really did have a unique friendship. He said, ‘Ma’am, some day I’m gonna have a party that I can invite you to’. Whenever he had to change his phone number, somebody would call and say, ‘Ma’am, we got a new number at the house, and Elvis wanted you to have it in case you ever need him’.
About: Elvis plays Johnny Tyrone, an American actor who is promoting his latest film in the Middle East. He is abducted by a group who wants him to assassinate a King. Elvis meets a girl he thinks is a slave girl, but it turns out, she’s the daughter of the King he’s expected to murder.
Side Notes: Colonel Parker disliked the script and suggested they add a talking camel so people would think it was a comedy.
Elvis liked the costumes so much, he wore them at home as well.
The director, Gene Nelson, also directed Kissin Cousins…hmmm…two of my least favorite Elvis movies.
Favorite Song: So Close, Yet So Far, From Paradise
Favorite Scene: I don’t know if I had a favorite scene, but I always love seeing Elvis interact with kids, and there’s a cute little girl he does a dance with. He had quite a few fight scenes, which I always enjoy. I also liked a few of his lines, such as this one:
Johnny Tyronne (Elvis): [Referring to the children that Sinan threatens to kill if Johnny does not assassinate the King] How can I be sure they won’t be harmed?
Aishah: Assassinate King Toranshah and you have Sinan’s promise that no harm will come to them. In a thousand years no leader of the assassins has ever violated a promise.
Johnny Tyronne: Well, it’s nice to know you’re doing business with such a reputable firm.
Tickle Me:
Definitely one of my favorites. I LOVED every song from the movie, and I love that there is a segment in a ‘haunted house.’ My son, Presley, was crazy this movie when he was little, especially the ‘scary’ parts. And, Elvis’ co-star, Jocelyn Lane, was gorgeous.
About: Elvis plays Lonnie Beale, a rodeo rider who ends up working on a dude ranch while waiting for rodeo season to start. He falls for one of the staff members, Pam, who is looking for her grandfather’s treasure. Some bad guys are trying to kidnap Pam in order to get to the treasure, but Elvis keeps showing up to save the day (although, Pam tries to help him by attacking the guys he’s fighting, but keeps hitting Elvis instead). Pam is falling for him too, but when she catches him kissing the (female) boss, she is furious. Elvis goes on the rodeo circuit but can’t get his mind off Pam. He goes back to ‘tell her off’ and ends up following her to a ghost town where they run into some ‘spooky’ characters and end up finding the gold, and declaring their love. 🙂
Side Notes: My first ever romance (I wrote at age 11) was a story called ‘Just Pretend,’ (from an Elvis song) and my hero looked just like Elvis, and his name was Lonnie Beale, from this movie, of course. 🙂
In the first Elvis fight scene, the guy he’s fighting is Red West, Elvis’ friend he met in school and bodyguard.
This is the only movie where no original songs were written, but they all came from 1960-1963 recordings.
Favorite Song: Soooo many. But, maybe my favorite is probably Feels So Right. I also loved Dirty Feeling, Such an Easy Question, Put the Blame on Me, Slowly, but Surely, I’m Yours
(see, I told you I loved a lot of them…)
Favorite Scenes: Again, quite a few…
When Elvis was on the rodeo circuit and he couldn’t get his mind off Pam, so he kept getting thrown. He looked so sexy thrown in the dirt, wearing cowboy clothes and leather gloves, looking angry. 🙂
The scene where Elvis is kissing his boss and he says, “I’ve just never kissed my boss before,” then he looks at the camera and gives a little shrug, and kisses her again.
Many favorite scenes at the haunted house: When he’s caught in a downpour, and he just looks great wet…
When he and Pam are arguing and he’s trying to get her to come in out of the rain and she won’t, and he gives this sexy smirk and calls her dumb dumb.
There’s this thing Elvis does, sort of like a clearing his throat, sucking in a breath thing, when he’s taken aback, that I can’t really describe, but it’s adorable, and he’s done it in several movies. He does it after finding an old man rocking in a closet in this movie, so that’s one of my fave moments.
Have you seen these movies? What did you think?
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EOLS Charity
Elvis was known for his giving heart and charitable work during his lifetime. Lisa Marie and Elvis Presley Enterprises have continued that tradition with their involvement in various charities. In 1984, The Elvis Charitable Foundation was formed. The EPCF created a scholarship fund for students majoring in the arts. The charity also contributes to one of Elvis’ favorite charities, Goodwill Homes, a Memphis facility that provides counseling and services for abused children and their families. The EPCF also assists numerous other charities, especially focusing on arts, education and children’s programs.
Learn more here, including how to donate:
http://www.graceland.com/epcf/
END OF LONELY STREET – Now Only 99 Cents!
On Elvis’ birthday this year, I released a Vintage Romance short story set in 1957, and of course, my heroine is an Elvis fan. 🙂 As a tribute to Elvis’ generosity, and in order to assist with this worthy cause, 10% of my proceeds for End of Lonely Street will go to the EPCF.
All Toby Lawson wants is to go to college to become a teacher and to be free of her alcoholic mother and some painful memories. But when her mother nearly burns the house down, Toby must put her dreams on hold and return home to care for her. The only time she isn’t lonely and miserable is when she’s listening to her heartthrob, Elvis Presley. His music takes her away and helps her escape from everything wrong in her life.
Noah Rivers has always loved Toby, but no matter what he says, she can‘t get past the fact that her drunken mother once kissed him. He soon realizes the true problem lies in Toby’s belief she’s not good enough for him and in her fear she will be just like her mother.
What will it take to prove to her that she deserves to be happy, and that he would give anything to be the man to make her dreams come true?
Author Alicia Dean 