The greatest movie ever made..!

Better Late Then Never

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Wow what an uneven movie. A congressman gives an Indian twenty heifers and a bull. If they can raise cattle successfully then more Indians will get some. The Indian given the cattle is played by Burgess Meredith. Why he took this role is beyond me. He is made up to look like an idiot and acts like one too. Elvis is his son and he shows up just in time to get everything messed up. Almost every Indian is a white man in bad make up. There are several wild parties with lots of booze, women and fighting. Sure makes the Indians look good. At the first party they have a BBQ with, did you guess?, the bull. Elvis then borrows another bull who just sleeps, until someone tries to ride that is. Now this bull is a Hereford. I have never seen one of those in the bull ring. Setting up a rodeo with the never ridden bull Joe takes on all comers, is the only one to ride the bull and wins a ton of money. Meanwhile Meredith's wife has sold off all the rest of the stock to fix their hovel of a shack up for the visiting mother of her daughter's fiancée. This turns out soooo well!! A fight breaks out, the fiancée's mother faints, the house ends up trashed, a mother shows up with a shotgun to force Elvis to marry her daughter, plus they are repoing his cars. So no cows, no bull, no future. Wait Elvis takes his winnings and shows up with about a hundred head to appease the congressman and keep papa out of jail. This movie is kind of uneven and not that well written, in other words a typical Elvis movie. Though titled a musical there is not very much music.

I consider myself an Elvis fan but I just watched this movie & I'm not sure I watched anything at all even with Elvis in it. Elvis did have some Cherokee Indian & played a halfbreed Indian once before. But Flaming Star, Wild In The Country, King Creole, Love Me Tender & Charro were better movies showcasing his dramatic acting ability.This film has no plot, no storyline, no purpose & no script, no character development & has no direction & has no point & says nothing at all. The movie falls flat on it's face & just doesn't work. There's too much hooping & hollering & nonsense which gets tiresome & meaningless with Elvis as a seemingly endless "Good Time Charlie", as if life is just one big party.The film is like a car spinning it's wheels but goes nowhere, if you haven't seen this you're not missing anything. It's a big toilet stinker, the toilet does play a role in this which is exactly where this film belongs. Even the songs are bad ! When I heard "Dominique" I couldn't believe my ears & I was so disgusted & beside myself. This is a sorry excuse for a film & I think it's Elvis's worst movie. In fact it's the worst movie I've ever seen in my life. I've only seen it once & that's more than enough for me. This one takes the cake !!

Stay Away, Joe! is an American Treasure, that should not be overlooked if you truly love Elvis Presley movies. You have to understand the era in which this movie was made, #1...it was during the big outdoor Drive in Movie craze when carloads, truckloads of teenagers flocked by the millions to cheap grind house movies, #2...it reflects the attitudes of many young people during the so-called "swinging sixty's free love etc. It accurately represents the living conditions of most First-Nations people at that time in American history...to this day reservations are plagued with poverty, broken down cars, and stray dogs...Elvis was not ashamed to portray a halfbreed native American, no matter how much this may have offended the straight, upper class, white America! If you want honest camp, wild and crazy young people, great Elvis songs you must see this movie with a open mind, remember, you, watching this movie in the comfort of your home on a Sunday afternoon was not the intended audience!

Pretty much everybody who ever talks about this film says it's horrible and stupid. I could not disagree more. This is a light-hearted and funny movie that left me with a smile on my face. Sure, it's silly...but it's supposed to be. And Katy Jurado and Burgess Meredith both give hilarious performances. The 4 songs in the film are fun and catchy, and as always...Elvis's voice is top-notch. Three of his friends (Charlie Hodge, Joe Esposito, and Sonny West) join him on this movie, and it only adds to the fun.Say what you want about this movie, but as an Elvis fan...I was just happy to get to spend over an hour laughing with the King.How can you stay away?