Blue Hawaii (1961)

Just released from the Army, a young man (Elvis Presley) is eager to return to his beach lifestyle of surfing and hanging out with his friends. But his mother (Angela Lansbury) is pushing for him to follow in his father's (Roland Winters) footsteps and take over the management of the family's pineapple factory. Directed by Norman Taurog (GIRL CRAZY), this formulaic Elvis musical is strictly for the diehard Elvis fans. Presley was just coming off two dramatic films (FLAMING STAR, WILD IN THE COUNTRY) where the emphasis was on his acting, not his singing. They weren't smash hits but BLUE HAWAII was and this Elvis formula (with the occasional detour) continued for the rest of his movie career: light but thin "barely there" plots, lots of pretty girls and a load of cranked out Elvis songs (some good, most mediocre). Angela Lansbury (only 10 years older than Elvis) brings a bit of humor as his Southern belle mother and Charles Lang's wide screen (Panavision) lensing accents the beauty of the Hawaiian islands. In fact, the whole movie seems like a long and expensive commercial for Hawaiian tourism. With Joan Blackman, Nancy Walters, John Archer, Jenny Maxwell and Iris Adrian.