- Blue Hawaii
Infobox Movie
name = Blue Hawaii
imdb_id = 0054692
producer =Hal B. Wallis
director =Norman Taurog Michael D. Moore (assistant)
writer = Allan Weiss (story)Hal Kanter (screenwriter)
starring =Elvis Presley Joan Blackman Angela Lansbury
music = Joseph J. Lilley
cinematography =Charles Lang
editing = Terry O. Morse
distributor =Paramount Pictures
released =November 22 , 1961
runtime = 102 min.
language = English
preceded by = "Wild in the Country "
followed by = "Follow That Dream ""Blue Hawaii" is a 1961
musical film set in the state ofHawaii and starringElvis Presley .Plot
Chad Gates (Presley) has just gotten out of the
Army , and is happy to be back inHawaii with his surfboard, his beach buddies, and his girlfriend. His father wants him to go to work at the Great Southern Hawaiian Fruit Company, but Chad is reluctant. So Chad goes to work as a tour guide at his girlfriend's agency.Filming locations
Much of the film was shot on location at the
Coco Palms Resort on the East shore of Kauai. The resort has been abandoned sinceHurricane Iniki in 1992, but is now slated for redevelopment. [ [http://www.cocopalms.com Coco Palms Resort and Residences] ]Among the other locations used was the Tantalus lookout overlooking Honolulu; Chad and his girlfriend, Maile, have a picnic there early in the film.Fact|date=December 2007
The scenes at Chad's beach house were shot at Hanauma Bay, a volcanic crater that is open to the sea, near the bedroom community of Hawaii-Kai, a few miles away from Waikiki.Fact|date=December 2007
Other information
Although it is mentioned in the film that Chad's parents live in Kahala, one of the most expensive and exclusive areas of Honolulu as of 1961, the view from their lanai (porch or terrace) shows Diamond Head as it appears from Waikiki and downtown Honolulu. This is an error because Kahala is located on the other side of Diamond Head from Waikiki.
"Blue Hawaii" was the first of three Elvis movies to be filmed in Hawaii, followed by "Girls! Girls! Girls!" in 1962 and "Paradise, Hawaiian Style" in 1965.
Angela Lansbury , who played the mother of Elvis, was not yet 36 years old in 1961 when the movie was released. Elvis was 26 years old. Lansbury would later comment that her appearance here was one of the worst in her career.It could be argued that this film set the tone for Presley's future film career: pretty locations, gorgeous girls, and mediocre songs. Almost all of these musical-comedy films performed well, whereas more "serious" films such as
Flaming Star ,Wild in the Country andCharro , did poorly at the box office. "Blue Hawaii" on the other hand was one of Elvis' most successful films.While some of the songs on the soundtrack album can fairly be described as "inferior," others compare favorably to his non-soundtrack recordings. Presley's remake of the title song did justice to the Academy Award-winning song, while also introducing it to an audience too young to remember
Bing Crosby 's original hit version. His recording of "Can't Help Falling In Love " compares quite well to his other Top 10 hits, and his recordings of "Rock-A-Hula Baby " and "Ku-u-ipo (Hawaiian Sweetheart)" are notable as well.It should also be noted that not all the songs in "G.I. Blues," the first film Presley made after leaving the Army, can be fairly described as "gems."
The "Blue Hawaii" soundtrack album was on the Billboard Pop Albums chart for 79 weeks, spent 20 weeks at #1 on the Pop Albums chart, and sold more than 2-million copies [See: "Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums 1955-1996"]
Primary cast:
*
Elvis Presley .... Chad Gates
*Joan Blackman .... Maile Duval
*Angela Lansbury .... Sarah Lee Gates
*Nancy Walters .... Abigail Prentice
*Jenny Maxwell .... Ellie Corbett
*Pamela Austin .... Selena (Sandy) Emerson (as Pamela Kirk)
*Darlene Tompkins .... Patsy Simon
*Christian Kay .... Beverly Martin
*Roland Winters .... Fred Gates
*John Archer .... Jack Kelman
*Howard McNear .... Mr. ChapmanSoundtrack
:"see
Blue Hawaii (album) "See also
*
List of Elvis Presley films
*Elvis Presley discography References
External links
*imdb title|0054692|Blue Hawaii
*amg movie|id=1:6257|title=Blue Hawaii
* [http://www.elvisinhawaii.com Elvis in Hawaii Presley's movies in Hawaii]
* [http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=29645 Review of the movie collection "Lights! Camera! Elvis! Collection (including "Blue Hawaii")]
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