Roustabout (1964)

Director:

John Rich

Writers:

Allan Weiss (story)
Anthony Lawrence (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

11 November 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Music | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

Elvis Presley as a Roving, Restless, Reckless, ROUSTABOUT

Plot:

Elvis is Charlie Rogers, a leather-jacketed biker who's fired from a singing engagement after getting into a fight with a group of college toughs...

Plot Keywords:

Carnival | Elvis Presley | Beautiful Woman | One Word Title | Velodrome

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Elvis Presley	...	Charlie Rogers
Barbara Stanwyck	...	Maggie Morgan
Joan Freeman	...	Cathy Lean
Leif Erickson	...	Joe Lean
Sue Ane Langdon	...	Madame Mijanou, Fortune Teller
Pat Buttram	...	Harry Carver
Joan Staley	...	Marge
Dabbs Greer	...	Arthur Nielsen
Steve Brodie	...	Fred the Pitcher
Norman Grabowski	...	Sam
Jack Albertson	...	Lou (tea house manager)
Jane Dulo	...	Hazel
Joel Fluellen	...	Cody Marsh (roustabout)
Wilda Taylor	...	Little Egypt

Also Known As:

Right This Way Folks! (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild thematic elements and language.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:11 | UK:U | USA:PG | West Germany:6

Filming Locations:

Potrero Valley, Thousand Oaks, California, USA

Company:

Hal Wallis Productions

Trivia:

Mae West was offered but declined the role of Maggie Morgan.

Quotes:

Marge: They're taking it bigger than usual.
Charlie Rogers: Good.
Marge: Might mean trouble.
Charlie Rogers: So what else is new?
Marge: Charlie why do you have to act so tough, what does it get you?

Movie Connections:

Edited into Elvis Presley: Hot Shots and Cool Clips Volume 3 (2007) (V)

Soundtrack:

Roustabout

ROUSTABOUT (John Rich, 1964) **1/2

Once again, this is an above-average Elvis Presley star vehicle but which, at the end of the day, offers nothing really new; still, I feel that the star’s own performance here is near the best that I’ve seen him give as he is well up to the challenge of playing a relatively complex character: alternately selfish, cocky, rebellious but, eventually, compassionate and even shrewd.

Presley, however, is let down by the plot which, as I said, is not only formulaic and, therefore, entirely predictable but rather sentimental as well, what with Barbara Stanwyck’s carny show forever on the brink of foreclosure; one other definite thorn in the film’s side is the one-dimensional nature of Leif Erickon’s grumpy characterization. On the other hand, Stanwyck’s participation adds undeniable distinction to the film (her role had previously been offered to Mae West!) and lovely Joan Freeman projects the right mix of independence and vulnerability as the heroine.

At least, the vivid carnival setting does provide plenty of opportunity for color, action, thrills, romance, comedy (courtesy of Sue Ane Langdon as a flirtatious fortune-teller) and, of course, songs which are not too bad – “Poison Ivy League”, “One Track Heart” and, especially, the Jerry Leiber-Mike Stoller penned “Little Egypt” – though, again, Elvis has certainly sung better ones in his Fifties heyday.

For the record, an uncredited Raquel Welch can be glimpsed among the college kids in the film’s very first sequence and, unless they didn’t hit it off here, it seems rather strange now that they were never paired together when she became a star in her own right a couple of years later!