FOOTLIGHT PARADE

I'm still in that musical frame of mind after reviewing "G.I. Blues"; so I thought to myself why not review another musical classic from Hollywood. But being that there are hundreds of them, it's almost hard to pick one? Well I assure you that it didn't take me long to think of one to review because after purchasing a collection of films with dance sequences choreographed by the ingenious Busby Berkeley, there was only one film in that collection that I wanted to watch and review right away, and that's...

Apart from musical fantasy's that were made during the 30s like "Babes in Toyland" and "The Wizard of OZ", this film would be my first exposure to traditional classic 30s musicals that I remember enjoying very much as a kid. It stared one of my favorite actors James Cagney, I was entertained by the story, and the last three song and dance scenes that took place in the last half of the movie made my jaw-drop for how amazing they looked. And though I'm sure the musical sequences in the film still hold-up since they're considered to be some of Hollywood's greatest, my real question is how is the film that ties those scenes together? As much as I remember its general premise and some of the performances, I don't remember them as much as I do with the scenes that make the film famous. Are they worth remembering, and as entertaining as I remember them to be, or were they nothing special to begin with? ON WITH THE REVIEW!

James Cagney stars as a Broadway musical director, who lost his career from "Talking Pictures" becoming the new source of entertainment for theater going audiences, until he discovers that movie theaters are showing short live musical acts called "Prologues" before the feature presentation. Cagney gets into the business as quickly as possible to direct film prologues, but gets himself into a lot of stress and pressure when he plans to market prologue shows nationwide, while also trying to hatch up different ideas each week only for them to be stolen by his off-screen rival or be turned down because of censorship rules. Eventually Cagney is given a big opportunity to work for a famous producer if he can impress him with three grand scale musical numbers for three theaters within three days. And being his last chance to make his prologue shows a success, he takes drastic measures to make it perfect by locking himself and staff inside the dance studio for the next three days so that he doesn't risk his ideas getting leaked outside to his competitors.

Much like "Holiday Inn" and "G.I. Blues", this isn't really a musical that heavily relies on story. If anything the bits without Busby Berkeley's choreography only exist to tie these sequences into a full length movie as opposed to passing them off as short films. But being made during a rough time for America when audiences went to see musicals on the big-screen to escape their harsh reality, the bits do what they're intended to do, and that's to entertain. Furthermore, there are things in the first hour and so minutes of the film that I do find to be admirable. The set-up for instance is an intriguing one. I'm not 100% sure if this is accurate to how people in theater at the time were threatened by "Talking Pictures" taking over the entertainment industry, but whether if this was an actual concern for the time or not, it still makes for an interesting story to keep your attention none the less. It's engaging and even a bit inspiring to see a person who has a passion for directing live shows to not give up because of a new art form that threatens his business, and is determined to find a way of working with the new medium while still being able to do what he admires doing. And when the going gets tough, he has to keep pushing harder and harder to the point where he has to use methods that are not usually of  common practice, which I feel is where the film's premise really started to get good. The concept of Cagney turning the dance studio into a Boot Camp for showgirls, as he's suspicious of who's selling him out to his rivals is a brilliant way of keeping the audiences hooked as it's building up to its three part musical finale! However, that part of the story only lasts for less than 20 minutes, which I feel could've worked for most of the run time for the film's story. And it gets even more degrading when this excellent set-up that can really play on the stress and insanity of doing nothing but working and dancing in a secluded environment for three long days is hardly played up. We get a 5 minute or so montage of how these girls go through their day in the studio, but aside from that, the film barley focuses on it. This scenario can even play out for some good comedy like in the rehearsal scenes that happen before Cagney's big decision, and yet the film throws those possibilities away like his bad prologue ideas.

 

I suppose the main reason why the film doesn't want fully exploit this fascinating scenario is because the film throws a ton of subplots at us. Apart from Cagney stressing about his new business as his ideas get stolen, we get our lead in the middle of a love triangle between his secretary (Joan Blondell) and her gold-digging roommate Vivian (Claire Dodd); a romance between a juvenile dancer (Dick Powell) and an ex dancer who turned secretary (Ruby Keeler) where they at first don't get along, but are going to be later seen happily singing together in the end; Cagney's ex-wife (Renee Whitney) returns for some unfinished business; and one too many bits of Cagney working with his overworked dance director (Frank McHugh). There's a little way too much going on. It can fill-up the 102 run time for this film, but since we have at least 30 minutes of musical numbers that don't tie into with how the characters are feeling, it's a little too much where the film pretty much rushes through most of it. That's not to say that I don't understand why most of these subplots exist because I do. Obviously there needs to be some kind of connection between Powell and Keeler since they're both shown to be singing at the end. And with all the suffering that Cagney's character goes through, there needs to be some kind of sweetness in his life that he's overlooking. But here’s the thing, since we're already seeing Cagney dealing with one too many issues already, story elements like the love triangle that he's in, his ex-wife returning, and the love relationship between Powell and Keeler could easily be cut out. I don't mind him having a love interest, but I think him ignoring her as she shows feelings for him is more than enough to cover it. I know that Powell and Keeler are talented stars and that they perform together in the end, but why need to give them a love relationship, just because the characters are playing a romantic couple when they sing on stage, that doesn't mean that the characters themselves have to be romantically involved (wouldn't it be more interesting if they didn't get along at all, and that Cagney has to try deal with them and convince them to stay since they're irreplaceable). On top of the fact that this film is convoluted with way too many things happening, half of the characters and performances, though not bad, are forgettable and not all that interesting. I thought Keeler was fun as the snooty secretary who keeps brushing Powell off (that is until she changes her appearance to hook-up with him). Joan Blondell plays her character as tough as Cagney is. And Frank McHugh delightfully plays out his stress of working in the business for laughs. But aside from them, there's nothing about the supporting characters or performances that truly stand-out. 

Now it’s important to know that before this film was made, Cagney was best known for playing the ultimate tough guy on-screen who would mercilessly shoot and rob people, and distastefully smashed a grapefruit into poor Mae Clarke's face. He did one or two comedies, but they were overshadowed by his wise guy image that shocked audiences at the time. I bring this up because the idea of casting an actor who usually gets typecasted as the bad-guy to be the leading man in a lighthearted and gay musical comedy where he's required to sing and dance seemed to be an odd choice. But in the end, it turned out that casting Cagney in his first musical picture became one of the best things that this film has going for it. They still maintain his tough guy approach by casting him as a curt and demanding boss who's determined to keep his business going for his love of showbiz, but they don't shy away from moments where he has to demonstrate what he wants his girls to do by dancing for them a little bit, or giving him scenes where has to act eccentric as he's coming up with one crazy idea after another. And with Cagney being the magnificent well rounded actor that he was throughout his film career, he plays out all those characteristics naturally. I never once got the impression that he's hamming-up any of this stuff out. Every ounce of stress and passion that comes out of Cagney's performance for this character makes me believe 100% that he genuinely loves showbiz and has been in the business for a long period of time, and is about to fall apart from all the pressure he's given to work with, where I find myself feeling nearly as stressed out as he is.

Upon watching this movie again after so long, one of the things in the movie that made my jaw-drop as much as seeing the musical numbers, and Cagney dancing and starring in his first musical is how suggestive and adult the humor in this film is. The film was made during the Pre-Code era for Hollywood when Hollywood films at the time wouldn't be as severely censored as they would be after July of 1934 until 1960 when the Production Code collapsed. When seen from a modern day perspective, it's not that shocking since there is a restraint to it, but for a film made in the early 30s, it's still quite surprising and at the time risqué. Hearing some of these subtle yet suggestive things that the characters say I couldn't believe I was hearing in a 30s film, and that I didn’t pick up on any of this when seeing this film through my Middle School and early High School days. One of the many examples that come to mind when discussing the film's dirty humor is in the scene when a cop walks into the studio as the girls are rehearsing, and reacts to them with a big grin on his face exclaiming "Seeing all these girls gives me a lot of ideas". The best of the film's adult sense of humor involve Joan Blondell's beef against Vivan for trying to steal her man. Blondell nearly calls her Miss Bitch on one occasion instead of Miss Rich. And given the character of Vivian's seductive nature, Blondell assures her that “As long as they have sidewalks, she's got a job"! But if you think the film is just raunchy with its dialogue, the film itself gives us some pretty naughty visuals as well. We get tons of that stuff in the musical sequences (that I promise will get too very soon), but there's enough perverted material to go in the bits with the characters interacting outside of singing, that again mostly involve Vivian. She at one point is seen reading a pornographic magazine about women titled "Naughty Stories". And towards the end of the scenes of the film’s story, she and a man are seen to be laughing as she's feeling him up in a way so sexual that if he wasn't wearing pants this scene would've been instantly cut! I shall not dare forget the bit when the film heads into gay humor (and I don't mean it by its original meaning) that involves Powell and McHugh holding each other closely as they sing "Ah, The Moon is Here" for the girls who are auditioning to sing with Powell, as Cagney just sits there and giggles at how dedicated these guys are of demonstrating what they want. But if any of this doesn't at all sound that dirty or anywhere near offensive to you modern folks out there reading this, there is at least one joke in the film that would certainly not fly by today's standards for how offensive it is. What is it you may ask? Well when Vivian (yes, it involves her again) tells Cagney about a book she read about women being slaves in Africa, he comes up with the idea for a prologue of having dancing girls dress up as slaves from Africa in blackface and have white-men hunt and capture them. I'm soooo happy that Cagney never took this idea into action! Just him telling her that idea alone is cringe worthy enough.

When we're in the studio with the characters, the film knows how to make the location visually interesting by creating a festive and hectic environment full of all kinds of different rehearsals and auditions going on at once. But they obviously don't hold the same candle of visual appeal as the sequences choreographed by Busby Berkeley, and this film offers 4 of them. The first one happens at around the 40 minute mark during a rehearsal scene for a song called "Sittin' on a Backyard Fence" that involves girls dressed up as cats dancing in an alley, as a romantic cat couple sing and cuddle together on top of a fence. Being that the song is in the middle of the film and is shorter when compared to the last three numbers presented together, this one seems to be overlooked by many. And I can understand why. It's definitely the weakest out of the four song and dance numbers that the film offers, but it's far from bad. The cat costumes on the girls look sexy. The song is catchy. The images of these cat-women dancing on top of a fence, and surrounding a wild clown-like face with a girl dancing on top of it are cool. Ruby Keeler and Billy Taft (who's revealing his legs just as much as the girls are) cutely work-off each other as they sing. And seeing a kid dressed up as a mouse as high jinx ensue him is adorable (Fun fact, that kid is a young Billy Barty, who you may know him as the tiny camera man Noodles in Weird Al Yankovic's "UHF", or the voice of the purple dragon Figment in the original version of the famous Epcot ride "Journey Into Imagination"). It may not be the film's strongest for how brief it is, but it certainly gives us a small taste for what lies in store for us much later on!

The closest that I ever came to noticing any of the film's vulgar material when I saw this as a young teen was the first of the three musical sequences that close the film "Honeymoon Hotel", given that it's about a couple (Powell and Keeler) that just want to have sex as things get in the way from their love, such as an unexpected check-in from their family, and little Barty stirring up trouble. The lyric that has always stayed with me since I saw first saw this sequence that winked at the naughty things  that go on in this hotel is "I'm the girl in charge of conversation, I hear things I wouldn't dare to tell". Now that I'm looking at this again, it’s much more suggestive than I remember it. One of the Hotel staff members sings “Bridal suites are never very idle"! The kid is gazing and chasing after sexy women. It ends with a couple lying in bed together with the covers over them, that then leads to an image of a magazine right beside them opening up to show a picture of a toddler, indicating that they’re having sex. Stuff like this was very ballsy at the time, not to mention that this was a film that families were allowed to see. However, as adult as the material in this sequence is, it still tones itself down enough for kids to easily miss out all the innuendos. If you're expecting to see showgirls dancing in this scene, you're not going to find any of that here. It's more heavy with singing and visuals, then it is with dancing. But the way it's staged, sung, and shot are so incredible that it makes up for it. As for the song, well I'll just say this about the songs in this film in a nutshell (with the exception of the audition song), they'll never leave you once you hear them for how catchy they all are. But if you were going to ask me which song is the one that will never ever leave your brain for how unbelievably catchy it is, its hands down this one. Why you may ask, because this film loves to milk the name of this fancy no tell Hotel as much as they possibly can!

Following the "Honeymoon Hotel" is the film's most iconic sequence "By a Waterfall", which is easily the most bizarre musical sequence that the film has offer. It starts out with a couple (played again by Powell and Keeler) sitting in a garden romancing until Powell falls asleep and dreams of his lover with a ton of bathing beauties by a waterfall, that then suddenly turns into a fantasy art deco swimming pool where the girls form patterns in the water as they swim together, and concludes with them emerging out of the water lined up on a swirling fountain. It's as surreal as it sounds, but by god is it beautifully breathtaking for how spectacular it is! Everything from the choreography, to the camera work, to the sets, to the costume designs, is ssssooooo dazzling to look at for how dreamlike and gigantic it all is!  I'll even go as far to say that this is Berkeley's best work! It's one of the definitive examples of what the art of film can do with a musical that the stage can't do! I did say that "Honeymoon Hotel" is the catchiest song in the film, but "By a Waterfall" is the most enchanting song in the picture. And do I need to talk about the sexual imagery that goes on in this sequence, I think the concept of women swimming in bathing suits (intentionally clothed for them to appear naked) up close and showing off their legs speaks for itself.

 

"By a Waterfall" became such a major staple in Hollywood's musical history that Disney included it for the first film that guests pass on "The Great Movie Ride". In my tribute to the ride, I said that I consider it to be the weakest part of the attractions (that involves animatronics) since we're just staring at lifeless Mannequins behind a scrim of Kaleidoscope patterns formed by the dancers from both the film and Busby Berkeley's other works. But when it first came out, it wasn't like that at all. The fountain that the girls were on originally spun around as the water installed inside it would sprinkle around in a neon-lit art deco room with three other mannequins standing on their own separate diving boards. But since the fountain effect was always breaking down, Disney decided to change the entire portion of the ride all together to give guests a false impression of what the rest of the ride was going to be like. But I'll give it this, at least it captures the spirit of the scene, it would just be more fitting for a Hollywood wax museum as opposed to a Disney attraction.

With a sequence as magical, gigantic, and awe-inspiring as "By a Waterfall", does the last musical portion of the film top it? No, but it makes for a fitting conclusion to the movie in terms of plot. Before the song begins, Cagney is fighting with an amateur performer who refuses to perform because of his stage fright. The two get into a struggle until Cagney falls onto the stage in-front of the audience, and signals the orchestra to play the film's final song "Shanghai Lil" with him as the leading man instead. The number is simply about a sailor looking for an Asian prostitute named Shanghai Lil (played by Keeler in yellow-face, that comes complete with a phony accent) in a brothel/opium den because he has legitimate feelings for her. The two eventually run into each other, and celebrate by dancing and marching away with the army. Exactly like the "Honeymoon Hotel", the premise has plenty of adult material surrounding it, but there's still a restraint to it to keep it from being too adult. And though Keeler made to look Asian isn't quite PC, I didn't think it was that offensive, I've seen much worse than this. Besides she doesn't take up as much screen-time as Cagney does, its Cagney who's the real star of this number, and his ability to sing and dance is phenomenal, which I bet really blew people in the cinemas away when they found out that a hard-boiled actor can also be musically gifted. He and Keeler seriously hit it home when they are seen tap dancing together on top of a bar and a table. Berkeley also doesn't stop hitting us with dozens of eye appealing visuals either. You'd think that the entirety of the number is just going to take place inside this sleazy joint, but no! The set for the brothel then becomes a large city full of marching soldiers that's as gloriously synchronized as the swimming for "By a Waterfall", that contains an overhead shot of soldiers holding giant cards that form the American flag with Franklin Roosevelt face attached to it, and them colliding close together to form into the NRA's Blue Eagle as they all fire their guns. Its adult rated, the song is unforgettable, it's patriotic, and James Cagney shines through and through exposing a hidden talent that will later be much more celebrated in a musical film that is ten times more patriotic than this sequence "Yankee Doodle Dandy" as George M. Cohen.

So all the musical scenes in the film directed by Busby Berkely are still as epic as I recall them to be, but there's one major problem, in the context of the story these scenes are made for a theater audience! When I talked about "By a Waterfall", I said that it exposes what the art of film can do with a musical that a stage can't achieve, but since all these numbers are supposed to take place on a stage in front of a live audience, half the effects and tricks they do make no sense within that context. How does a live show present bits of animation for a live audience (yeah, did I mention that these scenes have a few tiny bits of animation)? How can the theater audience see any of the creative close-ups, angles, and dissolves that you can only see on the big screen? And how could they have possibly installed such humongous sets to three small theater stages in such a small amount of time (and without even rehearsing on the theater stages with these sets mind you)? In terms of storytelling, this makes no lick of sense at all! But since all these scenes are so astounding, I'm too busy being blown away by what I'm seeing than I am trying to put myself in the position of how the audience in this film are able to see half of this stuff. It's simply one of those cases of suspension of disbelief at its strongest. I acknowledge the illogical aspect of it, and don't mind at all pointing them out, but at the end of the day, I don't find myself caring or being bothered about its factual errors for how grand they are! And apparently neither does the majority of people that saw this movie.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

The film isn't as flawless as many fans and historians make it out to be, because in terms of plot there's too much going on, and most of the characters that we spend time with aren't all that interesting. However, as weak as it is in those aspects of the film, there's more than enough great material in the film to overlook it. The set-up is still entertaining and captivating. Cagney gives the same amount passion to his performance as his character's passion for directing live shows. Blondell, Keeler, and McHugh though not as charismatic as Cagney is are still excellent performances. The film's vulgar style and sense of humor is impressively ahead of its time. And the musical sequences directed and choreographed by Busby Berkeley are ultimate showstoppers! The Busby Berkeley scenes are obviously the parts of the film that make the film so famous and widely recognized, and can be equally enjoyed on their own. But the bits without the characters performing, though not as epic and flawed in places, are still just as much fun, especially when you have Cagney in the center of it all!

G.I. BLUES

I just want to announce that I'm discontinuing my tradition of reviewing Elvis films on the day that he was born and the day that he died due scheduling purposes and time. I still plan to review his films in the future, I just don't have the time to fit two of his movies a year in my schedule, especially with considering the negative reputation that his films received. I know I said in the past that I'd also  documentaries about him, and some of his filmed concerts as well which are far from bad from his formulaic films, and that half of them are under an hour long; but once again, I still feel like putting the series to rest so that I can have time to review other films. I do heavily admire Elvis since he is personally my favorite artist of all-time in spite of what others may think. I even make it a tradition that I would listen to his music and watch one of his concerts or films during my down-time on both his Birthday and the day of his death in memory of this music legend. But that doesn't mean that I have to completely obsess over him. I'm not the type of Elvis fan that feels the need to buy almost every piece of merchandise of his that I can get my hands on; or listen to his music on a day to daily basis. I haven't even seen most of his films either, and while I expect the song portions to be the saving grace for at least half of these movies, I'm not expecting the content or even Elvis' performance itself to be that great either, that will also more than likely lead to criticisms that may not be appropriate to point out on the days that we're supposed to look back and remember him fondly.

But before I put an official cap to this review tradition, I'm going to review one more film of his for his Birthday that just so happens to be an Elvis film that I would find myself re-watching and remembering the most when I was a young Elvis fan, which was...

When Elvis was filming "King Creole", he was drafted into the army, and was originally going to be positioned as an entertainer for the soldiers. Elvis turned down the offer because we wanted to be treated like a regular soldier so that he can serve his country faithfully, and only asked to be given a 60-day extension from his draft board to finish filming the film before his induction. The board accepted his request, and after giving "King Creole" his all before being sent away, Elvis was officially inducted into the army and served for his country for two years. Eight months before being discharged, Producer Hal Wallis visited him in Germany to show him a script for his next film "G.I. Blues", while also managing to film some on location scenes of "Germany" without Elvis' presence, and used a double for Elvis who also served in the army as a First Class Private named Tom Creel. After given a bit of break when Elvis was discharged, it was back to work for him and filming for his scenes began. Though the Elvis film formula didn't exactly pick-up until sometime after "Blue Hawaii" since the success of that film is what lead to Elvis from doing less serious and challenging roles; "G.I. Blues" in the very least was the start of that formula and the first time he collaborated with director Norman Taurog, who would go on to direct 7 Elvis films after this (including "Blue Hawaii"). And despite my nostalgia for it and how this film is the start of the trend that Elvis would become a victim to, is it a good movie; ON WITH THE REVIEW!

Elvis stars as G.I. Tulsa McLean who's stationed in Germany with his two friends and fellow musicians Rick (James Douglas) and Cookie (Robert Ivers) that serve and perform for their troops at Gasthauses and the army base as they flirt with women, and con their sergeant (Arch Johnson) for money in hopes for them to run a club in America when they get out of the service. In order to raise more money, the soldier's bet on Tulsa to hook up with a hard to get German club dancer named Lili (Juliet Prowse) and stay in her apartment alone until morning before the week is out. Things start off rocky for Tulsa to woo her, but she eventually comes around to his charm, and Tulsa begins to start having a legitimate affection towards her as he starts to feel guilty for taking the bet.

So yes, incase if you haven't noticed, the film's plot is as basic, simple, and predictable as a romantic plot can get, with little to no actual surprises. The only real surprise is how the film manages to rush through Lili finding out about the bet and having the two break-up and make-up in about 10 minutes or less at the very same time and place, which could've easily been the entire 3rd act of the film! And that's funny because with a film titled "G.I. Blues" that has Elvis in the army after he served for his country and starred in a dark and gritty musical film, you'd expect this film to have a bit of an edge to it, whether it be Elvis dealing with post-war stress, or in the very least having a few scenes that deal with the harsh realities of war. But this film is as far away from that kind of drama as Germany is far away from Memphis, Tennessee. Honestly, we see very little of Elvis and the other characters part-take in actual military activity. We see Elvis March, wear a uniform along with his fellow troops, and fire a tank (I'm not sure why, since there's no fighting. I guess it was because the people behind the film wanted a scene with army tanks in action since the army actually lent some of their vehicles for the picture); but that's pretty much it. We're mostly just seeing Elvis and the soldiers make bets, goof around, sing at local places, explore the sights of Germany, and hit on the girls. It's highly obvious that the reason why they wanted to make a film with Elvis in the army is to simply bank off the fact that he just came back from the service, and therefore would gain audiences attention to see this film.

However, just because the plot is clichéd and that the film doesn't really take the G.I. part of the film seriously, that doesn't automatically make it a bad film. Much like when I reviewed "Holiday Inn" that wasn't heavy on plot, but is still highly enjoyable for the casting, performances, songs, look, and having plenty of charm and fun to it; this Elvis film falls under that same kind of category of musical film entertainment. Unlike some of Elvis' later films, Elvis doesn't seem to be half-baking his performance, or not having any fun. You can plainly see from start to finish that he enjoys playing up his cool Elvis charm as he flirts with the ladies, and sings and dances. But the scenes that I find to be his best is how he remains cool but funny at the same time when he reacts and handles tough situations. You'll have his moments when he acts playfully cool and suave when he hustles money out of the sergeant who's always nosing into his business, as he makes snarky remarks about his superior behind his back. But scenes when his friend Cookie foolishly interferes with his chances of hooking up with Lili, or when he has to watch over a baby for a friend, where he’s shown holding himself back from losing his chill image are incredibly priceless, which shows that Elvis can play off the comedy surrounding the film extraordinary well. And while Elvis enjoys playing up all the things that we enjoy about him, just like in all his previous films he doesn't lack the emotion that's needed for a scene when he starts to legitimately love the girl. He brings so much subtlety to the character's emotions of being both happy and upset, that you completely buy that he is torn about using such a nice girl for his own selfish needs. 

But it's not Elvis alone who we feel for, because Juliet Prowse comes across as just as charming as he is. Sure she looks beautiful, and speaks in that sexy German accent, but beauty of course isn't everything. You need to have a love interest who is as equally charming and interesting as your protagonist otherwise it doesn’t work, and she most certainly has all of those aspects. She can be tough, tricky, and serious to show that she is a woman who has her limitations, and is not to be toyed with it. But as we get to know her more, and see her relationship with Elvis blossom, she can surprisingly be very kind, sweet, and even giddy. And the chemistry that she shares with Elvis is absolutely adorable. Despite knowing where everything is going to lead up too, I was so attached to the relationship between these two for how they interact with one another that I didn't care. Personally, out of all the love interests that Elvis has encountered in his previous films, this was the relationship that I was totally on board with. Debra Paget in "Love Me Tender" was forgettable. Dolores Hart in "Loving You" and "King Creole" is cute, but not what I'd call special in terms of a relationship. And Judy Tyler in "Jailhouse Rock" was great, but Elvis' character was just a little too unlikable for me to say that they should be together. With Elvis and Prowse on the other hand, with the exception of the rushed climax, everything else regarding Elvis' connection to Lili all comes off as natural as they both bring such glamorous performances to such likable characters. I still stand-by "King Creole" as being Elvis' best film, but so far this is the best Elvis film to carry out its romantic element so beautifully.

Since Prowse is best known for her dancing, she's given two scenes of her showing off her skills where she manages to light up the single stage setting with her moves, costumes, and the beautiful choice of the colors for the stage lights shining on her. However, as grand as her scenes are, they don't hold the same candle for when Elvis starts singing and shaking. The film is as flooded with so many songs as his previous three films were, and while many of them come off as pointless and even out of nowhere, they're all still very enjoyable. Being that the film is army based, it would be more than appropriate to give Elvis an army song to sing, but instead of getting one, we get three. The first of the three is the film's title song where he performs it with his band at a Gasthause, that's has an excellent combination of rock and the type of music that you'd hear at an army base, and carries the same kind of catchy and satirical lyrics that you'd hear in the song "Jailhouse Rock". This is also the first song sequence that Elvis gets in the film which is the perfect way to start out the musical bits. It is however not the first time he sings in the movie since we see him in the shower briefly singing "What's She Really Like", but it doesn't necessarily count as a musical scene since it's sung in less than a minute in a very casual way, and doesn't really have any of the elements that make it become a musical sequence. The second army song is "Frankfort Special", that Elvis sings on the train with his army buddies after accepting the bet. It doesn't quite have that army sound like the song "G.I. Blues" did since its more rock and blues based, but the lyrics revolve around the soldiers heading to a new part of Germany for them to serve and march, so it does count. The song itself is just as catchy as the film's title song, and is highly energizing for its rhythm, choir, and the feeling of riding on a fast train with Elvis thanks to its setting, shots of the train, and the horns in the background mimicking the sound of a train whistle. The final army song that Elvis sings is "Didja' Ever" that's also the last song of the movie where Elvis sings at a show held at the army base that has more of an army tune when compared to the previous song, and is an excellent song to close the film with, despite the bit of Elvis walking and singing to the audience looking a little too similar to the scene in "Loving You" when he sings "Got A Lot Of Livin' To Do" a second time, which also happens to be the last song of that movie.

Outside of the other songs that I've mentioned, the only other rock tune that Elvis sings is "Shopping Around" when he performs it at the club where Lili works at, that's rockin and toe-tapping, but also cute and romantic. Most of the other songs in the film are love ballads. The first one that comes to mind is "Pocketful of Rainbows" that's beautifully chilling and even atmospheric for how sweetly Elvis and Prowse cuddle with each other inside the sky-rail and pass by gorgeous scenery as Elvis sings, and a dubbed Prowse sings the choir of it. And before I tackle on the rest of the songs in this movie, I just to take this moment to point out how gorgeous the film looks. It's nowhere near big or epic, if anything it looks like almost any other average comedy or musical that you'd see from that era, but it's still very appealing to look at. We do get some wonderful on location shots of Germany; and a strong sense of patriotism for when we enter the Military camps, and see tanks and American flags appear on-screen. The film also has some nice costume designs for the uniforms that we see the soldier's wear, and the dresses that Prowse and the girls in the city wear for them to stand-out and mash well with the rest of the film's art direction. But the best scenes that make the film so nice to look at that it helps add to the festive and innocent tone that the film creates are the sets for the musical numbers, such as the Gasthause, the army stage, the clubs and restaurants, and the puppet theater. They look so pretty and colorful from the lighting, and the way that they are painted and designed that as you watch Elvis put on a show as people clap or dine, you yourself wish to be in that particular environment for how fun it looks. And that's not to say that these set-pieces don't look like sets at times, because they do, but that still doesn't ruin the visual interest for those scenes.

Now getting back to the songs. I talked about the song "Pocketful of Rainbows" being both a beautiful love-ballad and scene, but the others in that category, though not bad and are nicely sung, aren't too memorable. "Tonight Is So Right For Love" for when Elvis serenades Lili at a restaurant is the most forgettable tune in the movie, as the scene itself feels a bit redundant given that we just saw Elvis not less than 10 minutes ago perform for Lili at the club and playing a guitar. And the song "Doing The Best I Can" that Elvis performs after "G.I. Blues" at the Gasthause is nothing special, that even gets interrupted by a G.I. (played by the same actor who portrayed the rude old looking teenager that fought Elvis in "Loving You") who plays a newly recorded version "Blue Suede Shoes" on the jukebox (that actually has Elvis' name labeled underneath the song) that breaks into a riot. I guess the film itself got so bored with that number for how bland it was, that they needed something to liven the scene up. The rest of the songs that Elvis performs in the film are songs that he sings for children. He sings a lullaby called "Big Boots" to a baby, which always brings a smile on my face for how sweet and calmly Elvis sings to the baby, that's carried by such a heartwarming melody and tender lyrics that it sends the levels of cuteness in the scene through the roofs. But the most memorable scene and song that involves Elvis singing to children goes to the "Wooden Heart" number, where Elvis takes part in a puppet show and interacts with a sweet little female puppet in front of a crowd of children. Apart from the song itself being one Elvis' most notable hits, the scene itself has just the perfect balance of charm, innocence, and humor for it to be such an endearing scene.

 

When it comes to the cast supporting our two lovers they're in the long run hit and miss. There are some fun characters that are fun to be around for how comical they are such as Cookie who screws things-up, and their strict sergeant who meddles into their business but always gets the short end of the stick when he wants his cut. But then you have the other G.I. Rick who leaves little to no impression on you; and the girl's that Elvis' friends meet who only exist to be an obstacle or a plot device. That’s not to say the love subplots with the G.I.'s isn't cute at times, because Robert Ivers' chemistry with Letícia Román as the Greek woman Tina is nice. It's just that these love subplots overall aren't as interesting or charming as the film's main love story, especially the one regarding Rick and his ex-girlfriend who he's been trying to locate for a long period of time.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

If you're seeking for an Elvis film that's not heavy with plot, but has plenty of entertainment value to it, then "G.I. Blues" is a must see in that category. It doesn't tackle on any of the dark, challenging, and serious stuff that Elvis has done in musical films before this one, but it's still a fun and innocent film, with plenty of charm, humor, eye-appealing visuals, and catchy songs which all in the end comes off as great entertainment!

ERNEST GOES TO JAIL

Back when I started reviewing the Ernest series, I mentioned that I only had two Ernest movies as a kid. I owned "Ernest Saves Christmas" on DVD, which I never finished watching for being too silly and dull; and the other was a VHS copy that I never bothered viewing after being turned off by the other Ernest film, until now, that film is...

Even though I didn't wish to waste my time viewing a film that would probably bore and annoy me at a young age, I was still curious to know how someone as childishly goofy as Ernest can get thrown into jail in the first place, and what his prison experience is going to be like. And after giving his Christmas movie a chance, which I surprisingly found myself liking in-spite of it not being a very good movie; it's now finally time to give this one a fair shot too. Did I do the right thing by avoiding this film as a kid, or is there some good in it to make it an entertaining if far from a good movie? ON WITH THE REVIEW!

Ernest (Jim Varney) works as a night custodian in a bank who dreams of one day becoming a clerk, but doesn't seem to have a chance upon getting there since his boss (Dan Leegant) is near fed-up with his disastrous mishaps. Upon getting a summons to jury duty, Ernest gets excited to be taking part in determining if a criminal is innocent or guilty until things take an unusual turn for him. The jury is sent to tour the prison for where a murder took place, but Ernest foolishly leaves the group where he  finds himself to be knocked unconscious by an inmate on death-row named Nash who looks exactly like him (also played by Varney), and wakes up wearing Nash's prison clothes as everybody around him believes that he's the cold hearted criminal who practically runs the joint. As Ernest is being forced by two of his cellmates to behave like Nash, while he tries to find a way to escape; Nash now taking Ernest's place plans to rob the bank where he works at.

When comparing this to the previous Ernest film "Ernest Saves Christmas", it's nice to see a film being centered on his character again instead of the supporting characters. But for some odd reason, he still lacks the charm and endearing qualities that he had in "Ernest Goes to Camp". He's still fun to watch, his personality is likable, but I hardly ever felt emotionally connected to him at all. He has a dream of becoming a bank clerk, but unlike how Ernest's dream of becoming a camp counselor was a goal that you felt attached too since it was the film's focus, his goal here is hardly ever played up and barely addressed again after he mentions it. There's not even a moment where I found myself feeling sorry for him. Not because it was predictable, but because of how rushed it all is. When things went completely south for Ernest when he went to camp, we had a brutal scene of him getting beaten-up that proceeds with a song that's so depressing that it crushes my soul for every time it plays. And though Ernest didn't have a single emotional scene when he saved Christmas, we in the very least still had an emotional connection to the character of Santa who's trying to do right for the holiday after behaving so selfishly about his job, or else Christmas will be lost forever (weeeell, at least the Santa part of Christmas). But in this film, we get nothing, which is disappointing. You'd think for a film titled "Ernest Goes to Jail", we’d feel some kind of sympathy for Ernest when we see him behind bars whether it was consistent, or in one scene as depressing as the "Gee I'm Glad It's Raining" scene.

Though to be fair, emotion is not the film's main goal; the film’s primary goal is to entertain you by throwing as many visual gags as possible through a very simple and basic story-line, much like in his TV Specials. And as much as I miss those little sentimental elements that the previous Ernest films had, this film is by far the most entertaining one of the three. Right from the opening credits sequence that plays itself out like the opening credits to a Bond film (just with a cartoony prison setting to a silly rock song), I knew that this film was going to be different from the other Ernest films. For at least 80% of the film, the film is trying to hit you with one gag or crazy situation after another, and though there are plenty of unfunny bits that are dull, gross, and awkward, there are just as many enjoyable comedic bits that will surprise you, give you a laugh, and at most entertain you. A lot of the jokes and scenarios in the film are far-fetched and make no sense, but that's part of the enjoyment for this film. It's the same kind of outlandish ludicrous environment that you would suspend your disbelief for like in a Zucker Brothers film, or "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure", just not as funny as those films are, but not as annoying and offensive as those terrible (I think) satire films by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. I really did get more laughs out of this film when compared to his other films, and even his TV Specials for that matter for how the film doesn't run out of steam with its jokes, energy, and visual sense of humor. The film itself is also by far the most visually interesting film out of all the Ernest films. Not just for its gags, but also for some of the locations we visit. The prison that Ernest is locked in for instance looks like a terrible place to be in, that feels claustrophobic for how exaggeratedly closed in everything is, but for some reason the person who did the interior design for it seemed to have been an expert at making a fun-houses for how colorful and cartoon like it is. Even Ernest's house that was an interesting but watered-down knock-off of Pee-Wee's house from “Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" in "Ernest Saves Christmas" is more fun to look at in this film, for the many creative inventions that Ernest uses to get through his daily routines, as he does some very out of the norm things without using them. It's still an obvious knock-off to Pee-Wee's house, but still as cool and insane of a place to visit. And if you think his house is loaded with surprises, well wait till you see his next door neighbor’s house. As for the effects, they're just as hit and miss as the jokes in this film; some are decent, as others are unbelievably cheesy. But even the cheesiness for these effects in my opinion adds to the visual appeal for this film, the same way how the cheesy effects make the Adam West Batman series funnier.

What I also feel that this film does better when compared to the other Ernest films is the villain. The villains in the previous two Ernest films were not only dull and forgettable, but you knew that they were going to be outsmarted by Ernest for how weak and clichéd they are. With Nash on the other hand, though I'm not going to act like that I didn't think Ernest wasn’t going to stand a chance against him, he's still a much more memorable and intimidating villain when compared to the others. What's obviously memorable about him is that he's also played by Varney, where it's cool to see him take on a villain role in the same film where he's mugging it up as a heroic childish redneck with a heart of gold. Only instead of him playing his villain role for laughs, like say having a Saturday Morning thug-like voice, or acting as over the top nasty as Varney’s character Uncle Lloyd Worrell, he plays his character out like a badass. Okay, I'm not going to act like that he's one of the scariest villains to appear in a family film, but he's still pretty intimidating for how no-nonsense this guy is, and how he's always threatening his inmates and thinking of what crime that he should pull next when he's out. And now that he has control over Ernest's life since he's living under his identity, it is pretty unsettling to see a hardcore criminal have the advantage to harm the people that Ernest knows if he felt like it, let alone destroy his life style that may possibly not be the same if poor Ernest ever escapes.



If you read my reviews on the other Ernest films, then you may know that I wasn't a fan of Gailard Sartain and the people they pair him up with for each film. From chefs who were constantly annoying, to storage agents that were just as irritating but were occasionally saved by some of the visual gags, they were usually the most insufferable set of characters for these movies. And as soon as I discovered that Sartain is being paired up with the same actor who played the other storage agent from "Ernest Saves Christmas", I was ready to hate them. But as much as I wanted too, I found myself being less annoyed by them and more entertained. I suppose the reason for that is because Sartain is acting less obnoxious than he did before, which makes him tolerable, and that the jokes and scenarios that they're given is a little funnier than it was in the last two film installment involving the Ernest P. Worrell character. It's just a real shame that the other supporting characters aren't as fun to watch as them because they are so bland! Like on the same level of bland as the supporting characters in "Ernest Goes to Camp". The performances aren't terrible, but they aren't anything special or memorable either. But in the very least, I’ll take serviceable over annoying any time in these films.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

The best way to describe this film as a whole is to picture "Muppet's Most Wanted" combined with the same kind of zaniness as "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" and the Zucker Brothers films, just without it being as funny, or charming, but still highly entertaining to the max. I don’t highly recommend it to an adult crowd since the film is clearly aiming more towards kids, but if you’re curious in seeing an Ernest film and just want to be entertained, than this is by far the best option to choose from.