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The Trouble with Girls
It is not only the nadir of Elvis Presley's hit and miss movie career, but 1969's The Trouble with Girls just might be one of the worst films I have ever seen and am wondering what the hell Elvis was thinking.
Set during the roaring 20's, Elvis plays Walter Hale, the manager of a traveling carnival troupe called The Chatauqua that arrives in a small town to hold auditions for a talent show, that is the springboard for multiple storylines including a smarmy local storekeeper who can't keep his hands off a single mother, whose daughter wants to be in the show. Walter's talent scout, who apparently is fighting some sort of attraction to Hale, and a poker game occurring on the outskirts of town that somehow has resulted in a murder.
First of all, don't be misled by the title...this film has absolutely nothing to do with Elvis' magic with the ladies and how they fawn all over him. Yes, there are various female characters that are part of this bizarre screenplay, but most of them are kept at arm’s length of our hero. Second, the other thing that made this film a strain for viewers, is that there's just not enough of Elvis. Elvis only appears in about one third of the movie and he doesn't sing until thirty-one minutes into the running time and only sings one more song after that. I have to wonder if Elvis agreed to do this movie without reading the script because I don't understand why he would accept a role where he is basically playing emcee to a bunch of talented character actors in tiny, thankless roles. Not only does Elvis appear to be phoning it in here, there are several moments throughout where he seems to be working very hard at not breaking character and not always succeeding.
This movie is like a Fred and Ginger movie where they don't dance or a Judy Garland movie where she doesn't sing. When we watch an Elvis film, there are certain things we expect...lots of songs, lots of pretty girls, and our hero front and center singing a song every fifteen minutes, but we don't get that here, making this film a very long, very boring experience.
Peter Tewksbury's unimaginative direction doesn't offer much help. including some really headache-inducing film editing. Familiar faces do pop up in Elvis' supporting cast though. Marlyn Mason, one of the busiest actresses of the 1960's and 70's. is, sadly, like nails on a chalkboard here and the usually reliable Sheree North has to work extra hard to keep our attention. The recently deceased Dabney Coleman had one of his earliest smarmy roles as the storekeeper and veteran Edward Andrews is fun as Walter's partner. There are also appearances from two child stars from the era, one at the beginning of her career (Susan Olsen, who became Cindy on The Brady Bunch) the same year, and one near the end, Anissa Jones of Family Affair who would overdose on drugs seven years after this film. Even hardcore Elvis fans are going to find getting through this one agonizing.
It is not only the nadir of Elvis Presley's hit and miss movie career, but 1969's The Trouble with Girls just might be one of the worst films I have ever seen and am wondering what the hell Elvis was thinking.
Set during the roaring 20's, Elvis plays Walter Hale, the manager of a traveling carnival troupe called The Chatauqua that arrives in a small town to hold auditions for a talent show, that is the springboard for multiple storylines including a smarmy local storekeeper who can't keep his hands off a single mother, whose daughter wants to be in the show. Walter's talent scout, who apparently is fighting some sort of attraction to Hale, and a poker game occurring on the outskirts of town that somehow has resulted in a murder.
First of all, don't be misled by the title...this film has absolutely nothing to do with Elvis' magic with the ladies and how they fawn all over him. Yes, there are various female characters that are part of this bizarre screenplay, but most of them are kept at arm’s length of our hero. Second, the other thing that made this film a strain for viewers, is that there's just not enough of Elvis. Elvis only appears in about one third of the movie and he doesn't sing until thirty-one minutes into the running time and only sings one more song after that. I have to wonder if Elvis agreed to do this movie without reading the script because I don't understand why he would accept a role where he is basically playing emcee to a bunch of talented character actors in tiny, thankless roles. Not only does Elvis appear to be phoning it in here, there are several moments throughout where he seems to be working very hard at not breaking character and not always succeeding.
This movie is like a Fred and Ginger movie where they don't dance or a Judy Garland movie where she doesn't sing. When we watch an Elvis film, there are certain things we expect...lots of songs, lots of pretty girls, and our hero front and center singing a song every fifteen minutes, but we don't get that here, making this film a very long, very boring experience.
Peter Tewksbury's unimaginative direction doesn't offer much help. including some really headache-inducing film editing. Familiar faces do pop up in Elvis' supporting cast though. Marlyn Mason, one of the busiest actresses of the 1960's and 70's. is, sadly, like nails on a chalkboard here and the usually reliable Sheree North has to work extra hard to keep our attention. The recently deceased Dabney Coleman had one of his earliest smarmy roles as the storekeeper and veteran Edward Andrews is fun as Walter's partner. There are also appearances from two child stars from the era, one at the beginning of her career (Susan Olsen, who became Cindy on The Brady Bunch) the same year, and one near the end, Anissa Jones of Family Affair who would overdose on drugs seven years after this film. Even hardcore Elvis fans are going to find getting through this one agonizing.