G.I. Blues (DVD)

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Loved it
Characters / Performances	Good
Soundtrack	Outstanding
How does it compare to similar films?	Outstanding

Advantages:	Great Film, Romance, Soundtrack and Performances
Disadvantages:	Predictable Plot

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Last week, me and my other half decided to attack the spare bedroom. We're moving house on Saturday, and we needed to make sure everything was packed. We pulled out a heavy box, which we found was full of videos, and one caught my eye. On closer inspection, I found it was quite a old Elvis film, that belonged to my other halfs parents. Time for a nosy methinks....

Cast...

Elvis Presley.................Tulsa McLean
Juliet Prowse................Lili
Robert Ivers..................Cookie
James Douglas...........Rick
Letícia Román..............Tina
Sigrid Maier...................Marla
Arch Johnson................Sergeant McGraw
Mickey Knox...................Jeeter
John Hudson................Captain Hobart
Kenneth Becker............Mac
Jeremy Slate.................Turk
Beach Dickerson..........Warren
Trent Dolan....................Mickey
Carl Crow.......................Walt
Fred Essler....................Papa Mueller

Other Info...

Director: Norman Taurog
Writing Credits: Edmund Beloin, Henry Garson
Producer: Hal Wallis
Assistant Director: Michael Moore
Associate Producer: Paul Nathan

Background...

G.I Blues is an Elvis musical, based on Elvis's time in Germany. He served with the 3rd Armored in 1958-60, and when he left the army, he decided to make this musical to praise the soldiers who also served in the 3rd Armored with him.
The director, Hal Wallis, came to Germany in August 1959, to shoot a large portion of the scenes for Elvis Presley's first film since he was drafted into the Army in 1958. It was originally to be called 'Cafe Europa', and filming took place in Frankfurt am Main, Friedberg, Wiesbaden, and Idstein am Rhein. On completion of the film, in the summer of 1960, they changed the film title to 'G.I. Blues'.

Story...

G.I Tulsa McLean, played by 'The Pelvis' himself is posted to Frankfurt. On arrival, his unit decide to go out that night, into downtown Frankfurt. They visit Cafe Europa and discover Lili - a beautiful, young, Italian girl from Milano, who is the dancer at Cafe Europa.
When G.I Tulsa's unit see Lili, they discover that she is a tough cookie to crumble, and they place a bet with another unit on how long it can take their man Tulsa to spend the night with her. As Tuksa wishes to set up his own stateside nightclub when he comes out of the army, he finds himself accepting the bet as he could do with the money, which is $300.00. Of course, no movie would be a success if the guy got the gal first time, so he has the usual, several knockbacks, until she warms to his charms, and decides to give him a chance, with a plot crossed between The Sound Of Music and the more recent 'She's all that'.

Although it was just supposed to be a bet, Tulsa manages to fall in love (of course) with Lili, and he decides to court her properly - somehow managing to serenade puppets along the way? After spending plenty of time courting her by singing to babies, and riding cable cars, the inevitable happens.
Yes, you guessed it - Lili discovers that Tulsa only started courting her for a bet. Of course, this ruins all Tulsa's hard work, and by now he is madly in love with her and regrets taking the bet on. After much grovelling, Tulsa manages to explain everything, and typically of this style of film, she forgives him, and they ride off together for their first big kiss - in a cable car.

Characters / Performances...

Although Elvis was probably more used to playing music than roles, I thought he played this part extremely well. He even managed to keep his wiggling pelvis under control during filming! He really put his heart into this performance, and whilst this type of film doesn't really require much acting talent, you can tell he was really enjoying playing the part.
Juliet Prowes played a magnificent role in this film playing the willowy dancer Lili, and her two sensuous dance routines were classy and mesmerizing. With Audrey Hepburn type appeal, she played the role of an ice queen, but one that didn't make you dislike her.
They both played their parts enthusiastically, and you could almost feel the pain Lili was in when she discovered it was all a bet - you could almost feel yourself hating Tulsa with her, as he played the part of the idiotic G.I. Both performances were very convincing and both characters were intelligent, sensitive and proud. This made me enjoy the storyline more too, making this a great family film to watch.

Special Effects...

No Terminator style special effects in this film guys, but there are some. Not special effects that we notice anymore, but I picked out one that made me laugh. When the unit are sat in the back of the truck looking out at the 'pretty Frankfurt ladies', it amazed me how there were no fumes from the truck, or not a single piece of dust blown up from the dirt track they were hurtling along. But I suppose for 44 years ago we have to give them some credit!

How Does It Compare To Similar Films...?

Well, it is one of the better Elvis musicals from the ones I have seen, but don't hold that against me as I have only seen six or seven of his thirty-one films. I have a massive love of musicals in general though, so maybe I am slightly biased, as I have always loved doing musicals and plays at school, being the drama queen I am! I do like this one alot though, and it would probably be the only one I would watch again from the Elvis ones that I have seen, as I think I have a soft spot for G.I Blues, being a bit of an old romantic and all!

How Does It Compare To Other Films By The Same Director...?

This is probably the same as above, as the other films I have seen have been by this director too, such as Girls! Girls! Girls! I did quite enjoy this film too, but I do think that this is one of the best he has directed. That is just my opinion though, so if there is one better, let me know and I will try and watch them!

Suitability...

This film is certified as Universal, which means it is suitably for anyone. Personally, I feel that anyone could enjoy this film, not just the older people who know more of Elvis. I loved this film, and so did my mum, my little brother and my niece, proving that all ages and sexes can be interested in older films. My niece loved the songs, as she is a little diva and she now wants me to find the soundtrack from somewhere, and my little brother loved the fact that it was set in the war. As for my mother, she is a soppy romantic like me, and we sat and blubbed at the end together... Aw bless.

Overview...

Although you can predict the entire plot, I loved this film, as you can really sing your heart out (better make sure every ones out first!), and it has a fantastic feel-good factor about it. You know the characters, you know the plot, you even know the ending - but you still watch it, and you still love it. You just can't beat sitting in front of the fire, with a box of choccies and a bottle of plonk on a cold, miserable night, watching these old classics. There is just something about them that melts your heart, especially if you are an old romantic like me!

Soundtrack...

The sound-track for 'G.I. Blues' contains a mix of songs, from soft ballads to more rocky tunes. They also include European influences to express the 'local color' of the film. The big hit from the film was 'Wooden Heart', which my mum used to sing to me when I was little (I always wondered what film it was from!), a song which was totally different from the normal hard-driving rock of pre-Army days. It did make me wonder why he sung to a puppet though, and not to Lili.

Film Info...

This is what you should recieve on the DVD, although I am reviewing the Video version:

Film: Technicolor and Vistavision
Publisher: Paramount Studio
Certificate: Universal - Suitable for All
Year: 1960
Screen: Widescreen 1.78:1 Anamorphic
Languages: English - Dolby Digital (5.1)
Additional Languages: Dolby Digital (1.0) Mono: English
Subtitles: Danish ; Dutch ; English ; English for the hearing impaired ; French ; German ; Italian ; Norwegian ; Spanish ; Swedish
Duration: 1 hour and 39 minutes (approx)

Price & Availability...

I have found this film for £18.99 in W.H.Smiths, but I have also found it at £9.99 including delivery on www.play.com, on DVD, as in 2001 the movie was re-released on DVD format but is no longer available on VHS video.

If You Like This Film...

You may enjoy some of the following films starring Elvis:

Loving You
Blue Hawaii
King Creole
Roustabout
Love Me Tender / Wild In The Country / Flaming Star (3 Pack)

Other DVD's Starring Elvis...

200 Cadillacs
Blue Hawaii
Change Of Habit
Clambake

Other DVD's By The Same Director...

Deanna Durbin (Box Set 1) (5 Discs)
Mad About Music
Elvis Box Set
The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer
Girls! Girls! Girls!

Track Listing...

Tonight Is So Right For Love
What's She Really Like
Frankfurt Special
Wooden Heart
G.I Blues
Pocketful Of Rainbows
Shoppin' Around
Big Boots
Didja' Ever
Blue Suede Shoes
Doin The Best I Can

The song 'Frankfurt Special' never caught on, but I felt was the best song in the film. It was recorded in 1960 with the Jordanairs as back-up for use in the movie and the album. The rock beat is very up-tempo with excellent finger-picking guitar work and drum backing. Elvis sings like he really means what he is saying in this song, which makes me enjoy it even more.

(The 'Frankfurt Special' is the songwriter's name for a the passenger train that ran from the Army bases in small towns to Frankfurt).

'FRANKFURT SPECIAL'

Is this train the Frankfurt Special?
Now ain't this outfit something special?
Well, we heard rumors from the bases,
Frankfurt girls got pretty faces.

Go, Special go. Blow whistle, blow.
Frankfurt Special's got a special way to go.
Whooh - oh - oh. [drawn-out sound of a train whistle]

Now when we get to our headquarters,
We'll be good boys and follow orders,
Now don't take girls from one another,
No! No! No! No! No!
We'll treat a sailor like a brother.

Go, Special go. Blow whistle, blow,
Frankfurt Special's got a special way to go.
Whooh - oh - oh.

Round wheels singin' on a long flat track,
Boiler bustin' to blow its stack,
Towns and villages flyin' by,
Now little frauleins, don't you cry,
You'll soon be gettin' another G.I.

Come on, train, and get the lead out,
Well, one more day we gotta sweat out,
Frantic frauleins at the station,
They're ready for a celebration.

Go, Special go. Blow whistle, blow.
Frankfurt Special's got a special way to go.

Go, Special go. Blow whistle, blow.
Frankfurt Special's got a special way to go.
Whooh - oh - oh
Whooh - oh
Whooh - oh, whooh - oh, whooh - oh, whooh - ooooh.

Soundtrack Trivia...

'G.I. Blues' is ranked No. 22 and No. 57 on Billboards Top No. 1 Albums chart 1960 - 1969 and all time hot 100 Albums chart respectively.

In the United Kingdom, 'G.I. Blues' is ranked No. 5 in the most weeks at No.1 All-Time Album chart(22 weeks).

Elvis apparently had trouble making sense of the lyrics of "Wooden Heart" until it was suggested to him that he should perform it as if he was singing to a small child.

Film Trivia...

Elvis' character in the film was originally called Tulsa Macauley.

Elvis and Juliet Prowse never went outside of Hollywood for their scenes. Doubles were used for the location shots.

Elvis broke a small bone in his hand while practicing Karate during the making of the film. It's clearly swollen in one of the sequences in the Cafe Europa

A special showing of G.I. Blues took place at the Fox Wilshire Theatre in Los Angeles on November 15, 1960. In attendance were Cesar Romero and Ronald Reagan.

Hope You Enjoyed - Please Be Kind! x x x Jo x x x