Elvis turned in an excellent performance as an Indian in Flaming Star but his return to that race in this film didn't seem to please anyone. It's an odd piece which falls within the "hillbilly comedy" genre of Elvis films. It's a knockabout tale of a modern day Indian family in Arizona who are always short of money. On screen depictions of Indians had shifted over the years - from savages to noble persecuted creatures, etc - but their depiction here remains an anomaly. The Indians are all basically lazy and untrustworthy, keen to brawl and hop into each other's beds, high spirited and raucous, with strong family bonds. They are the main characters of the film - the Indians aren't shoved to the side in supporting roles, it's an Indian story. I don't think there is anything wrong with these sort of films - I've no doubt there are Indians like this, and why shouldn't they make comedies along this line? (If it was about white hillbillies it would pass the PC test). I think the main problem people would have with it is there aren't many other sort of films with Indians as main characters to counterbalance it. Also the Indians here are played by white actors - Elvis you can understand because he was a star, but also Burgess Meredith, Katy Juarando, Thomas Gomez... 1968 was too late to have everyone black up. Having said that I enjoyed the film a lot more on second viewing, once I knew what it was. Elvis is perfectly at home playing a yokel with a taste for brawling, fast cars and women - his performance is energetic, the title song is catchy. He doesn't have a love interest in this one, really - he tangles with an underage girl (who, in typically hillbilly comedy style, wants it badly) and also her mother (Joan Blondell - a return to the "older women" characters who populated earlier Elvis movies). There's lots of brawls, a house that collapses, over-frantic direction, not much plot, plenty of frantic movement. It's a real "yee haw" sort of movie where actors often go over the top - I was reminded of the super broad comedies John Wayne sometimes made e.g. McLintock. You just wish they had some actual Indian actors in it.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Movie review - Elvis #26 - "Stay Away Joe" (1968) **
Elvis turned in an excellent performance as an Indian in Flaming Star but his return to that race in this film didn't seem to please anyone. It's an odd piece which falls within the "hillbilly comedy" genre of Elvis films. It's a knockabout tale of a modern day Indian family in Arizona who are always short of money. On screen depictions of Indians had shifted over the years - from savages to noble persecuted creatures, etc - but their depiction here remains an anomaly. The Indians are all basically lazy and untrustworthy, keen to brawl and hop into each other's beds, high spirited and raucous, with strong family bonds. They are the main characters of the film - the Indians aren't shoved to the side in supporting roles, it's an Indian story. I don't think there is anything wrong with these sort of films - I've no doubt there are Indians like this, and why shouldn't they make comedies along this line? (If it was about white hillbillies it would pass the PC test). I think the main problem people would have with it is there aren't many other sort of films with Indians as main characters to counterbalance it. Also the Indians here are played by white actors - Elvis you can understand because he was a star, but also Burgess Meredith, Katy Juarando, Thomas Gomez... 1968 was too late to have everyone black up. Having said that I enjoyed the film a lot more on second viewing, once I knew what it was. Elvis is perfectly at home playing a yokel with a taste for brawling, fast cars and women - his performance is energetic, the title song is catchy. He doesn't have a love interest in this one, really - he tangles with an underage girl (who, in typically hillbilly comedy style, wants it badly) and also her mother (Joan Blondell - a return to the "older women" characters who populated earlier Elvis movies). There's lots of brawls, a house that collapses, over-frantic direction, not much plot, plenty of frantic movement. It's a real "yee haw" sort of movie where actors often go over the top - I was reminded of the super broad comedies John Wayne sometimes made e.g. McLintock. You just wish they had some actual Indian actors in it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment