G.I. Blues (1960)

Tulsa, a soldier with dreams of running his own nightclub, places a bet with his friend Dynamite that he can win the heart of an untouchable dancer...but when Dynamite is transferred, Tulsa must replace him in the bet.

Director:

Norman Taurog

Writers:

Edmund Beloin, Henry Garson

Stars:

Elvis Presley, Juliet Prowse, Robert Ivers

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Elvis Presley	...	Tulsa McLean
Juliet Prowse	...	Lili
Robert Ivers	...	Cookie
James Douglas	...	Rick
Letícia Román	...	Tina (as Leticia Roman)
Sigrid Maier	...	Marla
Arch Johnson	...	Sgt. McGraw
Mickey Knox	...	Jeeter
John Hudson	...	Capt. Hobart
Kenneth Becker	...	Mac (as Ken Becker)
Jeremy Slate	...	Turk
Beach Dickerson	...	Warren
Trent Dolan	...	Mickey
Carl Crow	...	Walt
Fred Essler	...	Papa Mueller

Storyline

Tulsa is a specialist in the US Army stationed in Germany. He loves to sing and has dreams to run his own nightclub when he leaves the army....but dreams don't come cheap. Tulsa places a bet with his friend Dynamite that he can spend the night with a club dancer named Lili, who is rumored to be hard to get. When Dynamite gets transferred, Tulsa is brought in to take his place. He is not looking forward to it, but in order to keep his money, he must go through with it.

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Plot Keywords:

dancer | gi | u.s. army | u.s. soldier | american in europe | 

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Taglines:

10 Great Songs!

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild thematic elements

Did You Know?

Trivia

The song "Wooden Heart" is a cover version of the famous German folk song "Muss i denn zum Städtele hinaus" (Must I then go away to the town), of which Elvis Presley also sang a few lines in his version. The song was first released in the 1830s. Elvis Presley's version was a big hit in Germany and about 400 000 records were sold within a few weeks. However The Bavarian Radio broadcast and the Westberlin-radio broadcast were boycotting this version due to "deliberated Schmultzyness of German folk songs" and because the stations wanted to broadcast serious folk music.

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Goofs

When leaving the Cafe Europa, Tulsa stands half a head taller than Lili. In actuality Elvis was only a half inch taller than Juliet Prowse's 5'11".

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Quotes

Tulsa McLean: [singing] Can't you see, I love you, / Please don't break my heart in two. / That's not hard to do / 'Cause I don't have a wooden heart.

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Crazy Credits

After the opening credits: Produced with the full cooperation of the U.S. Army and the Department of Defense

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Alternate Versions

Because of copyright problems, in the European version of the movie the song "Tonight Is So Right For Love" (by Sid Wayne and Abner Silver) which was based on the melody of "Bacarolle" by Jaques Offenbach, was substituted with "Tonight's All Right For Love" (by Wayne, Silver and Joe Lilley), which had similar lyrics but was based on the melody of "Tales From The Vienna Woods" by Johann Strauss.

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Connections

Featured in The King (2017)

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Soundtracks

Frankfort Special
Written by Sid Wayne & Sherman Edwards
Performed by Elvis Presley

User Reviews

Jump Starting The Career of The King Again

GI Blues was Elvis Presley's fifth picture and first one since his return from the Army as America's most celebrated draftee of the Fifties. It also marked his first film with director Norman Taurog who did nine films with the King.

Taurog like so many in Hollywood in front of and behind the camera was getting less and less employment and taking what he could get. These were the kind of people that Elvis's manager Colonel Tom Parker made sure helped his meal ticket in any way possible. Norman Taurog won an Oscar in 1931 for Skippy and was nominated for his direction of Boys Town in 1938 which won Spencer Tracy an Oscar. Over the years Taurog directed such musical performers as Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Mario Lanza, Eddie Fisher, and Debbie Reynolds. This man was most assuredly a help to the King's career and I've no doubt Parker was behind getting him.

Parker is a controversial figure, especially among Elvis's legion of fans as to whether he helped or hindered Elvis's career. He might have done a little of both, but one thing the man was always sure of is that in Presley's movies, he made sure that he got the best support in front and behind the camera. Norman Taurog extended his own career via the King. Everybody made out here.

The Colonel also was a master at keeping the publicity going while Elvis was a $78.00 a month GI serving in Germany. So much so there was a tremendous about of advance publicity about this film which was about a young rock and rolling soldier who finds love in Frankfurt.

Elvis gets hooked into a Guys and Dolls type bet that he can't spend the night in Juliet Prowse's apartment. Prowse is a local entertainer at one of the clubs in Frankfurt and she's got a reputation as one cold lady. But you know she ain't got a chance with the king.

Part of the publicity surrounding this film was Juliet Prowse's relationship with another guy she did a film with that year, Frank Sinatra. She and Sinatra were quite the item and they announced their engagement and then broke it off just as quickly. Juliet was quite the dancer both in GI Blues and in Can-Can. I remember all of this quite well as a lad. And it was always a special treat in Elvis films when he got a female co-star who was also musical like Ann-Margret, Nancy Sinatra, or Juliet Prowse.

Elvis had a bunch of songs in the film including his own Blue Suede Shoes playing on a jukebox during a bar brawl. One song I really liked was Pocketful of Rainbows which he sings to Juliet while riding in a cable car. It should have been a bigger hit for him.

GI Blues was a fine jump start for Elvis's return to the big screen and to his loyal legion of fans.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German Italian

Release Date:

23 November 1960 (USA)

Also Known As:

Café Europa

Filming Locations:

König-Adolf-Platz, Idstein, Hessen, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hal Wallis Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1