Roustabout (1964)

After a singer loses his job at a coffee shop, he finds employment at a struggling carnival, but his attempted romance with a teenager leads to friction with her father.

Director:

John Rich

Writers:

Anthony Lawrence (screenplay), Allan Weiss (screenplay)

Stars:

Elvis Presley, Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Freeman

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Elvis Presley	...	Charlie Rogers
Barbara Stanwyck	...	Maggie Morgan
Joan Freeman	...	Cathy Lean
Leif Erickson	...	Joe Lean
Sue Ane Langdon	...	Madame Mijanou
Pat Buttram	...	Harry Carver
Joan Staley	...	Marge
Dabbs Greer	...	Arthur Nielsen
Steve Brodie	...	Fred
Norman Grabowski	...	Sam
Jack Albertson	...	Lou
Jane Dulo	...	Hazel
Joel Fluellen	...	Cody Marsh
Wilda Taylor	...	Little Egypt

Storyline

Charlie Rogers is a leather-jacketed biker who's fired from a singing engagement after getting into a fight with a group of college toughs. While riding his cycle to the next gig, an irate dad runs him off the road when he flirts with his daughter. He's forced to hook up with a traveling carnival until his bike can be fixed. The carnival is run by a tough old broad, a broken-down drunk and his nubile daughter. Along the way, Charlie (who's got a chip on his shoulder about being an orphan) somehow learns about family values from this vaguely dysfunctional one. A scheming rival carny shows up, based on the legend of Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis Presley's real-life manager.

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | carnival | one word title | drifter | fortune teller | 

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Taglines:

Elvis Presley as a Roving, Restless, Reckless, ROUSTABOUT

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Genres:

Drama | Music | Musical | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for mild thematic elements and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 November 1964 (USA)

Also Known As:

Right This Way Folks!

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$3,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Wallis-Hazen

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the closing scene Elvis lifts a child into the arms of "The Strongman" portrayed by Richard Kiel ( "Jaws" of James Bond fame).

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Goofs

When Freddy takes Charlie's challenge to hit the target twice in a row at the dunk tank Freddy disputes the first throw so they start again. On the first throw of the re-start you hear the sound of a hit and the girl is dunked but you can see that the ball never really hits the target.

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Quotes

College boy in college jacket: This is a real crummy joint, I've seen more action in a zoo.
Charlie Rogers: Which side of the cage, pal?

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Connections

Referenced in The O'Reilly Factor: Episode dated 24 June 2008 (2008)

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Soundtracks

Wheels On My Heels
Written by Sid Tepper & Roy C. Bennett
Performed by Elvis Presley

User Reviews

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!