Live a Little, Love a Little

Infobox Movie
name = Live A Little, Love A Little


imdb_id = 0063231
producer = Douglas Laurence
director = Norman Taurog
Al Shenberg (Ass't)
writer = Dan Greenburg (novel)
Michael A. Hoey
starring = Elvis Presley
Michele Carey
Rudy Vallee
music = Billy Strange

cinematography = Fred J. Koenekamp
editing = John McSweeney, Jr.
distributor = MGM
released = October 23, 1968
runtime = 90 min.
language = English
preceded by = "Speedway"
followed by = "Charro!"

"Live A Little, Love A Little" is a 1968 musical film and comedy starring Elvis Presley. The film was directed by Norman Taurog, who had directed several previous Presley vehicles; this was his final film. The film is noted for having a more mature tone than other Presley musicals, with coarse language, drug references, and an implied sexual encounter. The film is best remembered for introducing the song "A Little Less Conversation"; a later re-recording of this song would form the basis of a remix that returned Presley to the American music sales charts in the early 2000s.

Elvis's father, Vernon Presley, has an uncredited cameo in one scene.

This film was not released in the UK for unknown reasons; it was released to DVD for the first time in 2007.

Plot

Greg Nolan is a newspaper photographer who lives a fun and carefree life. That is, until he meets a headcase named Bernice, who assumes different names and personalities whenever the mood hits her. She manages to lose his job and apartment after drugging him. However, she manages to find him another apartment, and he wants to pay her back. So he gets two photographer jobs: one at a Playboy-like magazine and the other at a very conservative magazine. He now has to manage balancing the two jobs along with dealing with Bernice and her odd ways.

Primary cast

*Elvis Presley : Greg Nolan
*Michele Carey : Bernice/Betty/Suzie/Alice
*Rudy Vallee : Louis Penlow
*Celeste Yarnall : Ellen
*Don Porter : Mike Lansdown
*Dick Sargent : Harry Baby
*Sterling Holloway : Milkman
*Brutus Presley : Albert the Great Dane

oundtrack

The soundtrack songs were recorded in March 1968 at Western Recorders Inc. in Los Angeles, California. As it had done with an earlier film, "Stay Away, Joe", RCA Records chose not to release the songs from this film in EP or full album form. Instead, "A Little Less Conversation" and "Almost in Love" were issued in September 1968 on a single (47-9610) that failed to make the Top 40, while "Edge of Reality" appeared the next month on the B-side of the single for "IF I Can Dream" (47-9670). The film's opening song, "Wonderful World", appeared in the compilation "Elvis Sings Flaming Star", which after an initial promotional release in November 1968 was widely released in April 1969.

In June 1968, Presley re-recorded "A Little Less Conversation" during the production of what would come to be known as Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special. This version, which uses a harder-driving arrangement than the one recorded for the film, was not used in the special, and was not officially released by RCA until 1998. In 2002, a remix of the TV Special version of the song became a major hit.

Recording musicians

*Elvis Presley (vocals)
*Joseph Gibbons, Neil Levang, Alwin Casey , Charles Britz (guitar)
*Pete Drake (steel guitar)
*Larry Knetchal, Charles Berghofer (bass)
*Don Randi (piano)
*Hal Blaine, Gary Coleman (drums)

Tracks (songwriter)

*"Wonderful World" - (Guy Fletcher & Doug Flett)
*"Edge of Reality" - (Bill Grant, Bernie Baum, Florence Kaye
*"A Little Less Conversation" - (Mac Davis & Billy Strange)
* "Almost in Love" - (John Bonfa & Randy Starr)

ee also

*List of Elvis Presley films
*Elvis Presley discography

External reviews

DVD reviews

* [http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=30398 Elvis - The Hollywood Collection (Kissin' Cousins/Girl Happy/Tickle Me/Stay Away, Joe/Live a Little, Love a Little/Charro!)] Review by Stuart Galbraith IV at [http://www.dvdtalk.com/ DVD Talk] , September 11, 2007.