Child Scene Stealers in Elvis Movies - Part I
by Claire J Rottenberg
Several of Elvis' films in the 1960s featured young
talented children who always stole the scenes in
which they appeared. The first Elvis film that
co-starred a child was "It Happened at the World's
Fair" in 1963. This was followed a few months later
by "Fun in Acapulco," which again co-starred a
talented child star. In this post, I'll give some
information on the two young co-stars, Vicky Tiu and
Larry Domasin, and briefly review "It Happened at the
World's Fair" and "Fun in Acapulco."
It
Happened at the World's Fair
Vicky Tiu, the adorable Sue-Lin in "It Happened at
the World's Fair," came from a family with several
talented children. Her sister Ginny was a successful
child star and her brother, also, was a performer.
Although Vicky was a very talented actress, she had a
short film career, appearing only in the one Elvis
movie.
In 1997, Vicky married the Governor of Hawaii, Ben
Cayetano. As First Lady of Hawaii, Vicky joined
forces with two other first ladies, Hope Taft of Ohio
and Columba Bush of Florida, to plan education
initiatives targeting youth alcoholism and drunk
driving.
Vicky Tiu's excellent performance as a clever little
girl who is being cared for by Elvis in the absence
of her uncle, saves "It Happened at the World's Fair"
from being a typical, boring film. The scenes with
her are a joy to watch, especially when she devises a
plan to get Elvis and his latest love together.
Unlike the other Elvis films with child stars, in "It
Happened at the World's Fair," the plot centers
around the child rather than on Elvis' character or
his love life.
With the exception of Vicky Tiu's part in the film,
"It Happened at the World's Fair" has the
characteristic elements of a typical Elvis film. He
chases a female who resists his advances in a silly
plot that is mostly unbelievable. Most of the songs
in the film are, at best, adequate, with the
exception of "One
Broken Heart For Sale."
Fun in Acapulco
"Fun in Acapulco" is the only Elvis film with a male
child as a co-star. The wise-cracking, Mexican street
child, Raoul, was played by a talented young actor
named Larry Domasin. Although Domasin convincingly
played a young Mexican boy, he was actually born in
California. He began acting at the age of 7, one year
before appearing with Elvis in "Fun in Acapulco."
Domasin's career lasted until 1967 and in the six
years that he was acting, he appeared in six feature
films and on numerous television shows.
Like the other children in Elvis' movies, Domasin's
character, Raoul, is very intelligent and mature
beyond his years. He wheels and deals like an adult
and helps Elvis' character get a well-paying singing
job in a nightclub. Domasin's portrayal of Raoul was
excellent, and he even had the chance to sing with
Elvis.
"Fun in Acapulco" had more of a plot than many of
Elvis' other movies and the motivation and background
of his character is better developed than in other
films. The greatest weakness of "Fun in Acapulco" is
probably its musical score. Many of the songs are
terrible with no hits in the mixture. The acting of
his main co-stars, Ursula Andress and Alejandro Rey,
is fair at best. Another negative aspect of "Fun in
Acapulco" is the less than favorable depiction of
Mexicans in the film.
Both "It Happened at the World's Fair" and "Fun in
Acapulco" would be fair to average Elvis films if it
weren't for the acting of Elvis' child co-stars,
Vicky Tiu and Larry Domasin. Both were extremely
gifted and adorable children who provided enjoyable
moments in the films.