Kid Galahad/Frankie And Johnny

Kid Galahad (1962)

Runtime: 95 minutes

Directed by:: Phil Karlson

Starring: Elvis, Gig Young, Lola Albright, Joan Blackman, Charles Bronson

From: The Mirisch Corporation

Frankie and Johnny (1966)

Runtime: 87 minutes

Directed by: Frederick De Cordova

Starring: Elvis, Donna Douglas, Harry Morgan, Nancy Kovak, Sue Ann Langdon

From: Edward Small Productions

Last night via the MGM HD Network I saw a pair of Elvis films. It had been a few months since I last saw one. The reviews of both are below, starting with Kid.

Recently I was thinking that I had seen several Elvis movies earlier in the years but the last viewing was a few months ago so I was overdue to see one. Suddenly, I saw that last night there would be a marathon of several films of Mr. Presley so that was perfect for me. I saw two of the four they showed; the second review will be posted tonight.

I'll be honest and say that I've never seen the original 1937 movie by the same name starring Edward G. Robinson, Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart; just from the talent involved I'll presume the OG movie is better and also has a hero who isn't a punching bag in the ring. I can't compare the two but that is OK. This is about a man (Elvis) who just got out of the Army and he ends up in the town he was born in. It's supposed to be New York state, although it's obviously filmed in California and the scenery there is pretty. He wants to be an auto mechanic but due to circumstances is proven to have one punch knockout power in the boxing ring, although at first he just absorbs punches from his opponent before knocking them out cold. We also follow his manager Willy Grogan (Gig Young), who is a cad that back stabs people, has trouble paying the bills, has heat with the mob and he ignores his girl. To think that Grogan's sister and Elvis fall in love...

While the movie does have a few songs that at least are catchy and there's some goofiness present, it does help that this is more serious than the other Elvis movies I've seen; it's not so flighty and lightweight. The cast all does a fine job (there's even a small role for Ed Asner) and as an action fan I definitely dug that in the role of Kid's trainer was none other than Charles Bronson, who you definitely could believe as an ex-boxer. I've mentioned in some other reviews I am not a fan of the sport-that doesn't matter here as that's only a small part of the story.

Like I said this isn't so fluffy and wacky. While I do laugh at the cornball movies Elvis typically made it is nice to see him in something a little more substantial.

Now, onto Frankie and Johnny.

This is the second Elvis movie I saw last night. With this one, I had heard the traditional American song of the same name before but otherwise I did not know what to expect from. Turns out, this had plenty of songs (I've heard this described as the one film in his oeuvre that is like a musical) and it's pretty goofy.

They had to make the movie fit the song so what they came up with is a riverboat casino setting in the late 19th century. Frankie and Johnny perform together in a stage production and are also a couple. Johnny also gambles... poorly, so one night while docked he and his friend Cully (Harry Morgan; hearing Col. Potter from M*A*S*H sing was quite amusing to me) find a Gypsy fortune teller. Needless to say this is not an enlightened portrayal of that ethnicity. There's also some other stereotyping going on; the only black person you see in the movie is a kid who of course provides the harmonica for a song.

Anyhow, the Romani lady is a sham so she makes up some poppycock about a redhead, and as Frankie (Donna Douglas, who I'll always know as Elly May Clampett) is a blonde, dopey Johnny looks for a redhead for a “good luck charm” at the roulette wheel and when Nellie Bly (the lady of his boss) walks in and fits that requirement, things become complicated. In this film's universe the title song was created based off of that fiery love triangle.

The movie is rather silly and yet I can still say this is average. There are laughs, even if some of them are unintentional, such as a few of the pieces of clothing you get to see people wearing. At least the clothing and sets are colorful. The story is flimsy but at least there's such silliness as “mistaken identity” takes up part of the plot. And where else can you find something known as “the lucky cricket”?