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deke-rivers-1957 · 6 months

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Kid Galahad Review

In a rare departure from the "Elvis-vehicle" formula, Elvis doesn't have black hair and isn't shoved in our faces with every scene. To be specific we go back to Loving You where, despite being billed as the star, Elvis isn't entirely the focus. This movie was made by United Artists who had a different idea on how to work with Elvis. A formula wasn't entirely perfected, so studios outside of Paramount still felt that Elvis had the range to be more than just a comedic singer.

Unfortunately, compared to the huge success of Blue Hawaii, Kid Galahad seemed to have been swept under the rug and forgotten. Colonel Parker saw this as a sign that the people have spoken and Elvis as a real actor wasn't meant to be. The "failure" of Kid Galahad officially ended any hopes of prioritizing good story telling over soundtracks. Were the doubters correct in saying Elvis flew too close to the sun? Or were the powers that be simply too harsh to pull the plug on Elvis' acting dreams? Let's find out.

We immediately get our first song. "King of the Whole Wide World" is a pretty jazzy opening song. There's a swinging brass band. As weird as it is to have this play over a truck, we have no reason to believe this isn't an instrumental on the radio. At the same time when we do have a close up of him singing, you can tell the lip-synching isn't that great. I have no idea why a recently discharged soldier wouldn't have any indication of rank. It feels like an afterthought on that front. It's nit-picky but I don't get the concept of including a detail like that and not following through with it.

So we get introduced to Walter Gulick and he's looking for work as we get introduced to Cream Valley, New York. We get introduced to the people of Grogan's Gaelic Gardens. Just in this first interaction, I get personality. I already understand why Dolly is the way she is when she says she's Willy's fiancee. For once an Elvis character being southern is explained in the story. Despite being born in that small town, Walter's parents died when he was young so he had to be raised by family in Kentucky. There's no reason to go into further detail because the story doesn't need it. A perfect balance between establishing a character and moving the story along.

So we get introduced to Willy Grogan. Just by Gig Young's acting I 100% believe that he's this deadbeat business owner who likes to gamble his money away. Given the history of organized crime's involvement in boxing and in New York period, I totally get why this is included. The mob wants its money and never appreciates someone like him not being able to pay. Naturally when he can't pay for his car, the mob takes it away. This forces Willy to embarrass himself by having to lift a ride from the grocery store's delivery truck.

He meets Walter and immediately assumes that Dolly is having an affair. This introduces the concept of Willy being so insecure about his relationship with her, that he assumes every other man has bad intentions. Walter offers up his "skills" as a boxer until he could meet with the owner of the mechanic's garage. We get more depth on the mob's involvement with Willy's camp. Turns out Willy was a witness to a crime so the boss has his lackeys hang around the camp so Willy doesn't talk. I admit even after multiple watches I don't fully understand everything that was said about this. I won't take points off for this since you still get the idea that the mob's putting Willy in a sticky situation that can't be easily resolved.

This scene works so well despite not being all that grand or climatic. We have a lot of subtlety here. That's something a lot of movies lack. We don't get a lot of characters trying to explain something the audience already knows. Even when we pan down and see Walter's trainer Lew limping, we don't get this song and dance about why that happened. Everything's explained just by watching the movie and taking in the character's expressions. Meanwhile, we get introduced to Willy's sister who looks so much younger than him. Age gaps in siblings exist but it's still an odd casting choice. Turns out she's infinitively more responsible as she has to keep bailing Willy out of financial trouble.

This is the best acting Elvis can ever do. Basic instinct requires you to duck or in some way react when you see a fist coming at your face. A human being not having that ability or even reacting to the pain of being hit simply wouldn't live long. I have no idea how you can teach someone how to consciously control an automatic response. So to see Walter constantly get hit and not have any reaction or protect his face in anyway is just incredible. We also get some nice comedy that was supposedly ad-libbed where Walter's only priority is his five dollars. The fake blood is obvious but because it's meant to be just quickly wiped off it doesn't take away from the overall quality of the movie.

Throughout this scene we get the boxers singing "This Is Living". I love this song. It's not because the song is uniquely written but in the context of this movie, it's just so perfectly intertwined with the story. For once Elvis isn't the main singer. The backup artists do most of the work for this scene and it works so well because these boxers have their own group. Walter isn't exactly part of them yet so there's no reason for him to intrude. It isn't until Joey invites him to sing that he joins in when necessary. Moments like this where we let the side characters and even Elvis just be are what make some of his movies better than others. It's letting these characters be people and not plot devices that allow you to feel something for Walter. Heck none of these boxers, including Joey, really do that much in the story. But they don't need to because just by watching Walter interact with them, we get the idea that they mean something to him. They make him feel included and give him a sense of belonging.

This image of Walter looking at Joey is a nice example of non-verbal acting being able to say more. There's a palpable tension until Joey makes a joke that assures Walter no ill will exists. I love that because they could've easily made Joey the cliched rival who gets all salty that he's no longer the best. Joey isn't jealous of Walter at all and if anything is just in awe of his natural power. He's written to be a real person instead of merely a plot device to foil Walter. So many small details like this add up to being a sign the movie had effort put into it.

So Willy wants to sign Walter to be part of his camp and Lew explains why this is obviously a bad idea. Walter boxing the way he does makes no sense to me. If he had experience boxing in the military, he had to have learned how to block. That's literally the first thing you learn so you don't get hurt. I can understand if this was any other cliched boxing movies where Walter has skill but isn't polished, but that's not the issue. Walter doesn't know how to use the most basic defensive technique. Lew explaining all of this makes perfect sense because any trainer would look at Walter's technique and just groan. Even if Walter has this insane ability to not respond to being hit, that doesn't mean he's immune to head injuries.

A confrontation happens off screen and Walter knocks out a lackey. Turns out he was hitting on Dolly and Walter stepped in. You would think this would lead to a cliched love triangle where Dolly ends up falling in love with Walter. But they don't as there's nothing to suggest she's falling in love or that he has any feelings for her. A nice twist that even the original movie used. Willy is of course jealous that Walter protected Dolly but if anything it speaks to his character that he's also mad at Dolly for not coming to him. Lew and Maynard, the cook, find that one of Otto's lackey's had a gun on him. Turns out Otto had so little trust in Willy, that he's ordered his lackeys to carry weapons. You can clearly put together that if Willy talked, they will kill him.

We get a nice blink and you'll miss it of Lew holding a poster about an actual boxing match that happened in the 1920s. I love the real life references to boxers and boxing history. It shows that the creative team did their research. People who know about boxing would know about John L. Sullivan and Jack Dempsey. Details like this add color to a movie and shows that effort was put into building this world.

I love the car that Walter and Lew find. Walter feeling this need to spruce it up no matter what it'll take is so wholesome. Lew even being in this garage with Walter and supporting his decision to do this is also wholesome. When has an Elvis movie ever had this much of a focus on his character having actual friends? It rarely happens because of concerns that they'll take the focus away from him. Here giving Walter friends, makes Walter shine even more. A good person doesn't have to be boring and by giving Walter multiple relationships with people it gives him depth.

When Rose arrives in Cream Valley, Willy shows just how terrible of a person he is. Despite her being a grown woman, Willy treats her like a child. Like she's still so young and green that she couldn't possibly help him. I don't know if it's out of male pride or if he genuinely believes she can't do it. Even when Dolly comes downstairs he doesn't dare introduce her as his fiancee. And the reason why: He didn't think she could handle such a scandalous relationship. By modern standards this would be completely ridiculous as someone Rose's age would likely have learned at least something about sex one way or another. Even the concept of Willy and Dolly living together despite not being married by modern standards is a nothing-burger. But because it's the 1960s Dolly of course is upset as even back then what Willy is doing is a bit much and if anything makes him a hypocrite. He claims to protect his sister from degenerates, yet by those same standards is also one by having relations with Dolly before marriage.

Walter meets Rose and I immediately support this pairing. The soft focus on the close up works so well. Just by watching them interact you buy the love at first sight cliche. Walter looks smitten and you can tell she appreciates him too. This immediately foils how Willy sees Rose. He sees her as if she's still a child and shouldn't dare start dating anyone. Walter however, sees her as a woman. He's attracted to her, but because he respects her as an equal he doesn't force himself on her.

Everyone's character works so well. Lew is a classic New York tough love type of guy. He doesn't hand Walter things on a silver platter but he still believes in ensuring Walter gets his fair share. Lew makes for a great foil to Willy. Lew has morals and isn't willing to let Walter get hurt because Willy just wants to make a few bucks. He's just so supportive of Walter where at times he looks like a proud mom.

The scene of Walter riding his now repaired Model T demonstrates that. They have to travel to Albany, New York for his first fight and since Willy's car was repossessed they have to take the antique. Lew can just keep to himself but he's so proud of Walter. "Riding the Rainbow" works well in the context of the movie. Walter sings along with the radio and it's such a natural thing to do while you drive long distances.

I love this face. The fact that Walter is just staring at his opponent with a blank expression is just gold. The promoter calling him lamb eyes is such a fitting nickname. It's like how some animals just don't know they're about to die. That's Walter as he's trying to comprehend the severity of the situation and is failing miserably. I have no idea if Elvis was told to look like that but it ultimately doesn't matter as it's just so fitting. Walter had never been in a professional fight before so naturally that would be overwhelming.

In spite of Walter's terrible defensive abilities, he manages to win. Everyone is stunned by this ability but now there's no doubt about his ability to win. While Muhammed Ali was renowned for the "rope a dope" method, Walter still adds a layer of complexity by not blocking. Walter not being able to register getting hit is an unteachable skill that can lead to him being very successful. And he is as he begins to go on a winning streak. He makes it up to the championship fight slated to take place around Labor Day.

Walter returns to Cream Valley where it's the 4th of July celebration. Maynard had put Dolly up to supervising his corned beef. Now obviously that's a traditionally Irish product but I admit this is the first time I've heard of people eating it for the 4th of July. If there's any Irish Americans in New York or in general out there let me know if this is a thing. Me personally I would've just went with making it St. Patrick's Day. Even though it's in March, it's not that farfetched to have a warm spring. Plus you give Walter more time to train as opposed to just giving him one summer to take on a fighter who's likely trained for years.

Walter meanwhile starts getting really close with Rose. He serenades her with "Home Is Where The Heart Is" and I love this ballad. You can tell that sparks are starting to fly. We do get a funny moment where Walter gets annoyed about being interrupted. He was about to kiss Rose then just goes "whaaaa" when Lew asks him how they're going to get to the picnic. I just love small moments like this where it doesn't mean anything in the long run, but when put together makes for an entertaining movie.

This is how you do multiple songs in a short period of time correctly. I don't care that we just had a song not even five minutes ago because both songs adequately fit into the scene. This is a 4th of July picnic so naturally there's going to be music involved. "I Got Lucky" isn't a typical ballad he uses for serenading his girl. What adds to the natural feeling of this scene is if you look closely Walter crosses his eyes near the end of the song and it makes Rose smile and almost start laughing. It wasn't intended to happen, but it wouldn't have mattered if she did laugh. If anything it would give her a nice character moment by laughing along to Walter being cheesy. Couples do things like this all the time and it helps you see these two as real people.

So the young couple start walking and talk about Walter's upcoming fight. Despite having different opinions about it, Rose understands why Walter is doing it. We don't get this cliche disagreement induced breakup where we don't see her again until the climax. I like that. It shows that this couple is fully supportive of each other even if they don't agree on decisions being made. Walter isn't doing this as his permanent job. As much as he's friends with the people in Willy's camp, Walter is using boxing as a means to get what he really wants. Walter doesn't need to learn some type of lesson and I'm glad the movie doesn't want to add drama about them not agreeing about his decision to box.

Walter is an underrated feminist icon. Because feminism is about treating women as equals. Walter doesn't ignore Rose's opinions. Even if they don't agree about him fighting against Sugar Boy, he completely understands why she feels that way. He isn't using her as a tool to spite Willy. Walter wants to get married because she wants to get married. It's a mutual decision made by two fully consenting adults. "WE DECIDED TO GET MARRIED" is the most important line in their relationship. Rose doesn't have a big role but at the same time she doesn't need to. She represents why Walter's nickname is Galahad. Walter is a gentleman who respects women as an equal. This is a relationship based on a young couple's mutual feelings of attraction. She is another piece of the puzzle that makes up Walter's forever home. That's something he's always wanted and is why he came back to Cream Valley. We have a high amount of respect for Walter because he's aware of his exploitation and isn't going to let Willy disrespect him or Rose. Naturally Willy is furious but Dolly comes to Walter's defense. After all, Walter at least has the guts to maintain his commitment to his relationship which she's obviously referencing to something Willy doesn't have.

Things get even worse for Willy as the pressure against him mounts. The Chamber of Commerce for Cream Valley and Otto's mob have differing beliefs on who should win. For the Chamber of Commerce, of course they want Walter to win. It's a middle of nowhere town nobody wants to call home, Walter winning would be a big boost to their economy. This is where the exploitation really starts. Walter's body is being sold because people are now going to Willy's camp and paying just to watch Walter train. Otto's mob is equally exploitive but in a different way. Otto had recently "adopted" Sugar Boy so they're now sponsoring him. Naturally Otto would want Sugar Boy to win and for Willy to encourage Walter to take a dive. With Willy in all of this debt to them, he doesn't have a lot of options.

Willy and Dolly's relationship is completely on the rocks. Despite the image above, Dolly is furious. The cliche breakup I mentioned earlier still doesn't exist here. It's a cliche when the drama happens out of nowhere and doesn't reflect the actual character's emotions. Dolly here has been getting frustrated with Willy since before the movie started. Despite stating exactly why she's upset numerous times before this incident, Willy somehow completely misses the point. While Dolly was upset about him gambling his money away, his lack of commitment in her eyes is much much worse.

Watching Walter and Rose get it together despite not being a couple for even a year, was the last straw. There's a difference between waiting to get married because you don't have the money for a wedding and waiting to get married because you have no desire to get married. If you're someone's fiancee for years and have heard nothing about starting any wedding plans, that's a red flag. She shouldn't be expected to wait multiple years for Willy to get it together. He's stringing her along and for all she knows he could never want to marry her. That's a horrible thing to do to someone who is committed to a potential marriage. So she finally leaves Willy and sends him to rock bottom.

The backstory behind "A Whistling Tune" is interesting. Originally it was supposed to be used for Follow That Dream. For one reason or another it was dropped and instead was used here. I'm glad that choice was made. You can argue the songs don't add anything to the movie, but I would highly disagree. The songs' meanings are SUBTLE. Watching Walter and Rose simply be together as they walk to the church is meaningful. You need scenes like this to show that this is a couple that is content with the small things. You are allowing them to exist as people and not as a means to an end because it's an Elvis film and he always gets the girl. Good writing means allowing a couple to have chemistry exist outside of "they're together because the script says so". We need to see why they should be together because otherwise they're not people and therefore un-relatable.

This couple talking with Father Higgins is just incredible. We find out that they've been together for months. So many people complain that they've only known each other for a few days. NO THAT'S NOT THE CASE! Walter's been training over the course of months because if you actually pay attention, it was 4th of July and they wanted his fight against Sugar Boy to be during the Labor Day weekend (for non-Americans that's the 1st Monday of September). They've known each other even before that, but the background is a terrible determination of how time has past. But ultimately, Father Higgins priority was that the young couple was committed to a marriage. They make a great foil to Dolly and Willy's relationship. Walter and Rose know what they want and are willing to support the other if they want something different. That's the type of beautiful, healthy relationship that I wish a lot of people have.

The pressure on Walter mounts as everyone is watching him train. Joey comes back from Boston and I love their relationship. Despite not doing that much, watching them interact gives them both depth. Joey could've easily been a throwaway character that we never see again after he left for Boston. Him coming back was a great move on the writers. It reflects how Walter is more than just a potential cash cow to the town. He's actually well respected even amongst other boxers at the camp. Dare I say these people are his family. Just watching Walter light up when he sees Joey come back is enough to say that these two are good friends.

I love the representation of different cultures. This is supposed to be New York which is the melting pot of America. Ellis Island had only been closed for less than 10 years so it makes perfect sense to have a multi-cultural community. All of the cultures represented in this movie accurately reflect the real life boxing world. Boxing was really a form of exploitation of impoverished minorities. I'll skip the history lesson, but in the US Irish immigrants were in fact considered to be a minority because of their religion. So as a way to make money they would put their bodies at risk by boxing as even with the rules in place, boxers can still get hurt and even die. It was a risk they took because they knew if they were good enough, people would sponsor them. It's a sad reality that still exists and I'm glad that the movie doesn't shy away from how exploitive it can be by Walter outright saying he wants to quit once he wins. I also appreciate how in spite of the ill will that would've very much still existed amongst older generations of immigrants, everyone gets along. Mr. Lieberman and Father Higgins do get in a back and forth regarding the top boxers in their day, but nothing comes from it. They might not agree but they get along because they both love the sport and want to support Walter.

Lew and Maynard talk about Willy's relationship with Dolly. I'm not entirely sure on what to make of Willy going to Lieberman's to try to get her back. She left in the first place because he wouldn't stop gambling and showed no commitment to getting married even after a few years. Maybe there's a part of his character that I missed, but it doesn't really make sense for him to want her back knowing he hasn't changed his mind about marriage. It's nice to see though that we have side characters being allowed to talk without Elvis even being in the room. It's moments like this that make it feel like a real movie in place of an Elvis vehicle.

Maynard leaves the room as Otto and his men come in. Since Lew is responsible for patching up Walter during a fight, they pay him $500 to not show up. Given the amount of money at stake, Otto wants to see Walter lose by being too injured to fight because he was slated to be a favorite. Despite knowing what would happen to him if he refuses, Lew outright says "No!" and rejects the money. Lew is a king for this. He knew by being in the business for so long, that saying no to a mob boss will lead to consequences but he did he anyway. He got his hands broken by some of Otto's lackeys, but to him it didn't matter. Money isn't worth Walter being in an unnecessary amount of pain to Lew. But being injured himself is worth it if it means that plan doesn't go through.

This scene had a King Creole level of tension. The whole fight scene makes you feel like someone might die. It's so incredible to see a fight scene break out and an Elvis character isn't immediately involved. Willy and Lew have a relationship that's lasted for years and we get to see that Willy has a heart. Lew isn't just an employee who didn't fall in line. Lew is his friend who very much risked his life to make sure Walter didn't get hurt anymore than necessary. Seeing him still try to fight despite the horrific injuries to his hands is incredible. It shows that even though he's badly injured, he isn't going to cower in fear.

Seeing Walter come rushing down to save Willy and Lew doesn't necessarily add anything to his character. We already know that even if Willy is treating him like a lamb being fed to wolves, Walter will still stand up for him. So why is this so important? Because it shows that Willy is finally able to swallow his pride about Walter marrying his sister. Willy sees for himself that Walter doesn't have ill will towards him. He didn't help to specifically prove himself, but because it was the right thing to do. Seeing Walter look down at a bloody Willy makes him realize that Walter is good enough. He could've been petty about their argument but he wasn't. And that's what made Willy realize he was wrong. Such a beautiful character moment that didn't have to be verbalized.

We get more development on Willy's plot and while it still doesn't justify him being so overprotective, it at least gives him some depth. It keeps him from being completely irredeemable as a person. Seeing him and the people in Walter's camp emphasize that it's not worth killing himself just to win is beautiful. I love this example of non-toxic masculinity. Walter isn't responsible for making sure people win their bets. All Walter's responsible for is doing his best. The money is nice and is a motivation for Walter, but that doesn't mean he should try to go beyond what he's capable of. It's a good lesson to teach young boys as we still sadly live in a world where men feel pressured to put everything on their shoulders.

We get to see Sugar Boy and despite his involvement with Otto I don't hate him. Sugar Boy is antagonist but he's not at all a villain. He's just as much of a victim of boxing's exploitive nature as Walter is. The sad reality is that unlike Walter, Sugar Boy not being fluent in English would make escaping it even more difficult. I can't fault Sugar Boy for taking this path as we don't even know how aware he is of Otto's plan. So when Otto's lackey shows up to try to "make Walter bleed" Willy shows his true colors by making sure it failed. He took out the saboteur and had some of Otto's men apprehended. With it being a public event, Otto would be trapped from making a scene. That's what makes Willy redeemable. When given the opportunity to do the right thing he does it.

With Walter none the wiser he walks into surprisingly non-segregated crowd. This wasn't the only one either and given that segregated crowds were still practiced when this movie came out in some parts of the country, it's very refreshing to see. We get a name drop of Elvis' boxing trainer, Mushy Callahan who was a very famous Jewish boxer. I love how they don't parade him around for the movie yet still feel the need to honor him. The ensuing fight is intense but the fake blood here is a bit of a distraction. It doesn't completely kill the immersion though since Elvis is sweating up a storm. In fact he's so over zealous that Mushy had to drag him away from Sugar Boy after the bell rang. It was an ad-lib on Elvis' part that if anything works beautifully with how a competitive fight would be. It's so lovely to see everyone Walter has gotten to know be here to support him. You don't care about logistics of whether he should've won a fight because you understand the emotion behind him winning. When he does win, and everyone erupts into cheers and applause, it feels real. You feel that there's a connection between him and the rest of Cream Valley's residents outside of just money. They bet on him because they believed in him.

The ending goes by too fast for my liking. While Otto's lackeys get caught, we have no idea what happens to Otto himself. If they had simply shown him try to leave but get caught by the security guard, we can at least put it together that he'll be punished. Also since Sugar Boy lost, you feel bad because you have no idea what Otto might do to him if he did get away with it. Dolly coming back to Willy is strange as Willy has shown me nothing to suggest he changed his mind about marriage. I get that he did go over to Lieberman's to try to win Dolly back, but I feel like it could've been done better. Walter doesn't even get to talk to Rose. He just kisses her as we get a reprise of "I got Lucky" before fading to black. Given the run time, I think you can afford another 5 minutes if not less to wrap things up.

My criticisms can be written off as nit-picky and simply be a matter of creative differences. That's how good this movie is. If we were to rate movies independently of other movies that came out and the economic situation of Elvis fans, I have no idea how the higher ups can look at this movie's "lack of success" as a failure. I can go on forever about this, but Colonel Parker and the higher ups in Hollywood were wrong to consider this a failure when compared to Blue Hawaii. This isn't a copy and paste version of every other boxing movie out there. It isn't even a copy and paste version of the original Kid Galahad made in 1937. Are there similarities? Yes but there are enough differences that to me makes it above a generic movie.

Is this a perfect film? No but it very well could be in other people's eyes. This movie can very easily be the perfect movie and is a great example of how a movie doesn't have to be Citizen Kane or The Godfather level big to be good. It's also a great example of how a smaller level story doesn't mean shallow. Therefore, I'm giving Kid Galahad my highest rating so far of 9.5/10. I highly recommend watching this movie. It doesn't matter if you're an Elvis fan or not, it's just such a nice story. Simply saying it's a movie about an army vet becoming a boxer and finding love, doesn't do it justice. There's so much depth to even the side characters that you can feel the care put into this movie. A real treat if you want the best of both worlds when movie watching.

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AN: Thank you @arrolyn1114 for requesting this movie. If anyone wants to request a movie I haven't already reviewed feel free to send them in.

Tagging: @smokeymountainboy, @peaceloveelvis, @mercsandmonsters, @vintagepresley, @eapep, @tacozebra051, @hooked-on-elvis, @dragonkingsdaughter, @i-r-i-n-a-a, @presleyenterprise, @m5t1ld5, @huhhhhsthings, @tupelomiss, @atleastpleasetelephone, @sissylittlefeather, @sfull12345, @jhoneybees, @mitsyscoolplayhouse, @sillybookmarks and @alienelvisobsession.

#elvis film #elvis film review #walter gulick #kid galahad #1962

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deke-rivers-1957 · 5 months

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It Happened at the World's Fair Review

It Happened at the World's Fair expands on what was introduced in Girls! Girls! Girls! (which came out after World's Fair filming started). Taking inspiration from Blue Hawaii, this set of movies are music heavy, have colorful scenery and involve Elvis having to work with child actors. The scenery in this case is the real life world's fair. The 1962 World's Fair in Seattle opened in April and closed in October. With a very limited timeline, it was very important that the movie comes out before the novelty of the fair is gone.

Because this is an actively operating fair, there were many issues involving crowd control. It's a major reason why filming didn't even start in September when most children started school. Naturally, this posed a problem because this meant despite making the movie as fast as possible, it still came out in April 1963 (6 months after the fair closed). Despite the logistical issues, does this movie capture the beauty of the World's Fair while balancing its plot, or does it take a complete nose dive because of the rushed production? Let's find out.

To start with, I'm not a big fan of the title. I get you need to highlight the World's Fair but it's a bit clunky. Might I suggest "World's Fair Wonders"? This opening song is forgettable. "Beyond the Bend" sounds like a rejected version of "Ridin' the Rainbow" from Kid Galahad. Since those two songs have the same songwriters, I get the idea that they repeat melodies to make up for the extra songs. After all Kid Galahad (at the time the last movie the songwriters worked on) only had 6 songs while this movie now has 10.

Elvis singing while flying a crop duster feels dangerous since it's obvious he's distracted. He looks goofy wearing those goggles and just seems out of place. We immediately get jokes with Elvis being a pilot claiming he can't see the barn. It's a joke as old as the Three Stooges. Elvis is so irresponsible that he flies the plane practically next to the road just to flirt with some girls. They almost crash into some telephone wires and I wonder if Paradise, Hawaiian Style was inspired by this scene when they did the helicopter scene with the dogs.

Surprisingly for a cliche womanizer, Mike is financially responsible. It isn't much but it does give him some depth. Given how he almost crashed the plane because he was distracted by women, it's impressive that he that it's not his entire character. As to why he doesn't take the money with him, I have no idea. I guess you have to assume that Mike doesn't know Danny had access to his hiding place.

So he goes to meet one of his girlfriends, Dorothy, who we never see again. They're making out on the couch while Dorothy wants to push away to get some iced tea. But Mike insists on keeping the action going. I know out of context "Relax" is a steamy song, but I wonder if it was intentional to make Mike so pushy. Because he's always touching Dorothy while she pushes him away and does everything she can to get away from him. He pulls stuff out of her hands and it's just creepy.

Her parents come back and I'm very confused on why Dorothy's dad is so upset. Unless we're assuming that they have never met Mike in their entire lives, it's very strange to react like that. At least seeing Mike run for the hills gives us a little chuckle as if to say "yeah he had it coming". The whole scene is just random as we didn't need to emphasize that Mike's a womanizer. The opening scene already tells us that he's a flirt. Since Dorothy doesn't even come back, it just feels like a scene where you go "ok that happened" as it came and went without adding anything.

Mike somehow catches up with a now broke Danny. After multiple bad hands, Danny can't pay his losses to some guys including a Red West cameo. A fight breaks out in the office and I don't think I've ever seen such an ugly scene. That gives it a bit more realism. You don't expect regular guys to have the punch of death. It's supposed to be ugly and brutal and it's not completely unrealistic that Mike and Danny win long enough to get away in their plane, Bessie.

The duo lands in Sherrington where they find out that because of the many debts they have, the sheriff "boots" their plane. He takes away their keys and gives them the ultimatum: pay the $1200 debt in 2 weeks or their plane goes up for auction to recoup the money. That's a pretty good set up for a conflict. It doesn't involve Elvis having bad luck, but instead relies on his friend having a realistic character flaw in the form of a gambling addiction.

Penniless and stranded, the duo tries to get a free ride into town. For how expensive his suits were, I'm amazed they had Elvis walking down the road in it. At first a car with a couple women stop but they only wanted Mike's lighter. I'm not sure if it was meant to be a joke or a narrative device meant to make the audience feel bad for them. Personally I don't think it does any of that. I didn't think it was funny and the "pain" they endure from the bad luck doesn't last long as they immediately get a ride. It makes me wonder why it was even added since there was no indication that a long period of time passed.

We get introduced Mr. Walter Ling and his niece Sue-Lin. I love this family. It's obvious that this is an Asian immigrant family which is very realistic for this part of the country and the time period. Despite Mr. Ling's actor being Chinese and Sue-Lin's actress being born in Manila (which is in the Philippines), it's actually not that bizarre. The Philippines does have a Chinese population so you can easily assume that Sue-Lin has some Chinese ancestry. For the time period, I'm so glad that this family is depicted as real people as opposed to stereotypes.

They drive to the World's Fair and I love the real backgrounds we get because of it. Mr. Ling being a delivery driver makes perfect sense since there are plenty of farms around the Seattle area. He can make extra money to be able to afford going to the fair. Sue-Lin has Mike try to explain what she might see and we get a decent song as "Take Me to the Fair" is a whimsical tune. I love Sue-Lin as a character. She isn't a generic cutesy girl character. We get genuine depth by showing that she's able to understand Chinese when her uncle is talking on the phone. When she finds out that uncle Walter has an important job and can't take her to the fair, she's naturally upset. It's not done in an over the top way where she has a complete tantrum. She understands that uncle Walter needs to take the job, but she's of course disappointed. Her realistic reaction only makes you appreciate Mike when he at first begrudgingly agrees to take her.

Mike's distracted by woman and we get it he's a womanizer. They could've just had him be absentminded because he's worried about finding a way to get money. But I do love how we see Mike and Sue-Lin interact with the real exhibitions such as the monorail. It gives you a special perspective that goes beyond a soundstage and shows just how big this fair is.

We get a Joe cameo as the man who gives Sue-Lin her red dog. I love the montage of them going around the fair. It's a wonderful showcase of what was there in case the viewer never had a chance to go and for younger generations who might not even know about the fair. Plus we get to see Mike warm up to Sue-Lin like he's taking his own daughter or niece to the fair. I can believe a change like that can happen in a short period of time. Unlike a romantic relationship, you don't need to have a lot happen to get along with a child. And it's not like Mike hated Sue-Lin as they got along on the truck ride.

It's really incredible to see just how much you can do at the fair for what doesn't seem like a lot of money. If only this was made earlier as it would've been a great way to promote the movie. After one too many treats, Mike takes Sue-Lin to the fair's nurse station. While Sue-Lin's being treated, Mike starts talking to himself and looks distractingly tan. When the nurse comes in and sees this he naturally can't help but flirt with her.

He pretends to have something in his eye and it's shocking how unapologetically pushy he is. I love how Nurse Warren rightfully calls him out on this. You really feel uncomfortable for her since it's relatable to have a man flirt unwarranted. Sue-Lin feels better so the two of them leave. Mike looks smitten and I have no idea what's meant to be so special about Nurse Warren. Because unless he thinks she's just playing hard to get, they have literally no chemistry.

I love this song. "They Remind Me Too Much of You" is such a beautiful ballad that if it wasn't for the fact that his first interaction with Nurse Warren went horribly, it would be the perfect ballad. We never see a quiet moment like this in any Elvis movie. In fact this is the first time outside of the opening song where Elvis isn't even singing out loud. He's only thinking about it as Sue-Lin sleeps. Not a single word is spoken as we take in this moment of Mike reflecting about his feelings. It's easily the best scene in the movie as it shows that Mike is so much more than a womanizer.

Mr. Ling returns to pick up Sue-Lin and you really get the idea that Mike loved "chaperoning" her. Sure he does say out loud to Danny that he was more happy about meeting Nurse Warren, but I honestly think the movie should've skipped the romance altogether. Mike had more chemistry with Sue-Lin in that one montage than he ever had with any other woman. The scenes with Dorothy and Nurse Warren only shows how shallow he is with women. With Sue-Lin we see a different side of Mike where he grows to care for Sue-Lin like she's his own family member.

Danny manages to swing the duo a temporary home that was set up for people attending the fair. We get introduced to Barney "yoo hoo" Thatcher who Danny uses as his pigeon to get money. Mike talks about how to get with Nurse Warren and again all I can think of is just how shallow he is. Even if he does succeed, it doesn't feel satisfying here because it doesn't feel like he'll change.

"One Broken Heart for Sale" is such an unnecessary song. We don't need to be bashed over the head with the obvious fact that Mike is horny for the nurse. Mike doesn't even deserve to say his heart is broken. You can't say your heart is broken just because someone you just met didn't reciprocate your pushy behavior. It doesn't add anything and just feels so out of place since you also have the other old men magically know what he's singing. Just shows how even the best songwriters can have duds if they're not in the right context. It's a shame because Otis Blackwell and Winfield Scott have had great successes with Elvis.

We cut to the next day as Mike has a ploy to get Nurse Warren's attention. He pays a boy, played by an uncredited Kurt Russell, a quarter to kick him in the shin. I love how as Elvis screams in pain, you can see people in the background turn to see what happened. That's a sign that this was a genuine crowd and only makes the setting feel real. Given the extent of the actual injury I'm more amazed that the nurses didn't immediately call for an ambulance. If Mike supposedly can't walk properly that could possibly be a sign of a broken leg. Mike says he blacked out which if you're a nurse is a red flag. The head nurse even has him walk on it and you just have to wonder why they're doing this. They don't know Mike is exaggerating so they're doing a horrible job of insuring his safety when the head nurse suggests Nurse Warren escorts him home.

As Nurse Warren shows no sense of urgency we get pretty obvious rear screen projections as the two talk. Why are we doing this? Nurse Warren doesn't know that Mike's faking so why is she taking her sweet time getting him home? In fact, when Mike again lies about blacking out, instead of calling for an ambulance she instead helps him up to the real rotating restaurant. Why? A professional would've immediately called for an ambulance. You would never risk moving someone who feels that dizzy as you would risk causing them further injury.

His ploy seems to work though since Nurse Warren is in no rush to leave the restaurant. In fact based on the passage of time they've been in that restaurant for hours. Mike even sings a ballad about how he's in love with Nurse Warren. "I'm Falling in Love Tonight" is such a generic ballad that I have no idea why I'm supposed to support this budding romance. Nurse Warren falling for Mike is something I don't buy at all. If anything it's showing that so long as you get the girl, you can be as pushy and manipulative as you want. That's a terrible moral to have for what's supposed to be a family film. It'd make more sense if she's just going along with this until it all blows up in his face, but that isn't at all how it's presented

I do love how the extras have their own charm to the movie. These were legit patrons that had no idea of what's happening. Them clapping after Mike's song was real and I love it because it shows just how weird it is to have someone burst into song in a restaurant. Mike's ploy immediately falls apart as the boy from earlier comes back. He kicks Mike in the shin and I love the old man who's just like "oh my God what's happening". He looks realistically concerned.

As Mike tries to apologize to Nurse Warren, Sue-Lin rushes up to him. She tearfully tells him that her uncle didn't come back from a job. Given how she waited from 9 am to 3 pm for Mr. Ling to return, I'd say Sue-Lin handled the situation very well for a child. You always allow for some delay if someone's traveling because you never know what would happen. When it became obvious that something had to have happened, it's natural for her to be very concerned.

This is the most realistic acting from a child I've ever seen. A 7 year old girl possibly losing her only guardian is terrifying situation to be in. It really says a lot that she didn't go one of her neighbors since they were living in one of those temporary homes as well. In fact, I'm amazed that not a single adult noticed her wandering the fair alone and most likely in distress. It's like the movie wants us to believe Mike's the only adult in this movie who Sue-Lin can even trust.

He takes Sue-Lin home and the movie immediately got better again. Mike explains that he took every measure to make sure people know he has Sue-Lin. I love this as he could've easily been the buffoon that has no idea how to tell anyone that he's watching a child who would otherwise have no one. It seems like it's relatively late at night, so while you can question if Mike's doing the right thing, it's at least better to have Sue-Lin be in a safe space than drive around trying to find the authorities.

We get a sweet scene where Sue-Lin dresses in her traditionally Chinese pajamas. Mike even sings "Cotton Candy Land" as a lullaby. In the context that it's in, I know the lullaby is meant to be sweet, but I only get a creepy vibe to it. I'm not sure why but to me Mike singing it in a quiet voice and the music just makes me feel more scared than soothed. The sandman doesn't feel like this whimsical creature but more like a monster. I'm sure that was unintentional as I don't think it's a common opinion to feel that way.

After pretending to be sick so Mike can make up with Nurse Warren, she arrives to check out Sue-Lin. It's a bit distracting how the studio light casts a big shadow. You know that little night lamp isn't doing that. Sue-Lin tells Nurse Warren the truth and I'm amazed Nurse Warren didn't immediately raise an eyebrow. Then again this is the same woman who took what she believed to be an injured Mike up to a rotating restaurant when he said he was about to blackout. I can't take any expertise or authority a character like her should have seriously.

The movie clearly has no idea on how to handle their relationship as Nurse Warren starts to fall for Mike again when he serenades her. "A World of Our Own" is so unnecessary. Mike being nice to Sue-Lin and taking care of her doesn't eliminate the fact that he was pushy and manipulated her. The whole relationship just feels forced as I don't think this couple has any chemistry. Again there's nothing about Nurse Warren that makes her different since there's a clear difference between playing hard to get and having no interest. While the movie wants to tell you that she's the former, you really know that it's the latter.

Danny comes back from his card games completely drunk. You would think this would tell Nurse Warren that Sue-Lin living with Mike is a bad idea. But no. It's not even a thought that was uttered as she just drives home. How? She has the authority to report this to the authorities since Danny being drunk can lead to terrible consequences. Especially when you have a child in the home.

Danny meanwhile meets up with a guy named Vince who offers Danny a deal to fly up to Canada. Oh yeah they had a debt to repay. I almost forgot about that since that plot took a back seat to the conflict of Mike caring for Sue-Lin and the conflict of Mike getting with Nurse Warren. Vince outright agrees to pay them the whole amount that would allow the duo to get their plane back. So naturally you assume he's going to be the villain which can't possibly be a good thing since he's been introduced way too late in the movie to really do anything important.

Mike comes back from asking about Sue-Lin's uncle. We get a sweet moment where he watches her color before playing "How Would You Like to Be?" with the windup clowns. I love the song as it does serve a purpose. Mike is trying to cheer up Sue-Lin and it of course makes sense that Sue-Lin only sings along once she feels better. These aren't complicated lyrics to try to have a young girl learn so it feels realistic for her to join in. Her dancing along with Mike is sweet but the smirk he has does feel out of place. I would've used a different shot as out of context you don't think he's looking at a 7 year old girl.

A woman from Child Services arrive to take Sue-Lin away. Because after a couple days, now it's a problem for Sue-Lin to be here. The woman says "an abandoned child is automatically a ward of the state" which is a lie. Sue-Lin wasn't immediately taken by the police who had to have known she was with Mike. This whole plot point is terrible as it doesn't properly set up why now all of a sudden is it a problem. The woman claims that it was Nurse Warren who made the complaint which you immediately know isn't true. If Nurse Warren genuinely believed that Sue-Lin wasn't safe, that would've been conveyed in the previous scene. This is just terrible drama meant to turn Mike off of her. Also there's no way that woman from Child Services would straight up tell Mike who made the complaint. That would put the person who made the complaint at risk of retaliation.

This whole situation is gets even worse as for someone who's supposed to be in Child Services, she can't even keep track of one child. I understand that Child Services has a very legitimate job, but this movie doesn't paint them in a good light at all. Instead of taking this seriously, I just see Child Services as a joke in this movie. They're only now making a stink about custody of a child when not even the police mentioned it. Instead of making it a forced situation from the start, it was only "suggested" so I have no reason to buy this organization as legitimate. I can only think of the much later film Lilo & Stitch as it does a better job of setting up why Lilo could be taken out of the home.

So we have Mike now desperately trying to find Sue-Lin as he's the only one who would know where she could be. As irrational as it is that he wouldn't tell authorities where she would be, I 100% get it in this situation. The authorities have done nothing to prove that they are reliable. In fact, if Mike didn't find her, you already know Sue-Lin would just runaway again. It's really sad that a child feels more safe with Mike than the authorities meant to protect abandoned children. It's also frustrating that because of the situation, Mike's now being painted as if he's abducting her.

Mike and Sue-Lin manage to make it to the airport just as Nurse Warren arrives trying to find them. She tries to explain what happened but he naturally doesn't want to hear it. Mike is just so done with everyone as he immediately finds out about the smuggling scheme. I know that Vince being a criminal was going to be this twist but wow they really just dropped that fur smuggling scheme that quickly. It doesn't even give that much importance or tension as Sue-Lin actually does something by biting Vince's finger when he's holding them at gunpoint. A fight breaks out and again it's ugly. Just like a real fight between non-professionals. Mike at this point is running on pure adrenaline so it makes perfect sense for him to win. But it's just so anti-climatic because really? This is what you've been building Danny's subplot up to? This plot element of Danny being involved in a fur smuggling scheme is introduced and resolved so quickly that there's no point in it even existing.

They get caught by the police and it turns out Danny was the one who contacted Child Services. This is a stupid twist as there's no way he could've fooled the woman from Child Services into thinking he's a woman. Also why's he now deciding that Sue-Lin was a problem when he didn't want her being there in the first place? It's not like he cared about Mike's feelings for her.We then find out that Mr Ling was only 20 miles south of the town and was in an emergency hospital. 20 miles is not that far so I have no idea why it took them all these days to figure this out. If Sue-Lin knew where he was going that she knew he should be back by certain point, what's the mystery here? It isn't like uncle Walter got kidnapped and no one knows where he could've been taken. Again a very anti-climatic ending for something that took up a big chunk of the movie.

We time skip to Mike applying to NASA as he walks with Nurse Warren through the fairgrounds. He sings about how this is a happy ending with a very fitting title "Happy Ending". Danny and Sue-Lin with her uncle Walter are nowhere to be seen to share this moment and absolutely nothing was earned. Maybe I'm missing something, but I just don't think this couple is likable and Mike was better off forgetting about her. It isn't unrealistic to realize "hey my priorities have changed. Getting the girl doesn't matter to me anymore. All that matters is that Sue-Lin is safe." That's character growth.

But no this is an Elvis movie and regardless of whether it makes sense for them to be together, he has to get the girl. It just makes you wonder why we spent all this time on something only for it to be completely hand waved like it was nothing. Almost like they completely ran out of time with writing the script and just had to say "everything is magically resolved no matter how ridiculous it is".

This movie clearly tried to do too much and it shows. You have the conflict of Mike and Danny being broke and needing to get the money for their plane; Mike wanting to get with Nurse Warren and having to deal with her being mad at him because he lied; Sue-Lin's uncle going missing and people thinking she needs to go to Child Services; and a last minute fur smuggling scheme. None of these plots were resolved in a way that feels like thought was put into it. They were only resolved because it's an Elvis movie that has to have a happy ending as opposed to naturally fixing them. As a result, the whole film is messy and is a case of wasted potential. It seriously needs a rewrite to smooth out everything that doesn't connect together well.

That being said, I give this film a 7/10. I can respect the attempt at giving an Elvis character depth, but I still think more work needed to be done. I do recommend watching it simply because the fairground scenes act as a time capsule of what life was like back then. It's just unfortunate that the movie was rushed because it was a great concept. No matter how you look at it, you wouldn't have been able to get this movie out in time to promote the fair. You can't film before the fair opens because then you have nothing to serve as a background since it's being built. You definitely can't film it in April because then you have to worry about the massive crowds since it's a total novelty and you can't do what the directors chose to do and film near the fair's ending because then you won't be able to get it out in time to promote it. It's a lose-lose situation which is a horrible shame but I at least respect the fact that they tried doing something like this.

AN: Thank you to my discord bestie snaileyinsheff for suggesting this movie and providing input. Also shout out to @hooked-on-elvis for providing the link that I used to watch the movie.

Tagging: @eapep, @i-r-i-n-a-a, @atleastpleasetelephone, @huhhhhsthings, @jhoneybees,

@eptodaytommorowforever, @thetaoofzoe, @smokeymountainboy, @dragonkingsdaughter, @myradiaz,

@dnnenenens, @wildhorseinkansas, @lett-them-eatt-cake, @vintagepresley, @mercsandmonsters,

@velvetelvis, @arrolyn1114, @alienelvisobsession, @xanatenshi, @peskybedtime,

@peaceloveelvis, and @tacozebra051.

#elvis film #it happened at the world's fair #mike edwards #elvis film review #sue-lin #1963 #1962 world's fair

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