Frankie and Johnny (1966)

Director:

Frederick De Cordova

Writers:

Alex Gottlieb (screenplay)
Nat Perrin (story)

Release Date:

31 March 1966 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

Elvis turns the Land of Blues Red Hot with 11 Great Songs! Hear them on RCA Records!

Plot Keywords:

Blanks | Punched In The Face | Casino | Dancer | Love Interest

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Elvis Presley	...	Johnny
Donna Douglas	...	Frankie
Harry Morgan	...	Cully
Sue Ane Langdon	...	Mitzi
Nancy Kovack	...	Nellie Bly
Audrey Christie	...	Peg
Robert Strauss	...	Blackie
Anthony Eisley	...	Braden
Joyce Jameson	...	Abigail
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
William 'Billy' Benedict	...	Bum Sleeping on Bench (uncredited)
Judy Chapman	...	Earl Barton Dancer (uncredited)
Henry Corden	...	Gypsy (uncredited)
Jerome Cowan	...	Joe Wilbur (uncredited)
George Klein	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Jack Littlefield	...	Croupier (uncredited)
Dee Jay Mattis	...	Earl Barton Dancer (uncredited)
James Millhollin	...	Proprietor of Costume Shop (uncredited)
Cliff Norton	...	Eddie (uncredited)
Eddie Quillan	...	Cashier (uncredited)
Richard Reeves	...	Man on Street (uncredited)
Naomi Stevens	...	Princess Zolita (uncredited)
Wilda Taylor	...	Earl Barton Dancer (uncredited)
Larri Thomas	...	Earl Barton Dancer (uncredited)
Howard Wendell	...	Man at Table (uncredited)
Robert Williams	...	Blackjack Dealer (uncredited)
Dave Willock	...	Pete (uncredited)
Dick Winslow	...	Orchestra Leader (uncredited)

Directed by
Frederick De Cordova		(as Frederick de Cordova)

Writing credits
Alex Gottlieb		(screenplay)
Nat Perrin		(story)

Produced by
Alex Gottlieb	....	associate producer
Edward Small	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Fred Karger

Cinematography by
Jacques R. Marquette		(director of photography) (as Jacques Marquette)

Film Editing by
Grant Whytock		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Walter M. Simonds

Set Decoration by
Morris Hoffman

Costume Design by
Gwen Wakeling

Makeup Department
Dan Greenway	....	makeup artist
Joan St. Oegger	....	hair stylist (as Joanne St. Oegger)
Larry Geller	....	hair designer: Elvis Presley (uncredited)

Production Management
Harold E. Knox	....	production supervisor
Joseph Small	....	executive in charge of production (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Herbert S. Greene	....	assistant director

Art Department
Max Frankel	....	property master

Sound Department
Alfred R. Bird	....	sound effects editor (as Al Bird)
Al Overton	....	sound (as Alfred J. Overton)
Clem Portman	....	re-recordist
Frank Webster	....	sound recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Charles E. Dolan	....	special effects crew (uncredited)

Casting Department
Harvey Clermont	....	casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Wesley Jeffries	....	wardrobe coordinator (as Wes Jefferies)

Editorial Department
Grant Whytock	....	supervising film editor

Music Department
Earl Barton	....	stager: musical numbers
Edna Bullock	....	music editor
The Jordanaires	....	vocal backgrounds
Fred Karger	....	conductor

Other crew
Edward Small	....	presenter

Production Companies

• Edward Small Productions (as An Edward Small Production)

Distributors

• United Artists (1966) (USA) (theatrical) (released through)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical) (35mm print Technicolor)
• United Artists (1966) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2010) (Canada) (DVD) (7 film set)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD) (7 film set)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (USA) (laserdisc)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:11 | UK:U | West Germany:12 | Australia:G | USA:Approved (certificate #21052)

Filming Locations:

Samuel Goldwyn Studios - 7200 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood, California, USA

Company:

Edward Small Productions

Trivia:

Elvis Presley started working on the film on 11 April 1965.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Johnny pulls down Cully's beard during the Mardi Graw party, Cully says something as he fixes his beard, but his lips never move.

Quotes:

Cully:I lost it, Peg. All of it, honest.
Johnny:Yeah, he loaned me the last $5.
Peg:Now you stay out of this. Just to convince me, you take off your shoes.
Cully:My shoes?
Peg:[shouts] Off!
Johnny:Love and trust. That's what makes a marriage great.
Peg:Yeah!
Cully:See? I could never lie to you.
Peg:Ha! Ha! Ha!
[Peg finds a $10 bill in Cully's shoe]
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in Elvis in the Movies (1990)

Soundtrack:

Hard Luck

FRANKIE AND JOHNNY (Frederick De Cordova, 1966) **1/2

This is an oddity in Elvis’ filmography: a quaint but pleasing musical comedy based on the popular song which had already inspired a similarly-titled film from 1936 starring Helen Morgan – apart from being featured in the Mae West vehicle SHE DONE HIM WRONG (1933) and, again, as recently as Robert Altman’s A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION (2006).

The star isn’t entirely comfortable amid the 1890s riverboat setting, what with a few of his musical performances (and especially his hairdo) coming off as inextricably modern. Still, the plot – thin as it is – emerges to be quite engaging (what with its backdrop of fortune-telling, gambling parlors, variety acts and costume parties and involving mistaken identities, misunderstandings, an attempted murder and a bar-room brawl)! The cast presents three notable female roles: Donna Douglas (as Frankie), Nancy Kovack as Elvis’ red-headed lucky charm and the flame of his jealous boss, and Sue Ane Langdon as a ditzy “blonde” – who, along with Presley’s long-suffering sidekick Harry Morgan, turns out to be the most likable character as well as the purveyor of the film’s comic relief.

Elvis’ best ‘new’ number is “Hard Luck”; apart from the title tune, he also gets to sing the standard “When The Saints Go Marching In” (while dressed in full military regalia)! The film is short enough at 87 mins. not to overstay its welcome, but the rather low-key presentation also prevents it from being anything more than unassuming entertainment. I wouldn’t classify it among the top-flight Presley vehicles, therefore, but it’s certainly superior to some of the bigger-budgeted (yet simple-minded) fluff he made over at MGM – this being a production from independent producer Edward Small released through United Artists.