G.I. Blues (1960) - Star of the month... Juliet Prowse

"Gi Blues" is a 1960 musical comedy directed by Norman Taurog and starring Elvis Presley, Juliet Prowse and Robert Ivers with Letícia Román, James Douglas, Edson Stroll and Jeremy Slate.

Tulsa McLean (played by Elvis Presley) is an American singing G.I., based in Germany. Tulsa aspires to open his own nightclub in America, but to do this he must raise $600. In an attempt to raise the money, he makes a bet he can spend the night alone with local nightclub dancer Lily (played by Juliet Prowse), in her apartment. Lily has a reputation for playing hard to get, and is even referred to by one G.I. as a "steamboat on the outside, but an iceberg inside".

Musical program

The original soundtrack album for "G.I. Blues"

• "What's She Really Like" - performed by Elvis Presley
• "G.I. Blues" - performed by Elvis Presley
• "Doin' the Best I Can" - performed by Elvis Presley
• "Blue Suede Shoes" - performed by Elvis Presley
• "Frankfort Special" - performed by Elvis Presley
• "Shoppin' Around" - performed by Elvis Presley
• "Tonight Is So Right For Love" - performed by Elvis Presley
• "Wooden Heart" - performed by Elvis Presley
• "Pocketful of Rainbows" - performed by Elvis Presley & Juliet Prowse (her singing is dubbed by an unknown vocalist)
• "Big Boots" - performed by Elvis Presley
• "Didja Ever" - performed by Elvis Presley

Blink and you'll miss...

• A young Britt Ekland in a very small cameo as the red-head Britta (approx. 10 mins into the film)
• While Tulsa is singing "Doin' the Best I Can", another solider puts a coin into a juke box and plays a song called "Blue Suede Shoes" recorded by a singer called Elvis Presley
• The G.I.s are all wearing underwear in the shower
• The number of the sky lift at Rüdesheim which Tulsa & Lili ride is 76

Did you know...

• This was Elvis' first film after servicing two years with the army - the film prior to this was "King Creole" (1958)
• Juliet Prowse's singing was dubbed by an unknown vocalist
• Elke Sommer, Ursula Andress and May Britt were all considered for the role of Lili
• Anna-Maria Alberghetti was considered to play the role of Tina
• Russ Tamblyn, Frank Gorshin, Carleton Carpenter & Johnny Carson were considered for the role of Cookie - Carpenter was eventually cast but later replaced by Robert Ivers
• The film was primarily shot at Paramount Studios, Hollywood, with some pre-prodution scenery shot on location in Germany (prior to Elvis' release from the army) - Elvis was not involved in any location filming, with all his filming completed in Hollywood
• Tulsa's regiment is the 32nd armored, which was also Elvis' real life regiment with he was in the army
• The army tanks and vehicles were supplied by the U.S. Army, who appointed public information officer John J. Mawn as technical advisor
• Although panned by critics, the film was the 14th biggest box office grossing film of the year, grossing $4.3million
• A riot following a screening of "G.I. Blues" in Mexico City, resulted in the Mexican government banning Elvis movies
• The original title for the film was "Cafe Europa" - which is what the film is still called in some European countries (i.e.: Italy, Germany, etc.)
• The boat in the film ("Bonn"), is now located in Karlshamn, Sweden, and is used as a disco
• Michael Curtiz was originally intended to direct this film - Curtiz had directed Elvis' previous film, "King Creole" (1958)
• While filming the sky lift scene at Rüdesheim, director of photography Loyal Griggs fell out of his cart, plunging 30 feet - fortunately he was not seriously injured

Award nominations...

• Grammy Award nomination for Best Soundtrack Album
• Grammy Award nomination for Best Vocal Performance Album, Male (Elvis Presley)
• Writers Guild of America nomination for Best Written American Musical
• Golden Laurel Award 2nd Place (runner up) for Top Musical of 1960
• Ranked at #2 on the Variety Weekly national box office chart in 1960

Closing remarks

Although "G.I. Blues" is yet another awful entry in Elvis' filmography, there is something very exciting about this particular film... the presence of Juliet Prowse.

Juliet Prowse was an extraordinary dancer and a wonderful talent, who is unfortunately often forgotten today. Although she didn't make many films, she is still one of my favourite dancing actresses along with Ann Miller, Ginger Rogers, Cyd Charisse and Leslie Caron.

As usual, we get the standard-stock shallow plot, which follows the basic formula for almost of all Elvis' films... Elvis meets girl; girl plays hard to get; Elvis eventually gets girl. Along the way, Elvis sings all the songs from his latest album. 

Speaking of which, despite the myriad of Elvis songs in this film, the musical highlight for me is Juliet Prowse's solo dance number. I really like the way the camera focuses solely on Prowse for the entire sequence, and treats us with the opportunity to appreciate and enjoy her dancing talent. We are fortunate to also experience something similar with another of Elvis' leading ladies, Ann-Margret in Elvis' later film "Viva Las Vegas" (1964). 

Overall a weak and rather slow film - it takes approx. 30 mins for the storyline to kick off. That said, this film is one of a handful of Elvis' films I would recommend watching, solely to see Juliet Prowse's most memorable screen appearance. 

Blue Hawaii (1961) - Star of the month... Angela Lansbury

"Tourists are not nice people. They're tourists" - Angela Lansbury (as Sarah Lee Gates in 'Blue Hawaii')

'Blue Hawaii' is a 1961 musical directed by Norman Taurog and starring Elvis Presley, Joan Blackman and Angela Lansbury. The film was produced by Hal B. Wallis and its screenplay was written by Hal Kanter.

Chadwick Gates (played by Presley) is an ex-GI who returns to the Hawaiian islands after two years service. His mother Sarah Lee Gates (played by Lansbury) wants Chad to work at the Great Southern Hawaiian Fruit Company, but to spite her Chad takes a job at a travel agency with his girlfriend, Maile Duval (played by Blackman).

Musical program

The film features 14 new Elvis songs, including one of his biggest hits "Can't Help Falling in Love" and a cover of Bing Crosby's "Blue Hawaii"

• "Blue Hawaii" - Elvis Presley
• "Almost Always True" - Elvis Presley
• "Aloha Oe" - Elvis Presley
• "No More" - Elvis Presley
• "Can't Help Falling in Love" - Elvis Presley
• "Rock-A-Hula Baby" - Elvis Presley
• "Moonlight Swim" - Elvis Presley
• "Ku-U-I-Po" - Elvis Presley
• "Ito Eats" - Elvis Presley
• "Slicing' Sand" - Elvis Presley
• "Hawaiian Sunset" - Elvis Presley
• "Beach Boy Blues" - Elvis Presley
• "Island of Love (Kauai)" - Elvis Presley
• "Hawaiian Wedding Song" - Elvis Presley

Song: "Can't Help Falling in Love" - Elvis Presley

Song: "Almost Always True" - Elvis Presley

Song: "Rock-A-Hula Baby" - Elvis Presley

Song: "Slicin' Sand" - Elvis Presley

Did you know...

• Angela Lansbury at age 35 was only 9 years older than Elvis Presley, who played her son
• Angela Lansbury feels her appearance in 'Blue Hawaii' was one of the worst in her career 
• The film finished as the 10th top-grossing film of 1961, and 14th in 1962 on the 'Variety' national box office survey, earning $5million
• The film was shot on location in Hawaii at Waikiki Beach, Diamond Head, Mount Tantalus and Hanauma Bay
• The first of three Elvis films shot in Hawaii - this was followed by 'Girls! Girls! Girls!' (1962) and 'Paradise, Hawaiian Style' (1965)
• Juliet Prowse was considered for the role of Maile Duval, but was dropped after her demands were put forward
• The film was originally titled 'Hawaii Beach Boy'
• Elvis was apparently very pale prior to filming, so producer Hal B. Wallis recommended a tanning lamp to darken his skin
• The 'Blue Hawaii' soundtrack album spent 20 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Pop Album chart in the US - with sales of over 3 million in the US, it spent 79 weeks on the charts
• Pamela Austin's film debut
• Look closely and pop singer Patti Paige can be seen paddling a canoe approx. 7 mins before the end, as Maile kicks Chad out of her room
• Producer Hal B. Wallis can be seen as an extra walking down the street

Awards and nominations

• ASCAP Film and Television Music Award winner for Most Performed Feature Film Standard ("Can't Help Falling in Love")
• Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Musical (Hal Kanter)
• Laurel Award nomination for Top Musical of 1961 (awarded 4th place)
• Grammy Award nomination for Best Soundtrack Album or Recording of Original Cast from a Motion Picture of Television

Closing remarks

'Blue Hawaii' is yet another typical badly made Elvis film with a thin plot, beautiful beaches, pretty girls and a lot of mediocre songs.

What makes 'Blue Hawaii' one the better entries in Elvis' repertoire of bad movies is both the spectacular location footage in Hawaii, as well as Angela Lansbury's amusing performance as Elvis' mother. Although Lansbury did not like her performance in his film, I feel she is being a little hard on herself.

The film is also notable for Elvis performing one of his biggest hits: "Can't Help Falling in Love With You".

The Hoodlum Saint (1947) - Star of the month... Angela Lansbury

'The Hoodlum Saint' is a 1946 romantic drama directed by Norman Taurog and starring William Powell, Esther Williams and Angela Lansbury with Rags Ragland, Lewis Stone, Frank McHugh, James Gleason and Slim Summerville.

Set in Baltimore in 1919, immediately after World War I. Major Terry O'Neill (played by Powell) returns home from the war, and finds the job he left as a newspaper editor is no longer waiting for him. Jobless and broke, Terry decides to crash a society wedding in order to try and make some connections and secure himself a job. At the wedding he meets and finds himself randomly kissing Kay Lorrison (played by Williams). After taking a job in New York, Terry finds himself torn between Kay and nightclub singer Dusty Millard (played by Lansbury).

Did you know...

• Although Angela Lansbury could sing, her singing in the film was dubbed by Doreen Tryden

Musical program

Angela Lansbury (dubbed by Doreen Tryden) performs 2 songs in the film:

• "If I Had You"
• "How Am I To Know?" 

Closing remarks

A below average romance from the 1940s has a few funny moments, but overall is nothing special. It is disappointing to see Angela Lansbury's singing dubbed once again - despite the fact Lansbury could sing quite well.  The other disappointment is the absence of Esther Williams' trademark swimming pool.