That was an excellent one.

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

This is just the kind of movie to watch on a nasty, cold and wet afternoon- lots of exotic scenery, sunshine, girls in bikinis and some of Elvis' most popular songs including Hawaiian Wedding Song, Blue Hawaii. The fact that it was shot on location in Hawaii makes it all the more enjoyable.The movie and album soundtrack both struck gold financially which meant that Elvis was unable to get away from making this kind of movie for virtually his entire acting career. Blue Hawaii is a great film, if there was ever such a genre as paradise cinema, Blue Hawaii would be the definitive flick.Chad Gates (Elvis) has just left the army, and is living it up on the beautiful Hawaiian beach, loving' his girl, surfing' and singing. But he soon has to get a job, and refuses to work for his rich parents which causes all sorts of problems as he sets out as a tourist guide.Blue Hawaii of course features the classic song 'Can't Help Falling in Love', magnificent scenery, plenty of laughs and two hours of sheer enjoyment. A huge film on it's release and still one of Elvis' most popular and well known movies.

Blue Hawaii (1961)** (out of 4) After two years in the service, Chad Gates (Elvis Presley) returns home to Hawaii where his parents, including mom played by Angela Lansbury, wants him to join the family business. This doesn't sit too well with Chad because he wants to make his mark on the world by himself but with a little assistance from his girl (Joan Blackman). This is a pretty disappointing film for the music legend as it offers him very little in terms of the ability to show off a performance as the screenplay is so weak and juvenile that just about anyone could have played the lead. There's some good stuff scattered around but for the most part the screenplay doesn't have enough in it to last the entire running time of the film. As I've said, the biggest problem is the screenplay, which delivers a bunch of lame and obnoxious characters. We see Elvis having to deal with his mother as well as an older woman with a group of teenage girls including one (Jenny Maxwell) who thinks she's older than she is. I'm sure these characters were written with humor in mind but all of them come off very forced and obnoxious. These supporting characters really brought the film down even though the actual performers are rather good at bringing these obnoxious people to life. Elvis is decent in the role but it never seemed like he was too interested in the material. He has that typical charm of his but nothing he does ever really jumped out at me. Blackman makes for an attractive lead but she can't add anything else to the movie. The film features the classic "Can't Help Falling in Love" but outside of that I found the music to be quite lame. The various love songs to Hawaii were rather embarrassing as the musical numbers were poorly and lazily handled.

The original U.S. title for this Elvis movie was Hawaii Beach Boy. I think that title actually fits better. The tagline says it all for this flick with romance, dances and paradise. That almost fits any of The King's formula movies. This movie catches up with Elvis as he gets out of the Army (in the movies) and wants to get on with his life. His family has one idea but he wants to make it on his own. Don't feel sorry for him as his life is full of surfing, babes and the beach.Unfortunately for the audience, Presley's co-star in G.I. Blues in 1960 pulled out of this movie. Juliet Prowse who starred with Elvis in G.I. Blues would have made a great followup character to add in Blue Hawaii. The story goes that she made so many demands on the studio that she was dropped from the picture. She continued in movies and then mostly in television. She later guest starred in a Murder She Wrote staring Angela Lansbury; Lansbury plays Elvis mother in this picture (she was 35 at the time). Blue Hawaii was the most successful soundtrack albums of the Elvis movie genre. Like the other Elvis movies the reason to see this one is Elvis himself and the great music performances he gives. Elvis retuned to Hawaii many times so this must have been a special film for him. Hal Wallis does his usual excellent job of framing this film in his talented way that fuses the music with the story without being too sappy. This is a must see film on the Elvis list. ***/****.As for the poster… The half sheet of Blue Hawaii is more popular that the one sheet. Mainly this is due to the large musical note that Elvis is singing on top of with the girls. I like the one sheet better with the surfboard but both posters are just great.

Incredibly weak outing for Elvis Presley, here playing a soldier returning home to Honolulu and fighting with his parents over the direction of his life (seems E.P. wants to be a guide for tourists, but his folks would rather have him go into the family business--pineapples). Angela Lansbury (playing Elvis' mother!) slips too easily into a caricature of a clucking mother-hen, possibly to help compensate for her miscasting; Joan Blackman is an entirely forgettable love-interest. Presley himself looks rather bored, and even his songs are mediocre. Film was very popular in 1961, mostly with Presley-fans who were celebrating his own return from service, and with viewers who never got to Hawaii themselves. *1/2 from ****