Elvis Movies - Start of Formula Musicals
by Claire J Rottenberg
Elvis Presley made 27 movies in the 1960s and most of
them fit a formula that included some set elements.
These elements included:
1. a fight
scene, usually ending with Elvis winning and
fleeing the scene
2. Elvis
singing in a car or while riding a
motorcycle
3. "silly"
plots or insignificant plots that usually involve
Elvis in romancing a female with songs
4. Elvis
as a man trying to succeed on his own talents and
merits
In this post, I review two of Elvis' early 1960s
films that established the formula for most of the
subsequent movies he made. "Blue Hawaii," released in
1961, cast Elvis as a rich young man trying to
succeed on his own. A year later, in "Girls! Girls!
Girls!" Elvis was a poor man trying to make it on his
own. In both films, Elvis rejects the help and money
of people close to him, determined to prove that he
can take care of himself. Both movies include the
typical fight scene and, of course, Elvis romancing a
young woman. The two movies were filmed in Hawaii and
directed by Norman Taurog and produced by Hal B.
Wallis and Paramount Pictures.
Blue Hawaii
"Blue Hawaii" has additional recurring elements from
Elvis movie musicals. These include driving scenes
that were obviously not filmed on roads or in moving
cars, girls in bikinis, "corny" dialogue, and
degrading stereotypes of ethnic groups (in this film,
rich Southern women).
"Blue Hawaii" co-starred mostly unknown actors and
actresses with one notable exception. Angela
Lansbury, who was only 10 years older than Elvis, was
cast as Elvis' mother. It was not, however, one of
her finer performances. Of course, she had the
difficult task of playing an insulting caricature of
a rich Southern socialite. Elvis' acting in "Blue
Hawaii" was also poor, especially compared to good
performances in some of his other early films, such
as "G.I. Blues."
The one redeeming quality to "Blue Hawaii" is its
songs. It includes the usual mixture of rock and roll
and "silly" songs, but it also includes the popular
"Hawaiian
Wedding Song."
The film also introduced a song that became one of
Elvis' signature songs in his later concerts, the
beautiful "Can't
Help Falling In Love."
Girls! Girls! Girls!
"Girls! Girls! Girls!," like most Elvis movies,
begins with Elvis singing the title song as the
movie's credits are flashed across the screen.
Another common element in this film is the
non-committed attitude of Elvis' character until, of
course, he falls in love with the young female lead.
As he did in many other movies, Elvis plays a
talented singer in "Girls! Girls! Girls!" This,
naturally, gave plenty of opportunities for Elvis to
sing.
Most of the songs in "Girls! Girls! Girls!" are
ordinary, typical Elvis' movie songs. The one
exception is "Return
To Sender"
which was a huge hit for Elvis.
"Girls! Girls! Girls!" introduced a new element that
recurred in some of his later movies. He sings with
adorable little children, a feature of some of his
films that helped to make his character more
likeable. In "Girls! Girls! Girls!" the children are
two very cute little Chinese girls.
Another common, but negative, element that appears in
"Girls! Girls! Girls!" is the demeaning stereotype
portrayals of ethnic groups. In "Blue Hawaii," it was
rich Southern women and Hawaiian natives, in the
later "Kissin' Cousins," it was people who live in
Southern mountain regions (the Smoky Mountains, in
particular), and in "Girls! Girls! Girls!" it's the
Chinese characters in the film. It's a shame these
portrayals were added to Elvis' films.