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In March 1969
Elvis began work on what would be his first film for Universal Studios and his
last film as a screen actor. In a significant departure, Elvis played a doctor
serving deprived ethnic communities in an overworked and under-funded, urban clinic.
The film highlighted the plight of minority groups unavoidably caught up with
loansharks, drug problems and the general lack of decent living conditions. This
was far removed from the run of lighthearted musicals Elvis had concentrated on
for a large part of the 1960's. Ably supporting Elvis as nuns working (undercover
as it were) as nurses in the community were Mary Tyler Moore, Barbara McNair and
Jane Elliott. Two faces from Elvis's earlier Kid Galahad - Edward
Asner and Robert Emhardt - played minor but important roles as, respectively,
a police lieutenant and a crime baron. The director on the film was William Graham,
who, many years later in an interview on the Definitive Elvis DVD/video
documentary stated: `Of all the people I've ever worked with in my entire life,
and I've been a director for 47 years, Elvis was the nicest man I've ever worked
with'. It was common knowledge among fans and the media that Elvis - tiring somewhat
of the Hollywood film industry - was desperate to step back from movie roles in
order to get back to live stage concerts and it was thought that his performance
in the film would, as a result, be obviously lacklustre. This was not the case
at all. Elvis was very believable in his role as a caring doctor, and performed
with a truly professional flair. The fairly lengthy 'rage reduction' sequence
- overseen by Dr. Robert W. Zaslow - featuring a little autistic girl, is undoubtedly
one of the most emotional, and kind of disturbing, scenes ever to feature in an
Elvis movie.
Although it is not made clear in the story, there is the suggestion that Elvis's
Dr. John Carpenter character is a former Vietnam soldier. In an explanation he
gives to Mary Tyler Moore's character on why he ended up working in a ghetto clinic,
he tells her that "A sergeant in my outfit in the army named Cal Edwards.....was
killed on the other side of the world. He saved my life once". He tells her
that he felt he owed it to him to help the local people He further explains that
the local area was where that same man had lived.
Although basically a drama, the film did feature some songs. The title song was
heard over the credits and other songs included were Rubberneckin', Have
a Happy and Let Us Pray. A strictly instrumental version of Lawdy
Miss Clawdy is also performed by Elvis on piano at one point. There was no
significant promotion of any of these songs, and they appeared hidden away on
budget albums, with the exception of Rubberneckin', which was selected
as the 'B' side of the single Don't Cry Daddy. In September 2003, Rubberneckin'
was issued as a re-mixed single by DJ Paul Okenfold and proved a huge success,
reaching the no.1 spot in the U.S. and peaking at no.5 in the U.K. charts. A promotional
video, incorporating the actual footage from Change of Habit was
used for the single release.
This information was produced by the Elvis Presley Film Society in November 2003.
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