Elvis Presley: The Movies - Appreciation Thread

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

  1. artfromtex

    artfromtex Honky Tonkin' Metal-Head

    Location:
    Fort Worth, TX
    Here ya go:
    Speedway Jacket
     
  2. Bink

    Bink Forum Resident Thread Starter

    There Ain't Nothing Like A Song:

     
  3. Dave112

    Dave112 Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Carolina
    ALL of the ladies that were costars in Elvis movies were hot. I gotta see the ladies in your neck of woods if you think that Shelley Fabares is just pretty. LOL. I always thought she was quite stunning.
     
  4. artfromtex

    artfromtex Honky Tonkin' Metal-Head

    Location:
    Fort Worth, TX
    I agree. Shelley is in an early episode of The Rockford Files, and my God, she is smokin' hot.
    [​IMG]
    The still images don't do her justice. When you watch the show she just has a vibe about her. :love:
     
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2021
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  5. Dave112

    Dave112 Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Carolina
    Agreed! I can easily see how she was a co-star in three Elvis movies.

    [​IMG]
     
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  6. Bink

    Bink Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Live A Little, Love A Little

    Year of release: 1968
    Studio: MGM
    Director: Norman Taurog

    Plot:
    Elvis plays photographer Greg Nolan whose life is turned upside down when he meets a kooky beach beauty. This leads him to take on 2 full time jobs which he struggles to hold down.

    Songs:
    Wonderful World
    Edge of Reality
    A Little Less Conversation
    Almost In Love

    Trailer:

     
  7. One of my favorite Elvis films, might be my fav of his 60’s output. It certainly breaks the mold of the last several years script-wise, IIRC Elvis even uses a (mild) profanity. Love the shots of him driving the dune buggy, nice views of PCH (aka CA Route 1) too.
     
  8. JamieC

    JamieC Senior Member

    Location:
    Detroit Mi USA
    Four songs. Three I consider essential in any Elvis playlist.
     
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  9. Hooperfan

    Hooperfan Your friendly neighborhood candy store owner

    Location:
    New York
    I've always enjoyed Live a Little, Love a Little. I once read a review that called it Fatal Attraction, Elvis-style.
    He looks very distinguished here, looking quite dapper in a number of scenes. It's quite colorful and semi-psychedelic (the "Edge Of Reality" sequence).
    Also very "adult"...I believe this movie got a PG rating. Not only are there quite some revealing outfits seen, but he also says "dammit" and "hell"...AND he ends up sharing a bed with Bernice.
    The songs are great (not something I normally say about his movies)... There's only 4, but to me, they're all winners. Who would've thought that "A Little Less Conversation" would become a smash nearly 35 years after recording it for this movie. Elvis must've liked the song as well...he sings the song title in an outtake in 1969, and there's even a recording of him singing the same line in 1973!
    Anyway, I enjoy this movie because it's so bizarre. Perfect one to watch if you're dabbling into some ganja :D

    [​IMG]
     
  10. garyt1957

    garyt1957 Forum Resident

    Location:
    mi
    I just don't see it. She looks like a librarian or school marm to me. Don't get me wrong she's pretty, but hot?
     
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  11. garyt1957

    garyt1957 Forum Resident

    Location:
    mi
    Now Mary Ann Mobley is smoking[​IMG]
     
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  12. Dave112

    Dave112 Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Carolina
    I gotta visit your town sometime. First stop?....the library!
     
  13. garyt1957

    garyt1957 Forum Resident

    Location:
    mi
    Let me add, I think some of it was just her "good girl" personna that I found boring as Hell. Maybe it was her acting but she came off stiff and like she'd be absolutley no fun. And I really hate that hairstyle too.
     
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  14. JamieC

    JamieC Senior Member

    Location:
    Detroit Mi USA
    She was still playing her "girl next door" Donna Reed character. Which actually worked well with Elvis. He didn't need to have a "hot" co-star.
     
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  15. Dave112

    Dave112 Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Carolina
    I can totally understand that she wasn't your type. You had me worried and a bit intrigued for a minute. I pictured this town full of beautiful women that couldn't get a second glance from guys. It was located just inside the Twilight Zone.
     
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  16. Jay_Z

    Jay_Z Forum Resident

    It's a movie. He kind of did. Ann-Margaret?

    Shelley was TV guest star hot. It's just a different level. They're actresses, they are going to look better or made to look better than your actual girl next door, if you don't live in Hollywood. Shelley was on the level of Mariette Hartley or Diane Baker or Diana Muldaur. Suzanne Pleshette was a little higher than Shelley, a better actress as well. Then Suzanne's best roles were bigger than anything Shelley did. Shelley wasn't even as hot as Priscilla.
     
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  17. croquetlawns

    croquetlawns Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland
    That clip makes me think of Donnie Darko!
     
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  18. croquetlawns

    croquetlawns Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scotland
    A top-tier 60s Elvis film, where he finally gets to play a more adult character, and the songs are all good. I could do without the dog though...
     
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  19. Dave112

    Dave112 Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Carolina
    Elvis was definitely aiming at a more mature audience in LALLAL. Too bad that he wasn't doing this by 1964. His film career could have been perceived quite differently.
     
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  20. Bink

    Bink Forum Resident Thread Starter

    It's funny you mention the dog - as I had not previously seen several of these films, my main exposure to them was in the montage in Elvis On Tour. The dog plays a starring role in that montage when he interrupts Love Me Tender with his groan. Now I know which film it came from!
     
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  21. SgtPepper1983

    SgtPepper1983 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Berlin, Germany
    The transformation, just by his looks and voice, from '66 to'67/'68 is remarkable. Almost like another person. Unfortunately, the negative version of this happened from '70 to '71 (or even from August/September '70 to that famous Nixon shot later that same year). He seems to have been quite an extreme person (buried under tons of politeness, though).
     
  22. PepiJean

    PepiJean Forum Resident

    Live a little, Love a little (1968)
    This is the breath of fresh air that Elvis' career needed so badly. It came quite a bit too late, when nobody really cared any more, but it still came and it is still to this day hugely welcome. Nothing earth shattering or groundbreaking but after years of "Harum Scarum", "Frankie & Johnny" or "Clambake", it was finally a step in the right direction. In the movie, based on the 1965 novel Kiss My Firm, But Pliant, Lips by Dan Greenburg, Elvis not only looks good, he also acts well with some clever lines pretty spot on. We should not be surprised about that: he had already shown us how good he could be in "Follow that Dream"... some 7 years earlier. OK, we do get surprised. More surprises: it's a more adult film with some strong language ("Dammit!") and even some sexual references! But that's not the most interesting aspect because this is a movie where Greg (Elvis character) TAKES HIS OWN DECISIONS, which means no stupid "manager" character here (like the unbearable, detestable, dreadful kid in "Fun in Acapulco"): Greg is actually a real adult, responsible (more or less) and in charge of his own life. It only took 28 movie pictures to get there!

    The supoorting cast (including Albert) is from good to great (great means Michele Carey here, obviously) and there are plenty of real locations for a change, the opening credits being a nice and fun example. The whole thing is very late 60's - touches of psychedelic included - but it's good entertainment and really fun to watch from start to finish. Kudos also for the (short) soundtrack that fits pretty well inside the movie. So, of all 4 last Elvis films, this one is clearly my favorite. I can only imagine how cool it could have been to go to watch "Live a Little, Love a Little" back in October 1968 and then, a few weeks later, to discover the TV special for christmas!

    TOP#28 (1956 / 1968)
    -----------------------------------------
    28. Harum Scarum (1965)
    27. Kissin' cousins (1964)
    26. Paradise, Hawaiian style (1966)
    25. Double trouble (1967)
    24. Clambake (1967)
    23. Frankie and Johnny (1966)
    22. Stay Away Joe (1968)
    21. Girl Happy (1965)
    20. It happened at the world's fair (1963)

    19. Fun in Acapulco (1963)
    18. Spinout (1966)
    17. Easy come, easy go (1967)
    16. Tickle me (1965)
    15. Wild in the Country (1961)
    14. Speedway (1968)
    13. Roustabout (1964)
    12. G.I. Blues (1960)
    11. Love Me Tender (1956)
    10. Girls, girls, girls (1962)

    9. Kid Galahad (1962)
    8. Blue Hawaii (1961)
    7. Loving you (1957)
    6. Viva Las Vegas (1964)
    5. Live a little, Love a little (1968)
    4. Follow that Dream (1962)
    3. King Creole (1958)
    2. Jailhouse Rock (1957)
    1. Flaming star (1960)

    Final note: here is the best way to enjoy Elvis' 28th film on a friday night.
    [​IMG]
     
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  23. Jayson Wall

    Jayson Wall Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    "Live A Little, Love A Little " (AKA the musical version of "Play Misty For Me"--lol) is one of my favorite Elvis films---it was first time in a few years you could tell he was engaged by acting once again, and we see it in "The Trouble With Girls" as well---LALLAL is truly one of his top 5 best performances----hell, I even enjoy the trippy dream number when a man in a dog costume wakes Elvis up as he sings Edge of Reality! I also love all the locations around LA they shot at from Marineland, Larchmont Blvd, to the Music Center/Dorothy Chandler (was having dinner 2 nights ago at the Music Center and always think of this film when I'm there), plus that 1968 Imperial Crown convertible would be super cool to have today!

    This is another Elvis film where I own a near mint 16mm LPP print on (however it's pan and scan), but I always screen this along with "Marlow" starting James Garner. It's the perfect MGM 1968/69 LA Double Feature that you can image sitting in 1968 Imperial Crown convertible at the Pickwick drive-in in Burbank watching! ;)




     
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  24. Weren’t the scenes with the ‘real’ dog Elvis’ dog in real life?
     
  25. Hooperfan

    Hooperfan Your friendly neighborhood candy store owner

    Location:
    New York
    No, that's been a story that was disproven. He did have a Great Dane, but not the dog in the movie
     
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