- Clambake
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For the website, see Operation Clambake. For the traditional method of cooking seafood, see New England clam bake.
Clambake Directed by Arthur H. Nadel Produced by Arthur Gardner
Arnold Laven
Jules LevyWritten by Arthur Browne Jr. Starring Elvis Presley
Will Hutchins
Shelley Fabares
Bill BixbyMusic by Jeff Alexander Cinematography William Margulies Editing by Tom Rolf Distributed by United Artists Release date(s) October 18, 1967 (USA) Running time 100 min. Language English Clambake is a 1967 musical film starring Elvis Presley, and co-starring Shelley Fabares and Bill Bixby—the last of his four films for United Artists[1]. The movie reached No. 15 on the national weekly box office charts.
Contents
Plot
Scott Heyward is the son of a rich oilman. He decides to leave so he can discover life for himself. He runs into Tom Wilson, a water-skiing instructor who has no luck with the women. Tom offers to switch places with Scott so they can have a taste of what life is like in each others shoes. Scott goes to work teaching water skiing for a Miami hotel, while Tom has fun pretending he is rich. Scott is taken with Dianne Carter, who is searching for a rich guy to snag. She decides to make a play for James J. Jamison III, owner of a pajama company and a boat-racing champion. Scott agrees to help her land Jamison, but in the process falls for her.
Production notes
Regarding Presley
This was the last film for which Presley was able to demand and receive a $1,000,000 salary. The relative lackluster box office performance of this movie, combined with his desire to do more serious, less commercial films, meant that studios were no longer willing to guarantee him a seven figure paycheck for his performance.
In her 1985 book, Elvis and Me, Priscilla Presley writes that by the time filming was to begin on Clambake, Elvis's growing distress with the quality of his films led to a despondency accompanied by overeating that saw his weight balloon from his normal 170 lb (77 kg) to 200 lb (91 kg). Possibly due to this, Elvis appears overweight, tired and looks sick. A movie studio executive ordered him to lose the weight in a hurry,[2]marking the introduction of diet pills to his already excessive regimen of medications.
During this time, Presley was growing increasingly interested in religious studies and spirituality, and reading a great deal on the subjects. Colonel Tom Parker felt these pursuits were distracting Elvis from his performance, and while he ordered the singer to not read any books while the film was being shot, there is no evidence that Presley complied with the directive.
Production was halted for nearly two weeks in the middle of filming when Elvis fell and hit his head in the mansion he was living in during the shooting, resulting in his suffering a mild concussion.[3]
Cast
Harold Peary, who was famous for playing "The Great Gildersleeve" on radio in the 1940s, plays a bit part as the hotel doorman.
In uncredited appearances: one of the dancers is Teri Garr; among the kids during the "Confidence" scene is a young Corbin Bernsen; and the girl afraid to go down the slide, to whom Elvis sings, is Lisa Slagle, who later joined the Joffrey Ballet.
Props
The red car driven by Elvis was a 1959 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Racer.
Locations
Although set in Florida, only some second unit stock footage was shot there. Virtually the entire film was shot in Southern California (resulting in the scene with the sun seemingly setting over the ocean in the East). Several exterior "Florida" scenes also have very conspicuous California mountains in the background. The boats in the boat garage have registration numbers starting with "CF" (California) and not "FL" (Florida).
Primary cast
- Elvis Presley: Scott Heyward/'Tom Wilson'
- Shelley Fabares: Dianne Carter
- Will Hutchins: Tom Wilson/'Scott Heyward'
- Bill Bixby: James J. Jamison III
- Gary Merrill: Sam Burton
- James Gregory: Duster Heyward
- Marj Dusay: drive-in waitess
Soundtrack
Main article: Clambake (album)The soundtrack album reached No. 40 on the Billboard album chart.
Movie reviews
- Review by J. Bannerman at Stomp Tokyo, 2003.
DVD Reviews
- Review by Barrie Maxwell at DVD Verdict, October 26, 2001.
- Review by Mark Zimmer at digitallyOBSESSED!, October 11, 2001.
References
- ^ p.117 Templeton, Steve Elvis Presley: Silver Screen Icon: A Collection of Movie Posters The Overmountain Press, 2002
- ^ p. 412 Nash, Alanna, Smith, Billy, Lacker, Marty & Fike, Lamar Elvis Aaron Presley: Revelations from the Memphis Mafia Harper Collins, 1995
- ^ p. 357 Whitmer, Peter O. The Inner Elvis: A Psychological Biography of Elvis Aaron Presley Hyperion, 1996
External links
- For Elvis Fans Only Website dedicated to Elvis Presley's Movies.
- Clambake at the Internet Movie Database
- Clambake at AllRovi
Categories:- English-language films
- 1967 films
- 1960s comedy films
- 1960s musical films
- American musical comedy films
- United Artists films
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