Clambake (1967)

The heir to an oil fortune trades places with a water-ski instructor at a Florida hotel to see if girls will like him for himself, rather than his father's money.

Director:

Arthur H. Nadel

Writer:

Arthur Browne Jr. (story and screenplay)

Stars:

Elvis Presley, Shelley Fabares, Will Hutchins

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Elvis Presley	...	Scott Hayward / 'Tom Wilson'
Shelley Fabares	...	Dianne Carter
Will Hutchins	...	Tom Wilson / 'Scott Heyward'
Bill Bixby	...	James J. Jamison III
Gary Merrill	...	Sam
James Gregory	...	Duster Heyward
Suzie Kaye	...	Sally
Harold Peary	...	Doorman (as Hal Peary)
Marj Dusay	...	Waitress
Jack Good	...	Hathaway
Olga Kaya	...	Gigi
Angelique Pettyjohn	...	Gloria
Sam Riddle	...	Announcer
Wallace Earl Laven	...	Ellie (as Amanda Harley)
Sue England	...	Cigarette Girl

Storyline

Scott Heyward, whose the son of a millionaire, is tired of woman fawning over him because of his wealth, meets Tom, who's on his way to his new job as a water skiing instructor at a hotel. They envy each other's life and decide to switch places. So Scott pretends to be Tom and Tom lives it up pretending to be Scott. Scott meets Dianne who is trying to land a rich guy and when playboy James Jamison catches her eye, she asks Scott to help her snag him. Scott agrees to but finds himself attracted to her. Scott also decides to build a boat for a speedboat race that's going to take place in the hotel but he's using a new experimental chemical which doesn't hold in water, which his father forbade him to use.

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Plot Keywords:

speedboat | wealth | florida | water skiing | chemical | 

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Taglines:

It's Elvis!..cooking up a storm!

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical

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Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 December 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cambalache

Filming Locations:

Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

United Artists, Levy-Gardner-Laven, Rhodes Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the children at the playground during the song "Confidence" is Corbin Bernsen.

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Goofs

Elvis's character plays an electric guitar during the song "Clambake", but it is not plugged into an amp.

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Quotes

James J. Jamison III: Hey, you know something? You really have lousy timing. Of course, born losers usually do.
Scott Heyward: Now look, if you're talking about the race...
James J. Jamison III: I'm talking about you sticking your nose in where it doesn't concern you. I hope you know how to take care of yourself. I call... karate!
Scott Heyward: Oh, shut up!
[Scott belts James with a Kid Galahad K.O. punch that knocks him over the sofa and out cold]

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Connections

Featured in Elvis in the Movies (1990)

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Soundtracks

How Can You Lose What You Never Had
Written by Ben Weisman & Sid Wayne
Performed and Sung by Elvis Presley

User Reviews

One of His Better Films

Although it has the worst title of any Elvis movie, "Clambake" (1967) is actually one of his better films. Which is surprising as it is one of his last and generally speaking each film seemed a bit worse than its predecessor. "Clambake's" salvation is certainly not in the soundtrack which is at best very ordinary, only the title song has any energy. Although there is an actual clambake scene on the beach about midway into the film, it seems thrown in just to justify the title, more impressive is a cameo of "Flipper" who had his own television show at that time.

I'm inclined to credit Shelley Fabares for the good vibe I got from this film. She plays "golddigger with a heart of gold" Dianne Carter, Elvis' ultimate love interest. I never cared for her uptight Mary Stone character on reruns of "The Donna Reed Show", and therefore paid almost no attention to her until recently. But since seeing her in "Ride the Wild Surf" and "Clambake" I've had a major attitude adjustment. "Clambake" was the third time she was tapped for the love interest role in an Elvis film so obviously she and the King had grown comfortable working together.

Their romance is a little different than the Elvis standard. In "Clambake" she does not start out hating or ignoring him. Instead they quickly become friends and she is obviously attracted, but she puts the brakes on any romance because she is hunting for a rich husband and has tycoon J.J. Jamison (Bill Bixby) squarely in her sights. She comes around in the end and their chemistry actually feels real, much like it did with Ann Margret in "Viva Las Vegas".

The comfort factor is also apparent between Elvis and Will Hutchins, his real-life buddy. Oil tycoon Scott (Elvis) pulls a "Prince and the Pauper" and swaps places with drifter Tom Wilson (Hutchins). He wants to find someone who loves him for himself. Hutchins is supposed to provide the film's main comic relief as he enjoys the life of the rich and famous, driving Scott's "Munsters" inspired convertible and surrounding himself with gorgeous women who can't dance very well. Although the director had Hutchins overplay the part it is so poorly written that they can't squeeze many laughs out of the premise. But having most of his scenes with Fabares and Hutchins seems to have relaxed Elvis considerably, which makes both he and his film more likable.

Contrary to most, I enjoyed the corny playground scene with the little girl who was afraid of the slide. The "Confidence" song is not a rip off of "High Hopes", the whole scene is a variation on the "Bounce Right Back" number Donald O'Connor did in "Anything Goes". While "Confidence" is not much of a song, this surreal scene is priceless. I wonder what long-time fans thought as they watched Elvis and Hutchins do something so totally "Guffman"? Most entertainers only do embarrassing stuff like this when they are first breaking into the business.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.