G. I. Blues (1960) -
There were a lot of handsome fellas in uniform featured in this film, but although Elvis Presley had a certain charisma in his role of Tulsa, he didn't really do much for me. His voice was brilliant of course, but he just wasn't my type, especially with so many others around him that didn't look like they were fighting off sleep all the time and weren't quite so skinny in the shower scene. He also came across as a bit full of himself too, as an actor and as Tulsa.
Yes I am superficial, but I find that it helps when watching a film if the lead guy is someone that appeals to me.
I refused to believe that Rick (James Douglas) had such an ugly baby too, because he was very nice to look at and so was Dynamite, Jeeter (Mickey Knox) and Mac (Kenneth Becker).
And even Captain Hobart (John Hudson) was easy on the eye.
Juliet Prowse was not exactly a goddess though. Her role of Lili was quite a caustic one and she wasn't even as pretty as Cookie's (Robert Ivers) waitress friend, Tina (Leticia Román) - Cookie was a cute little fella actually.
And as for Lili's dancing, while obviously proficient, it was amazing what passed for entertainment in the clubs of the 1960's.
But appearances aside, nobody did a bad job and the story was typical of its kind and enjoyable enough for that. There wasn't too much heartache in connection to them being soldiers or actual fighting. It was a romance set in the time of war and not a film about any known battles or skirmishes.
I struggled to find the actual comedy in the film though, because for me it was just a bit silly.
I did like the fact that the songs fit in with the story however, rather than just being randomly placed tunes of any old lyrics. They actually helped to tell the tale.
I would watch it again, because it was simple and easy, but I certainly couldn't put it anywhere near my top 100 films. It just didn't have anything that stood out about it, except Elvis and his popularity at the time of its release. Watching it for the first time all these years later his fame didn't carry as much weight as it surely would have done in 1960 and the height of his celebrity.
429.88/1000.
There were a lot of handsome fellas in uniform featured in this film, but although Elvis Presley had a certain charisma in his role of Tulsa, he didn't really do much for me. His voice was brilliant of course, but he just wasn't my type, especially with so many others around him that didn't look like they were fighting off sleep all the time and weren't quite so skinny in the shower scene. He also came across as a bit full of himself too, as an actor and as Tulsa.
Yes I am superficial, but I find that it helps when watching a film if the lead guy is someone that appeals to me.
I refused to believe that Rick (James Douglas) had such an ugly baby too, because he was very nice to look at and so was Dynamite, Jeeter (Mickey Knox) and Mac (Kenneth Becker).
And even Captain Hobart (John Hudson) was easy on the eye.
Juliet Prowse was not exactly a goddess though. Her role of Lili was quite a caustic one and she wasn't even as pretty as Cookie's (Robert Ivers) waitress friend, Tina (Leticia Román) - Cookie was a cute little fella actually.
And as for Lili's dancing, while obviously proficient, it was amazing what passed for entertainment in the clubs of the 1960's.
But appearances aside, nobody did a bad job and the story was typical of its kind and enjoyable enough for that. There wasn't too much heartache in connection to them being soldiers or actual fighting. It was a romance set in the time of war and not a film about any known battles or skirmishes.
I struggled to find the actual comedy in the film though, because for me it was just a bit silly.
I did like the fact that the songs fit in with the story however, rather than just being randomly placed tunes of any old lyrics. They actually helped to tell the tale.
I would watch it again, because it was simple and easy, but I certainly couldn't put it anywhere near my top 100 films. It just didn't have anything that stood out about it, except Elvis and his popularity at the time of its release. Watching it for the first time all these years later his fame didn't carry as much weight as it surely would have done in 1960 and the height of his celebrity.
429.88/1000.