A genuine change of pace for Elvis – it was too little too late for him and his audiences, but is actually a lot of fun. He plays the head of a Chautauqua, a sort of travelling tent show that was big in the 1920s – which is when this is set. Elvis is slim, has long side burns and an ever-present cigar, and is clearly having the time of his life; he grins, jokes, sings and charms.
There’s not a lot of plot, more a collection of subplots, in the matter of a musical (I’m guessing this was inspired by The Music Man). He deals with a unionist employee, has to cast the untalented daughter of the mayor, encounters some troublesome locals, solves a murder for which one of his employees is blamed.
The biggest flaw of the film is a major one: his bantering relationship with the unionist employee. It should be flirty and sexy, she should really like him down deep, but is too hostile and narky. At the end when he arranges for police to arrest her and bring her back to the show a la The Front Page, it’s more stressful then charming. (Imagine if Ann Margret had played it). If this had been fixed, I believe this film would be more remembered than it is today; either that, or if it had been made ten or even five years earlier, when Americana was more popular (NB it still was on TV although Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, etc would soon be axed.)
Still, there are some pleasant tunes, it looks great, has a fun atmosphere and the support cast is terrific. It includes two legends of sitcoms, Cindy Brady from The Brady Bunch and Buffy from A Family Affair (the one who died of a drug overdose), plus Edward Andrews, a very young Dabney Coleman (as a lecherous chemist), former Marilyn Monroe rival Sheree North, John Carradine, Joyce van Patten and Vincent Price! Worth checking out.
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