This movie did a good job of taking us on a brief highlight
tour of Hawaii’s magnificent landscapes. I enjoyed the beach scenes on Oahu,
the horseback riding on the shores of Kauai, and even the night time car chase.
The first thing Elvis does, as the charming Chadwick Gates, is try to make his girl jealous
by kissing another girl. He explained to his girl that he was just having a
little fun, but I was getting a little ticked off at him. Thankfully, the
playboy attitude stopped after the first section of the movie. And I really
must say that Chadwick was a gentleman after all. He had plenty of
opportunities to go for other women during the rest of the movie but, being a
gentleman, his role with the other women was one of Protector and Guide. Tour
guide, that is.
Although born in London, Angela Lansbury worked hard on her
performance as Mrs. Gates (Chadwick’s mother) a woman from Atlanta, Georgia.
The movie was certainly all about Elvis, but Joan Blackman (as Maile Duval) put
in a great performance as Chadwick’s girl. I especially liked the fact that Edith
Head designed the costumes.
Everyone who loves Elvis movies loves the songs. My two
favorites were “I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” and the last song of the
movie “Hawaiian Wedding Song”. I read that Elvis himself felt the wedding scene
was so real that ten years had passed before he realized he wasn’t married to
her. He sings well and has a sense of humor.
Speaking of songs, Elvis’s character got into a brawl at a
luau and ended up in jail – with his Hawaiian buddies AND their instruments.
How convenient. Elvis admits in a quote found on imdb.com, “I get tired of
playing a guy who gets into a fight, then starts singing to the guy he’s just
beat up.”
Elvis was nominated for a Grammy award for his performance
in Blue Hawaii.
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