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Stay Away, Joe

(Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1968)

 

Late 1967 saw Elvis on location in Sedona, Arizona working on his 27th film - the comedy western Stay Away, Joe. Based on the 1953 novel by Dan Cushman, this role offered Elvis an opportunity to play a more adult character, although the material was very much in the vein of a screwball knockabout comedy. First reports on the production suggested that the screenplay and the direction would be undertaken by Burt Kennedy, the man later responsible for a number of westerns such as Support Your Local Sheriff, Dirty Dingus Magee and Support Your Local Gunfighter. It would seem that Kennedy was a co-writer on the screenplay but opted to have his name removed due to differences over the completed version. This practice has been and still is fairly common in the film industry. Stay Away, Joe was directed by Peter Tewksbury, who would direct Elvis once again the following year in MGM's The Trouble With Girls. Cast with Elvis were seasoned performers such as Burgess Meredith, Katy Jurado and Joan Blondell.

Having appeared in the earlier Elvis westerns Love Me Tender and Flaming Star, L.Q. Jones was cast as his close friend - in a much fuller role than in the other two films. In a lengthy and interesting interview in the March 2001 edition of Elvis - The Man and his Music magazine L.Q. Jones provided great anecdotes about the production on location in Arizona. No doubt through the boredom of long periods of inactivity on a film set, Elvis was something of a prankster when he found himself with lots of spare time. On one occasion he chose to set a load of firecrackers around the horse L.Q. was riding and it tore away in fright; not to be calmed down for quite a few miles. On his return, a fuming L.Q. then nailed up Elvis's dressing room door and poured in tons of firecrackers, giving Elvis the fright of his life!

Katy Jurado, who played Elvis's feisty stepmother in the film, was very taken with him. She commented: "He's shy, but he is a beautiful person, so considerate of everybody. And (with reference to Lisa Marie's impending birth) now that he is about to become a father, 1 think he is coming out of his shell a little". The martial artist within the mischievous Elvis prompted him to refer to Katy Jurado on the set as 'Karate Judo'.

Although this project was not high drama, Elvis himself recognised that the role of Joe Lightcloud was a departure for him. In an on-set interview he explained: "In Stay Away, Joe I'm a wheeler-dealer who's always promoting something. It's a more grown-up character - part Hud, part Alfie. He's a man, not a boy, and he's out looking for women, not just waiting for them to stumble over him".

Music was sparse in this film. Elvis sang Stay Away over the credits, and the film featured Stay Away, Joe; All l Need Was The Rain and Dominic. The song Going Home was recorded for the film but was cut from the final print - emerging as a 'bonus' track on the Speedway soundtrack album. The songs were made available in a very fragmented form, turning up on various budget albums. Stay Away was issued as the'B' side of the single U.S. Male in 1968. Dominic had no official release until the 'Double Features' CD series of the 1990's.

This information was produced by the Elvis Presley Film Society in November 2003
© 2003 Elvis Presley Film Society