Musicals Blog

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.