Kissin' Cousins
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''Kissin' Cousins'' is a 1964 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 Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
Panavision Panavision Inc. is an American motion picture equipment company (law), company founded in 1954 specializing in cameras and photographic lens, lenses, based in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, Woodland Hills, California. Formed by Robert Gottschalk a ...
Metrocolor
comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...
directed by Gene Nelson and starring
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
. Written by Gerald Drayson Adams and Gene Nelson, the film featured Presley playing two roles: an Air Force officer, with dark hair, and his look-alike hillbilly distant cousin, with blond hair.


Plot

The U.S. Federal Government has run into a dead end trying to negotiate the lease of mountaintop land owned by Pappy Tatum, in the
Great Smoky Mountains The Great Smoky Mountains (, ''Equa Dutsusdu Dodalv'') are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains and form part of the Blue Ridg ...
of
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
, for use as an
ICBM An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range (aeronautics), range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more Thermonuclear weapon, thermonuclear warheads). Conven ...
missile base. U.S. Army General Alvin Donford gives Captain Robert Salbo seven days to secure the lease, or face permanent assignment to Greenland. After a quick computer search of military records, Salbo requests that U.S. Air Force pilot Second Lt. Josh Morgan, born elsewhere in the Great Smoky Mountains, be assigned as his number two. When they arrive in Tennessee with a small platoon, dark-haired Josh is surprised to meet his look-alike third cousin Jodie Tatum, a blond hillbilly. Josh also meets his two beautiful country cousins, Azalea and Selena, who compete to win his affections. Josh eventually chooses Azalea and pairs off Selena with his friend, Master Sgt. William Bailey. Jodie, on the other hand, falls for Private Midge Riley, a beautiful but fiery soldier. There are also a group of 13 mountain maidens called the Kittyhawks who create havoc when they set their sights on the marriage-eligible soldiers. Josh persuades Pappy Tatum to lease the mountaintop to the government for a monthly payment of $1,000 ($ today) as long as an access road is built from the far side and the military provide security to prevent government employees from accessing Tatum's side – which will prevent " revenoors" from interfering with Pappy's moonshining.


Cast

*
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
as Josh Morgan / Jodie Tatum (
double role A dual role (also known as a double role) refers to one actor playing two roles in a single production. Dual roles (or a larger number of roles for an actor) may be deliberately written into a script, or may instead be a choice made during produc ...
) * Arthur O'Connell as Pappy Tatum * Glenda Farrell as Ma Tatum *
Jack Albertson Harold "Jack" Albertson (June 16, 1907 – November 25, 1981) was an American actor, comedian, dancer and singer who also performed in vaudeville. Albertson was a Tony, Oscar, and Emmy winning actor, which ranks him among a rare stature of 24 ...
as
Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
Robert Salbo * Pamela Austin as Selena Tatum * Cynthia Pepper as Midge (a WAC PFC) * Yvonne Craig as Azalea Tatum * Donald Woods as
General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
Alvin Donford * Tommy Farrell as Master Sgt. William George Bailey * Beverly Powers as Trudy (a Kittyhawk) * Hortense Petra as Dixie (a newspaper reporter) * Robert Stone as General's Aide *
Teri Garr Terry Ann Garr (December 11, 1944 – October 29, 2024), known as Teri Garr, was an American actress. Known for her comedic roles in film and television in the 1970s and 1980s, she often played women struggling to cope with the life-changing ex ...
as one of The Kittyhawks (uncredited)


Production, release and box office

While set in the
Great Smoky Mountains The Great Smoky Mountains (, ''Equa Dutsusdu Dodalv'') are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains and form part of the Blue Ridg ...
, the film was shot in the Los Angeles area, both on set at
MGM Studios Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American film and television production and distribution company headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. Metro ...
and outdoors in the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles; some filming took place in
Big Bear Lake Big Bear Lake is a reservoir in the Western United States, western United States, located in the San Bernardino Mountains in San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County, California. It is a snow and rain-fed lake, having no other m ...
. The film was produced by Sam Katzman for Four-Leaf Productions, and was distributed in the United States by
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
. The film was released in the United States on March 6, 1964 and reached #11 on the ''Variety'' National Box Office Chart, earning $3 million, and finished at #26 on the year end list of the top-grossing movies of 1964. Presley's film, ''
Viva Las Vegas ''Viva Las Vegas'' is a 1964 American rock and roll musical film directed by George Sidney, written by Sally Benson, choreographed by David Winters, and starring Elvis Presley, Ann-Margret, Cesare Danova, William Demarest and Nicky Blair ...
'', filmed during the summer of 1963 before ''Kissin Cousins'', was released after ''Kissin' Cousins''. Both Arthur O'Connell and
Jack Albertson Harold "Jack" Albertson (June 16, 1907 – November 25, 1981) was an American actor, comedian, dancer and singer who also performed in vaudeville. Albertson was a Tony, Oscar, and Emmy winning actor, which ranks him among a rare stature of 24 ...
were cast alongside Presley, thus providing the film with 'double-barreled curmudgeons,' per Variety. Sam Katzman produced an unsuccessful 1965
MGM Television Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television, formerly known as MGM/UA Television, is the television studio arm of the American film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), specializing in broadcast syndication and the production and distribution of television sh ...
television pilot A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...
starring
Edd Byrnes Edward Byrne Breitenberger (July 30, 1932 – January 8, 2020), known professionally as Edd Byrnes, was an American actor, best known for his starring role in the television series '' 77 Sunset Strip.'' He also was featured in the 1978 film '' Gr ...
for the NBC television network. In 1988, ''Kissin' Cousins'' made its home video debut, released on VHS. When it was reissued on VHS in 1997, the song "Smokey Mountain Boy" was deleted. It was later restored to the film when it made its DVD debut in 2007.


Soundtrack

The song " Kissin' Cousins", which was performed as the movie's finale, reached #12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 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 ...
. There are two different versions, or arrangements, of the song, both performed by Presley: one of which played over the opening and closing credits, and the other of which was performed by both Presley characters as a "duet" in the final scene.


Reception

Howard Thompson of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' wrote, "With the flavor of '' Fun in Acapulco''—and that it was—fairly fresh, Elvis Presley's movie status takes a nosedive in his latest, ''Kissin' Cousins'' ... Sam Katzman's production is tired, strained and familiar stuff, even with double-barreled Presley." '' Variety'' wrote, "This new Elvis Presley concoction is a pretty dreary effort, one that certainly won't replenish the popularity of Sir Swivel. Presley needs—and merits—more substantial material than this if his career is to continue to flourish as in the past." One of the review's primary criticisms was "the business of bursting into song out of context in the middle of a scene. This used to be reasonably acceptable to audiences, but now it is beginning to evolve into an anachronism." Margaret Harford in the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' called the film "a frisky mixture of '' Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' and ''
Li'l Abner ''Li'l Abner'' was a satirical American comic strip that appeared in multiple newspapers in the United States, Canada, and Europe. It featured a fictional clan of hillbillies living in the impoverished fictional mountain village of Dogpatch, ...
''. You get your money's worth before monotony sets in as it does in nearly all the Presley pictures." ''
The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...
'' wrote,
"Presley films of only two or three years back set high standards of humour, characterisation and pictorial attractiveness. With its tired hillbilly jokes, dance routines reminiscent of ''Li'l Abner'', over-acting and straggling plot, this is a poor successor to comedies like '' Follow That Dream''. The effort into presenting Presley in two roles in the same shot, and even fighting 'himself', seems strangely wasted, so little importance does the similarity of Josh and Jodie have in the story."


Awards and nominations

Screenwriters Gene Nelson and Gerald Drayson Adams were nominated for the
Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility Th ...
in the category of Best Written American Musical (won by ''
Mary Poppins Mary Poppins may refer to: * Mary Poppins (character), a nanny with magical powers * Mary Poppins (franchise), based on the fictional nanny ** Mary Poppins (book series), ''Mary Poppins'' (book series), the original 1934–1988 children's fanta ...
'').Victor 2008.


See also

* List of American films of 1964


References


External links

* * *
''Kissin' Cousins''
at Elvis Presley's Movies
''Kissin' Cousins''
at DVDTalk {{Sam Katzman 1964 films 1964 musical comedy films 1964 romantic comedy films American musical comedy films American romantic comedy films Films set in Tennessee Films shot in Big Bear Lake, California Films shot in Los Angeles Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1960s English-language films American romantic musical films Films directed by Gene Nelson 1960s American films Films about hillbillies Films produced by Sam Katzman English-language romantic comedy films English-language musical comedy films