 |
 |
Projecting a positive image
Officially recognised by Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc
|
|
Frankie and Johnny (United Artists, 1966)
|
|
| Elvis began work on what was his 20th feature film - Frankie and Johnny - in May of 1965. This was produced by United Artists Studios and was Elvis's third of four films he would make for that studio. Based loosely on the old folk song, the story revolved around the stormy relationship of the duo from the film's title - both riverboat entertainers on the Mississippi. Interestingly, most of the film's action took place on the riverboat, with very few scenes set elsewhere. Elvis's co-stars were drawn mainly from television shows. Leading lady Donna Douglas was a regular from The Beverly Hillbillies comedy show. Harry Morgan - from Dragnet, and later from TV's M.A.S.H., played the role of Elvis's wise-cracking sidekick. With Audrey Christie as his long-suffering wife, both Morgan and she performed as a very humorous duo, providing the story with much of its comedy output. Anthony Eisley, from the popular Hawaiian Eye detective series of the early 1960's, played the riverboat boss and Elvis's main rival. From earlier Elvis movies came Robert Strauss - previously seen as the nightclub boss in Girls! Girls! Girls! - as a gullible but fiercely loyal lackey to the riverboat boss. Sue Ane Langdon - who had played the effective role of a street-smart fortune teller in 1964's Roustabout - played against her previous type as a rather naive showgirl. The glamorous Nancy Kovack filled the pivotal role of Nellie Blye to round out the female cast. During production Elvis donated a $50,000 cheque to the Motion Picture Relief Fund - an organisation designed to help out-of-work and struggling actors and other film industry personnel. In a short presentation, Elvis, in costume, was pictured with several Hollywood celebrities for the actual cheque hand-over, including Frank Sinatra and Barbara Stanwyck. Some film footage of this event exists and has been included in documentary programmes. The film soundtrack was something of a mixed bag and included ballads, up-tempo numbers and old standards. The songs were recorded at Radio Recorders Studios in Hollywood, with Eileen Wilson recording the vocals mimed by Donna Douglas, and Jordanaire Ray Walker doing the vocals for the brief parts mimed by Harry Morgan. Many takes of the songs exist on various versions of bootlegged CD's that have emerged over the years. A single was taken from the album coupling the title song with the plaintive ballad Please Don't Stop Loving Me. It managed a high of no. 25 in the U.S. and no. 21 in the U.K. The soundtrack album release was a moderate success, reaching no. 8 and no. 11 in the U.S. and U.K. respectively. The material was on a par with most of the other film material being recorded around this period in Elvis's career. Elvis appeared to fit into the role of the unlucky gambler quite well, but his range was certainly not being stretched in such a characterisation. What it did provide was further opportunity for him to display his talent for comedy and he responded effectively to the challenge. |
||
© 2003
Elvis Presley Film Society