Blue Hawaii (1961)

Chad Gates has just gotten out of the Army, and is happy to be back in Hawaii with his surf-board, his beach buddies, and his girlfriend. His father wants him to go to work at the Great ... See full summary »

Director:

Norman Taurog

Writers:

Allan Weiss (story), Hal Kanter

Stars:

Elvis Presley, Joan Blackman, Angela Lansbury

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Elvis Presley	...	Chad Gates
Joan Blackman	...	Maile Duval
Angela Lansbury	...	Sarah Lee Gates
Nancy Walters	...	Abigail Prentice
Roland Winters	...	Fred Gates
John Archer	...	Jack Kelman
Howard McNear	...	Mr. Chapman
Steve Brodie	...	Tucker Garvey
Christian Kay	...	Beverly Martin
Iris Adrian	...	Enid Garvey
Hilo Hattie	...	Waihila
Jenny Maxwell	...	Ellie Corbett
Pamela Austin	...	Selena (Sandy) Emerson (as Pamela Kirk)
Darlene Tompkins	...	Patsy Simon
Lani Kai	...	Carl Tanami

Storyline

Chad Gates has just gotten out of the Army, and is happy to be back in Hawaii with his surf-board, his beach buddies, and his girlfriend. His father wants him to go to work at the Great Southern Hawaiian Fruit Company, but Chad is reluctant. So Chad goes to work as a tour guide at his girlfriend's agency.

---

Plot Keywords:

tour guide | hawaii | hawaiian | beach | police officer | 

---

Taglines:

Elvis Presley rides the crest of the wave in...

---

Genres:

Comedy | Musical

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild sensuality

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Hawaiian French

Release Date:

22 November 1961 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sous le ciel bleu de Hawaï

Filming Locations:

Coco Palms Resort Hotel - 241 Kuhio Highway, Kapaa, Kaua'i, Hawaii, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Hal Wallis Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Angela Lansbury, who played Elvis Presley's mother, was only 35 years old when the movie was filmed, a mere ten years older than Elvis.

---

Goofs

When Chad comes to a screeching halt on the beach, when he is trying to save the girl's life, the sound of tires on asphalt can be heard. He is braking on sand which would not make that sound.

---

Quotes

Sarah Lee Gates: [after seeing Chad and Maile dancing to "Rock a Hulla"] Daddy, I'm going to have a headache. A dreadful headache!

---

Connections

Featured in Aloha from Sweden (2006)

---

Soundtracks

"Ku-u-i-Po"
Written by George David Weiss, Hugo Peretti & Luigi Creatore
Performed by Elvis Presley

User Reviews

Blue Hawaii (1961) **

Elvis is a G.I. returning home to the Hawaiian islands after a 2 year stint in the service, but remains a kid at heart who doesn't want to grow up. His parents would love him to work a sensible job at his father's pineapple business (!) but all Presley wants to do is have a good time, so he becomes a tour guide (ho-hum).

G.I. BLUES was fun and when we consider all Presley's films in production order, it worked well as a romantic comedy on its own. But BLUE HAWAII was really the film that would take Elvis into a silly direction for most of his future movies in the '60s. He doesn't seem as interested as he was in previous roles, and now we also get a heaping helping of corny twangy throwaway Hawaiian songs from "the King", with embarrassing titles like "Ito Eats". One saving grace music-wise is his featured classic tune "Can't Help Falling in Love", but unfortunately it's an abbreviated version and is sung to an old lady.

Angela Lansbury puts in a good effort as Presley's flighty mom, but it doesn't help matters any. I do, in fact, enjoy some of Elvis' later goofy 1960s fun flicks for what they are, but this one was just too standard and aimless.