G.I. BLUES (1960)

For Elvis Presley, returning to film after completing his two-years military service, it was that old Hollywood story: The Catastrophe of Success.  Quickly signed by producer Hal Wallis after his national tv breakthru, Presley made three films fast enough to beat the draft (one on loan, two very good) that caught a raw side of Presley never to be seen again.  Once back from Germany, the rough edges were largely gone, he now played ‘The King,’ no longer dangerous but safe enough for this film’s babysitting climax.  No wonder Wallis assigned him to child specialist Norman Taurog as his regular director.  And no wonder the films became all pablum.*  They made pots of money, but let the creative tank run dry.  Some at least had tempting song lists; not here.  In this reintroduction, even the classical crossovers he regularly put in the mix were no match for ‘It’s Now Or Never’ (‘O Sole Mio’) nor ‘I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You’ (‘Plaisir d’Amour’), but the instantly forgettable ‘Tonight Is So Right For Love,’ wrenched out of Jacques Offenbach's TALES OF HOFFMAN bacarolle.  And the plot is an old standby, the date (a misused Juliet Prowse) that starts as a sordid bet between soldier boys that turns into tru-love.*  With two years to develop something, this is what Wallis & Co. came up with?

DOUBLE-BILL/LINK:  *The exception to Presley’s financially successful  buncombe was the film he made, almost by accident, right after this, FLAMING STAR/’60.  https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2024/03/flaming-star-1960.html

ATTENTION MUST BE PAID:  A walk in the park with Prowse does provide the only visually arresting moment in the pic when the pair stop to watch a Punch & Judy show and Elvis pops up in the puppet proscenium.