''Girl Happy'' is a 1965 American

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

and beach party film starring

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

in his eighteenth feature. The movie won a fourth place prize Laurel Award in the category Top Musical of 1965. It featured the song " Puppet on a String", which reached #14 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Hot 100, #3 on the Adult Contemporary chart and in Canada, and was certified Gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

Plot

Nightclub singer Rusty Wells (Presley) and his band have just closed their engagement at the club where they work in Chicago and are about ready to leave for their annual spring break trip to Fort Lauderdale, Florida—that is, until the club's owner, Big Frank ( Harold Stone), extends their stay at his club, foiling the band's plans for some sun and fun in Florida. At the same time, Big Frank's daughter, college student Valerie (

Shelley Fabares Michele Ann Marie "Shelley" Fabares (; born January 19, 1944) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her television roles as Mary Stone on the sitcom ''The Donna Reed Show'' (1958–1963) and as Christine Armstrong on the sitcom ...

) also takes her spring break in Lauderdale with her friends, which worries her father to no end. So at the suggestion of Rusty (who sees this situation as an opportunity for him and the guys to make Lauderdale after all), Big Frank hires Rusty and his band to make the trip to Lauderdale to look after Valerie to make sure she stays out of trouble. But the task isn't easy because Rusty and the guys struggle to keep sex-crazed Italian exchange student Romano (Fabrizio Mioni) away from Valerie, while at the same time Rusty has to keep explaining the situation to his date, a good-time girl named Deena (

Mary Ann Mobley Mary Ann Mobley (February 17, 1937 – December 9, 2014) was an American actress, television personality, and Miss America 1959. Career Mobley was born in 1937 in Biloxi, Mississippi. After her reign as Miss America 1959, Mobley embarked on a c ...

), who has no patience for guys who stand her up or keep her waiting. Rusty's watch over Valerie eventually leads to the two of them falling in love (after Rusty walks Valerie to her motel room, serenading her with " Puppet on a String"). However, after Big Frank reveals to Valerie that he is paying Rusty to be her chaperone, Valerie becomes angry and devastated to the point of going to a local nightclub, getting drunk, and starting a riot, landing everyone there in jail. When Big Frank arrives in Lauderdale to spring Valerie from jail, he is angry with Rusty at first. But after he sees that Valerie has fallen in love with Rusty, Big Frank makes amends with Rusty, allowing Rusty and Valerie to rekindle their relationship.

Cast

as Rusty Wells *

as Valerie Frank * Harold Stone as Big Frank * Gary Crosby as Andy *

Joby Baker Joseph N. "Joby" Baker (born March 26, 1934) is a Canadian-born actor and painter. Career Baker was born in Montreal, Quebec. An early role in his career was in a 1958 episode of ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show'', "Ronnie Makes A Recor ...

as Wilbur *

Jimmy Hawkins James F. Hawkins is an American former actor, producer and writer. He is best-known for his TV roles in shows like ''Annie Oakley'', ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet'', '' Leave It to Beaver'', ''Petticoat Junction'', and ''The Donna Reed Sho ...

as Doc *

Nita Talbot Nita Talbot (born Anita Sokol) (born August 8, 1930) is an American actress. She received an Emmy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for the 1967–68 season of '' Hogan's Heroes''. Film Born in New York City on Au ...

as Sunny Daze *

as Deena Shepherd *

Fabrizio Mioni Fabrizio Mioni (September 23, 1930 – 8 June 2020) was an Italian actor. He appeared in the films '' Roland the Mighty'', ''Hercules'', '' The Blue Angel'', '' Get Yourself a College Girl'', '' Girl Happy'', '' The Venetian Affair'', ''The Secre ...

as Romano Orlada * Peter Brooks as Brentwood Von Durgenfeld * Jackie Coogan as Sgt. Benson *

John Fiedler John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

as Mr. Penchill * Chris Noel as Betsy *

Gail Gilmore Gail Gilmore (born Gail Gerber, October 4, 1937 – March 2, 2014) was a Canadian television and film actress and ballet dancer. She was from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She was sometimes known as Gail Gibson. Dancing career In 1952, at age 15, ...

as Nancy (credited as Gale Gilmore) *

Beverly Adams Beverly Sassoon (born ) is a Canadian-American actress and author. Early life Adams was born in Alberta, Canada, but was a citizen of the United States. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Adams. Raised Roman Catholic, she moved with her ...

as Girl #2 (uncredited) *

Dan Haggerty Daniel Francis Haggerty (November 19, 1942 – January 15, 2016) was an American actor who was best known for playing the title role in the film and television series ''The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams''. Early life Haggerty's birthplace i ...

as Charlie (uncredited) * Red West as Extra in the Kit Kat Club (uncredited)

Production notes

Although MGM presented ''Girl Happy'' as a beach party film ("Elvis brings his beat to the beach!", "Elvis jumps with the campus crowd to make the beach 'ball' bounce!") and while Presley had appeared shirtless in prior films, he would never appear without a shirt again for the remainder of his professional career. For ''Girl Happy'', Presley wears long sleeve shirts for most of the film, even while water-skiing. Filming began on June 22, 1964 and finished in late July. Even though the film is set in Fort Lauderdale, Presley did not film any scenes in the city. Primary shooting was done at the MGM studios, and the beach scenes were filmed in Southern California. Only second unit filming was done in Fort Lauderdale. Alternate titles considered were ''The Only Way to Love'' and ''Girl Crazy''. Joe Pasternak had produced the similar spring break movie ''

Where the Boys Are ''Where the Boys Are'' is a 1960 American CinemaScope comedy film directed by Henry Levin and starring Connie Francis, Dolores Hart, Paula Prentiss, George Hamilton, Yvette Mimieux, Jim Hutton, and Frank Gorshin. It was written by George ...

'', also set in Fort Lauderdale in 1960.

, and Chris Noel each appeared in a beach party movie before ''Girl Happy'': Fabares in ''

Ride the Wild Surf ''Ride the Wild Surf'' is a 1964 American romantic drama film. It was filmed in 1963 and distributed in 1964. Unlike the beach party movies of the era, this was a departure from the typical Hollywood approach to surfing as it was a drama, not a ...

'', and both Mobley and Noel in ''

Get Yourself a College Girl ''Get Yourself a College Girl'', also released as ''The Swingin' Set'', is a 1964 Metrocolor film comedy in the style of a beach party movie. The plot involves a college co-ed who tries to balance her time writing songs and dealing with her pub ...

''. Shelley Fabares sings "Spring Fever" in a duet with Elvis, and Nita Talbot sings the song "Read All About It". This was the first of three movies in which Fabares co-starred with Elvis.

Soundtrack

Reception

Howard Thompson of ''The New York Times'' wrote that the film "meanders familiarly" and that "the steady stream of tunes, as rhythmical as they are unoriginal" were its "saving grace." ''Variety'' called it "another musical winner," adding "A story line unburdened by anything but lightness and a dozen song numbers belted out in singer's customary style provide the type of pleasant fare which Presley's fans have come to expect." Margaret Harford of the ''Los Angeles Times'' called the film "another 'beach musical' that looks livelier and fresher than most." ''

The Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...

'' called it "very much a standard Presley vehicle. In other words, Elvis is the only really interesting thing about it."

Home media

The film made its home video debut in 1988, being released on VHS. When it was reissued on VHS in 1997, the song "Startin' Tonight" was deleted. It was eventually reinstated back into the film when it made its DVD debut in 2007.

DVD reviews

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 a
DVD Talk
September 11, 2007.

by Mike Noyes a
The DVD Lounge
08.07.2007.

References

External links

For Elvis Fans Only
Website decitated to Elvis Presley's Movies. * * * {{Boris Sagal Films directed by Boris Sagal 1965 films 1965 musical comedy films 1965 romantic comedy films American musical comedy films American romantic comedy films American romantic musical films Films set in Fort Lauderdale, Florida Films set in Chicago Films shot in California Films shot in Florida 1960s English-language films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Films produced by Joe Pasternak Films scored by Georgie Stoll 1960s American films