Elvis Presley: The Movies - Appreciation Thread

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Bink, Aug 22, 2021.

  1. Pelvis Ressley

    Pelvis Ressley Down in the Jungle Room

    Location:
    Capac, Michigan
    The Kissin' Cousins soundtrack LP was issued in April 1964, a month after the film was released.

    The Viva Las Vegas EP was issued May 13, 1964, a week before the film was released.

    My guess is RCA didn't want to release another soundtrack LP a month apart. 3-5 months apart was the norm.

    In late 1961, RCA's Bill Bullock had proposed issuing the soundtracks for Follow That Dream and Kid Galahad as a "double feature" LP sometime in 1962. This never came to fruition and both soundtracks were issued as 45rpm EP's. RCA only issued two Presley LP's that year, Pot Luck and Girls! Girls! Girls!.
     
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  2. MerseyBeatle

    MerseyBeatle Martha my dear (1995-2012)

    Location:
    Charleston, SC
    Viva Las Vegas is a good soundtrack and I especially like the expanded CD version. Fun movie and love Ann-Margret. Since were talking about the Viva Las Vegas film and the soundtrack EP, I thought I’d do a quick ask and see if anyone has a copy of the Viva Las Vegas EP they want to sell. I have the cover, so just need the record. PM me and thanks.
     
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  3. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    A scheduling logjam may indeed have been the reason. But that begs the question of why didn't they release the Kissin' Cousins soundtrack in March when the film itself was released, as was the norm? Fun in Acapulco came out in November, so a March release would have given them a four-month gap between releases, which was plenty. If the KC soundtrack came out in March, they could have released VLV in June, and still had plenty of time to release Roustabout later in the year. A three-album year was not unusual for Elvis. Elvis worked so far ahead that they knew what they had in the pipeline and could have scheduled accordingly.
     
  4. Bink

    Bink Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Viva Las Vegas:

     
  5. croquetlawns

    croquetlawns Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland
    All in one take!!
     
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  6. Manapua

    Manapua Forum Resident

    Location:
    Honolulu
    Too bad Elvis never did a mash-up of Viva Las Vegas and Steely Dan's Show Biz Kids.

    Missed opportunities.
     
  7. Bink

    Bink Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Roustabout

    Year of release: 1964
    Studio: Paramount
    Director: John Rich

    Plot:
    Elvis plays Charlie Rogers, a struggling singer with a chip on his shoulder, who takes a job as a roustabout with a carnival, while his motorcycle is being fixed following an accident. The carnival owner soon recognises his musical talent and gives him an entertainment position. He soon attracts big crowds.

    Songs:
    Roustabout (theme)
    Poison Ivy League
    Wheels on my Heels
    It's a Wonderful World
    It's Carnival Time
    Carnival Town
    One Track Heart
    Hard Knocks
    Little Egypt
    Big Love, Big Heartache
    There's a Brand New Day On The Horizon

    Trailer:

     
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  8. Manapua

    Manapua Forum Resident

    Location:
    Honolulu
    Director John Rich, besides helming a handful of films, was a prolific TV director and won Emmys for The Dick Van Dyke Show and All In The Family and did everything from Gilligan's Island to Newhart. A lot of great TV but maybe not so much with films.
     
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  9. garyt1957

    garyt1957 Forum Resident

    Location:
    mi
    The watch move is part of the plot as I remember.
     
  10. garyt1957

    garyt1957 Forum Resident

    Location:
    mi
    Actually a better visual performance then Return to Sender, imo
     
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  11. garyt1957

    garyt1957 Forum Resident

    Location:
    mi
    Definitely Such a Night should have been a chart topper
     
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  12. garyt1957

    garyt1957 Forum Resident

    Location:
    mi
    Isn't the story that Elvis was doing a Jackie Wilson homage on RTS? I've even read that Jackie was there, but kinda doubt that.
     
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  13. garyt1957

    garyt1957 Forum Resident

    Location:
    mi
    Roustabout was the first movie where Elvis started sounding like Mickey Mouse. His voice was thin and tinny and it continued for awhile. Was it bad recordings (We've all heard about the Girl Happy speed up) or did his voice really change that much? The way he sounds in this movie it's really hard to believe anybody was coming to see him. I loved this soundtrack as a kid, but now while I still like the songs, Elvis' voice just annoys me
     
  14. garyt1957

    garyt1957 Forum Resident

    Location:
    mi

    Elvis never looked better either before or after than he did in Fun in Aculpulco
     
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  15. garyt1957

    garyt1957 Forum Resident

    Location:
    mi
    I always heard it as he was banned from Mexico because they heard the "Shoeshine " lie but with Mexican replacing Negro.
     
  16. garyt1957

    garyt1957 Forum Resident

    Location:
    mi
    No Room to Rhumba is a guilty pleasure of mine
     
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  17. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    More or less. According to this article, fabricated racist quotations from Elvis were printed in a tabloid in 1959, supposedly as revenge by a local politician after Elvis refused to perform at a private party he threw. There was also some rioting at the premiere of King Creole in Mexico City, and these things sparked a backlash.
     
  18. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    Jailhouse Rock! ROCKS my fav...
     
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  19. Myke

    Myke Trying Not To Spook The Horse

    Watching Speedway (1968) on HBO Max right now !
     
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  20. DISKOJOE

    DISKOJOE Boredom That You Can Afford!

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    I think it was about the time of "Roustabout" that Ray Davies of the Kinks submitted some songs for Elvis to sing for that particular movie. He had an "in" in the sense that he shared the same music publishing company as Elvis, so that there would be no problem recording Ray's songs, but his songs weren't used, which was a bit of a shame.
     
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  21. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Actually, it was Spinout in 1966. Ray wrote a song called "Never Say Yes" (apparently, they approached different songwriters with "write to order" requests for specific song titles that would emphasize plot points in the movie). Ray's song was rejected in favor of the submission by Pomus and Shuman. I can see why, too. Pomus and Shuman wrote a song about being carefree and not tied down to one woman. Ray's song has more of a suspicious, "don't trust anyone" feeling which reflects his unique sensibility but probably isn't quite what the filmmakers wanted. It is a shame though, as it would have been fascinating to hear Elvis do a Ray Davies song.

    It's interesting that there are some lyrical similarities in the two songs, which makes me suspect they gave specific instructions to the songwriters about what they were looking for, beyond just the title:

    Ray: Kiss the girls and tell them that you'll love 'em and you'll never let 'em go
    Pomus/Shuman: Tell 'em that you love them so/You hate to leave but you gotta go

    Ray: I got everything I ever need/Guess I'll always love this life I lead
    Pomus/Shuman: That's the kind of life for me/Being free like I want to be

     
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  22. PepiJean

    PepiJean Forum Resident

    Roustabout (1964)
    The movie is entertaining but does not have half of the fun on "Viva Las Vegas". Still, Elvis looks good on his (honda) motorbike and acts decently next to the always shinny Barbara Stanwick. The scenery is also nice, very colorful. The plot is so-so: I keep wondering how and why Elvis' character goes from selfish to nice-man so abruptly. The soundtrack is fun too although way too short. (BTW, the "Roustabout" front cover has remained my all time favorite cover art design for an Elvis soundtrack for the last 20 years.) The "recently" discovered I'M A ROUSTABOUT would have fitted well with, perhaps, two more bonus tracks (LONG LONELY HIGHWAY and MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE, maybe.)

    TOP#15 (1956 / 1964)
    -----------------------------------
    15. Kissin' cousins (1964)
    14. It happened at the world's fair (1963)
    13. Fun in Acapulco (1963)
    12. Wild in the Country (1961)
    11. Roustabout (1964)
    10. G.I. Blues (1960)
    9. Love Me Tender (1956)
    8. Girls, girls, girls (1962)
    7. Kid Galahad (1962)
    6. Blue Hawaii (1961)
    5. Loving you (1957)
    4. Follow that Dream (1962)
    3. King Creole (1958)
    2. Jailhouse Rock (1957)
    1. Flaming star (1960)
     
  23. croquetlawns

    croquetlawns Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland
    Roustabout was another decent film, and a solid soundtrack. And Barbara Stanwyck is back reprising her Loving You role!
     
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  24. Bink

    Bink Forum Resident Thread Starter

    That's generally how I feel. Roustabout is not in the top tier Elvis films but I have always enjoyed watching it.
     
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  25. Note to Ray - when submitting demos make sure the instruments are in tune.
     
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