Truly Dreadful Film

Am I Missing Something?

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Even though they have a lousy reputation I've generally been a fan of Elvis Presley films. Many of them provide breezy, painless fun with some good songs thrown in. Unfortunately, there's precious little entertainment in 'Frankie And Johnny' which is especially frustrating as a lot of the elements are there for a satisfying film such as a workable plot, good supporting cast and colourful sets.But this feels boring and lifeless from the word go. Elvis deserves some of the blame as - apart from 'The Trouble With Girls' - I can't recall him giving such a dull performance.But the real culprit is Frederick De Cordova who directs the film so lifelessly and lazily that the film never has a chance.Take for example the finale where it's been set up by a supporting character that in their staged musical number Frankie will shoot Johnnie with a real bullet instead of a blank. She does shoot him and appears to have killed him but through a stroke of remarkable luck he is unharmed. All this and the culprit is forgotten 15 seconds later for the upbeat closing musical number!Even amongst his mid to late 1960s work, you can do much better if you're searching for an Elvis film to watch.

This movie followed "Harum Scarum" and was a big step up simply because "Harum Scarum" was arguably Elvis's worst movie. This one is actually the closest thing that Elvis ever did to a typical Hollywood musical like "Music Man." There's an interesting plot and some good energy that carries through the first half of the movie, but it limps along badly in the second half. I went to sleep and had to finish watching it the next morning.The large amount of Broadway musical-type tunes simply doesn't fit Elvis' style very well. Only the title tune is really interesting and works very well. At the end, there is a gem called "Please, Don't Stop Loving Me." It comes at about 80 minutes of the film's 87 minute run and I'm not sure that anybody except Elvis fans will last that long.Apparently Donna Douglas and Elvis had deep philosophical conversations on Paramahansa Yogananda and the Christian religion during the breaks while shooting this movie. This shows as there is very little chemistry between them. Second lead, Nancy Kovack provides whatever sexual chemistry the film does have. One suspects that if Douglas and Kovack had changed roles, the film would have worked much better.This doesn't fit into the category of Elvis' good movies, but it also doesn't fit into the category of his bad movies. Lets just say that it is an okay movie that only Elvis fans will find pleasurable.

I give this three stars just because it's a boring movie. I don't think it's bad. It's just really uneventful. I saw this on television once, and I switched over to the Food Network. I kind of remember what it was about, and that's about it. I have sat through probably everyone of his films, and while this isn't as bad as others (Harem Scarem!), it is pretty close. You can really tell that he was have less fun than the viewers. He looks really good (of course), but that's about it. It isn't even a fun bad movie, where you would see him as an Arabian Prince, or a race car driver. Instead of wasting time on this, watch Jailhouse Rock (the best), King Creole and even Blue Hawaii. You'll thank yourself later.

Romping, colorful Presley vehicle with plenty of songs and good comedy from Harry Morgan and Donna Douglas. Johnny (Presley) is a riverboat gambler who becomes convinced that a redhead is his good luck charm -- problem is, Frankie (Douglas) is a blonde! She goes after him with a gun, and the rest is in the song (a personal favorite of Elvis', I understand). Edward Small's production clearly outclasses the Sam Katzman drek Presley would soon be floundering in. Some fairly elaborate musical numbers well-executed, quality photography and decent directing. DVD is a good one, buy it Elvis fans.