Starring Elvis Presley, Donna Douglas, Harry Morgan, and Nancy Kovack
Directed by Fredrick de Cordova
Music and Lyrics by various
Our next western heads to the Mississippi River for another historical comedy adventure. Elvis Presley's southern heritage and his "dangerous" reputation may have been the inspiration for this version of one of the most famous "she done him wrong" songs of all time. How did this tragic ballad look played as a comic historical-set riverboat romp? Let's begin on that riverboat with compulsive gambler Johnny (Presley) and find out...
The Story: Johnny would do anything to have one lucky payout. He's borrowed money from everyone, including his best friend Cully (Morgan) and his girl Frankie (Douglas), and now he needs just a little more to get that one lucky break. He learns from a gypsy and her tea leaves (Naomi Stevens) that a beautiful redhead will give him good luck. He never expected that redhead to be Nellie Bly (Kovack), his boss Clint Braden's (Anthony Einsley) ex-girlfriend. She touches the chips while he's at the roulette wheel. He keeps winning, and now he thinks the gypsy was right. This doesn't tickle Frankie, Braden, or Braden's current girlfriend Mitzi (Sue Ann Langdon).
Frankie tries shooting Johnny when Cully's performing his latest song, prompting him to turn it into a ballad. It's a big hit with a Broadway producer, who suggests they take the show to New York. Johnny wants to earn the money to go east at a masked ball in New Orleans. Nellie, Frankie, and Mitzi inadvertently wear the same costume, playing a trick on Johnny to make him think the wrong girl is bringing him luck. Braden thinks Johnny is still after Nellie and orders his goon Blackie (Robert Strauss) to switch bullets on Frankie's gun in the number and make the song a reality. Johnny, however, isn't out of luck yet...
The Song and Dance: Elvis is backed by a lavish production for his films and a not-bad supporting cast. Morgan and Audrey Christie are the stand-outs as Johnny's henpecked best friend and his wife who knows better than to let him get away with anything, and Kovack makes a sly and witty Nellie. The costumes are gorgeous, a riot of rainbow stripes, checks, ruffles, and sequins. We even get shooting in the real New Orleans during the ball sequence.
The Numbers: We open with Elvis inviting us to "Come Along" over the credits. "Petunia the Gardener's Daughter" is Frankie and Johnny's first number on the riverboat, with Frankie prancing in a short pink dress among huge smiling cardboard flowers. "Chesay" is our first major chorus number, a salute to the gypsy drink that supposedly gives good luck. Elvis believes he's "What Every Woman Lives For" on the riverboat. "Frankie and Johnny" is heard twice as a chorus number. The first time, there's only blanks in that gun. The second in the finale is when Blackie replaces the blank with a real bullet.
"Look Out Broadway" says the cast as they sing about how they're going to make it in New York. Elvis sings about his "Beginner's Luck" before attempting to win money for the trip east. The traditional "Down By the Riverside" and "When the Saints Go Marching In" are the riverboat troupe's parade in New Orleans to announce their arrival. Elvis' "Shout It Out" in New Orleans is an incongruous full-on rock number among the somewhat more historically-accurate number. Elvis laments his "Hard Luck" in New Orleans, then begs Frankie to "Please Don't Stop Loving Me." He says "Everybody Come Aboard" for the last show.
Trivia: Eileen Wilson dubbed Donna Douglas.
What I Don't Like: On one hand, I appreciate that this isn't a typical Elvis vehicle, with costumes and a supporting cast far above the norm for his movies. On the other hand, the story is more than a little ridiculous...and what does Elvis being a gambler and their going to Broadway really have to do with the song "Frankie and Johnny?"Anyone could tell you they're not really going to kill off Elvis in the end, either. This is not going to have the same tragic ending as the song. Speaking of, the new songs aren't horrible, but they're not terribly memorable, either.
The Big Finale: One of Elvis' more interesting films is still worth checking out for his fans or fans of big 60's musicals.
Home Media: The DVDs are currently expensive, but like most of Elvis' movies, this can be found pretty much anywhere on streaming, often free with commercials.
No comments:
Post a Comment