Wonderful Movie

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The King of Rock'n Roll Elvis Presley climbed into the boxing ring for his tenth movie "Kid Galahad" with director Phil Karlson helming this 1962 remake of director Michael Curtiz's 1937 pugilist film of the same name with Wayne Morris cast as the eponymous boxer. Our hero has just gotten out of the Army when he finds himself dead broke in his hometown of Cream Valley, New York. Initially, Walter Gulick (Elvis Presley) has no idea that putting on the gloves will reap fame and glory for him. He knows something about cars and motors and he makes an impression on those around him for his automotive skills. "Kid Galahad" comes up short of knock'em dead Elvis' songs, but the story line is more than sufficient stout to maintain interest. Karlson surrounds Elvis with some heavy-weight thespian talent, chiefly Oscar winner Gig Young, future superstar Charles Bronson, Michael Dante, veteran bad guy Richard Devon, and Roy Roberts. When the film unfolds, a boxer promoter wants somebody to go for one round with his champion slugger, Joie Shakes (Michael Dante of "The Naked Kiss"), but he gets the surprise of his life when Gulick drops Joie to the canvas. Eventually, Elvis hits the big time and his fellow townspeople are betting everything on him. Gig Young is effectively cast as William Grogan who is suffering at the hands of a criminal syndicate about what he may have seen when a man was murdered. Assistant District Attorney Frank Gerson (Ed Asner in his cinematic debut) wants Grogan to testify against the mob, but Grogan is reluctant because he is up to his neck in debt to bookies. Meantime, the mob plan to pit Gulick against Ramon 'Sugarboy' Romero (Orlando De La Fuente), but they are concerned that Gulick may try to win the match. The villains break the hands of Lew Nyack (Charles Bronson of "The Mechanic") so that he cannot tend Elvis' wounds in the arena. Elvis falls in love with Dolly (Joan Blackman of "Career"), and they hit it off with few complications. Meantime, William Grogan is struggling with his new girl, Fletcher (Lola Albright of "The Impossible Years"), who gave up a night club singing career at a different club. Although it is contemporary epic with some music, "Kid Galahad" packs more punch than the usual lightweight contemporary Elvis outing.

The old Warner Brothers classic boxing story Kid Galahad was dusted off and rewritten to suit the Sixties and the talents of Elvis Presley. The man that's named Kid Galahad for the ring not only throws a mean punch, but he sings pretty good too.Elvis is a soldier fresh out of the army and broke and arrives at Gig Young's training camp looking for any kind of work. The only work that Young has available is for a sparring partner and Elvis does more than spar. He flattens a heavyweight contender and Young's found himself a new prospect.He needs one because he's into the bookies big time. And a couple of syndicate torpedoes working for gangster David Lewis have taken up residence at the camp. All this is dismaying girlfriend Lola Albright and sister Joan Blackman who Elvis takes a fancy to.As is usual with Elvis films, manager Colonel Tom Parker got the best talent he could to support the King. Besides those names Robert Emhardt plays the camp cook and up and coming movie legend Charles Bronson plays Elvis's trainer. And you'll see a lot of familiar Hollywood faces as you do in all his films.Not only the cast, but director Phil Karlson one of the best directors of noir ever, took charge. The scenes with the gangsters show Karlson's steady hand.Oddly enough Elvis had no real hit songs come out of Kid Galahad, but makes up for it with one of his best acting jobs on screen. For fans of the King.

Made at a time before Presley's film budgets became smaller and the ideas ran dry, this reasonably pleasant movie makes for an hour and a half of light entertainment. He plays a penniless ex G.I. who returns to the place of his birth (a woodsy region called Cream Valley!) in search of a job. He approaches Young, who runs an inn with girlfriend Albright, and inadvertently becomes a stand-in boxer for a group of pugilists that trains on-site. Soon, it's discovered that Presley, while he can't defend himself very well, packs a nasty right hook that's an instant knockout for whoever is on the receiving end! Young uses Presley to help win back some much needed cash since he is under the thumb of gangster Lewis and a couple of his henchmen. When Young's kid sister Blackman arrives, Presley falls for her, further complicating things. Bronson (who is perhaps one of the last people one would expect to find in a Presley musical) plays a lame, weathered boxing trainer. The film is a remake of a rougher 1937 version and the insertion of several songs really do nothing to enhance the tale. If anything, they sap the dramatic tension out of the story and come off as mostly corny. Presley is a tad fleshy here and hadn't yet turned his hair jet black. He gives an okay performance with a few good scenes and sings pleasantly, if a bit ordinarily. One unlikely number has him joining ten other singing boxers on the porch who effortlessly fall into harmony and seem unnecessarily happy living in a place that has only one or two women around. Young gives an amiable performance, but was already showing touches of his alcohol abuse, both in his appearance and speech. Albright is solid as his ignored "fiancee", though she does occasionally take some rather odd pauses in her dialogue. Blackman (who, at 25 years younger than Young, was certainly his KID sister!) is attractive, but has little to do but admire Presley's face and voice. More interesting work is turned in by Bronson. It's interesting to see him interacting with Presley and demonstrating extreme loyalty to him. Fans of "General Hospital" will be happy to spot Lewis in a small role that preceded his lengthy run as Edward Quartermaine. Other familiar TV faces such as Remsen, Glass and Asner are sprinkled into the cast. Dante, as the resident boxing champ prior to Presley, gives an unusual spin on the type by constantly touching Presley and making goo-goo eyes at him at every opportunity. The film benefits the most from a large amount of location filming amidst autumnal wooded foliage and mountain scenery. Rear projection is kept to a minimum here, which would not be the case in Presley movies for long. The songs are inoffensive, but also unmemorable. The worst is probably the one designed with him singing along to an antique car radio while Young and Bronson sit in the back-seat looking either embarrassed or embarrassing. Those who are used to benign plots and vanilla story-telling in The King's films will be surprised at the amount of violence towards the end, though regular action fans will likely not find it to be tough enough. Unfortunately, this remake lacks the downbeat effect of the original and opts for a happy ending. Still, it's worth seeing for it's varied cast and the youthful magnetism of its star.

Presley's first movies were arguably the best he made.Some of them were eminently watchable:"love me tender" "jailhouse rock" "king creole" "flaming star" -probably his very best- and at a pinch "Wild in the country".In almost all these movies ,there's a mother's loss (or absence).This permanent feature comes back in "Kid Galahad":the hero lost his parents when he was an infant.Besides ,as it is a remake ,we have at least a script ,which will cruelly lack in films to come."Kid Galahad" is never exciting though.The songs always come at the most awkward moment ,and as only Elvis sings -his female partners contenting themselves with looking languorously at the star-,one can hardly call that (and all Presley's subsequent flicks)musicals.And the songs are not particularly memorable;only the peppy "I got lucky" and the romantic " Home is where the heart is" stand out.Whereas songs make sense in "jailhouse rock" or " king creole" ,where Elvis portrays singers ,they do not fit in a boxer's tale .Watchable because of the lovely pictures and the good -but wasted-supporting cast including Gig Young,Charles Bronson,Lola Allbright.Love interest consists of an affair between Elvis and Young's kid sister .Willy (what a naughty boy!) does not want Rose to marry Walter!