Reviews

A FUN PRESLEY FLICK From the opening title scene of one of the Hawaiian Islands to the end of this movie was just a nice relaxing fun film. Elvis Presley, playing Chad Gates, was a little wooden with his acting but I heard from a friend that the director just wanted Presley to play himself. Joan Blackman, playing Maile Duval, was just a lot of fun and a good actress. The scene where the motorcycle cop catches up to her on a highway in Hawaii and starts to bawl her out for speeding, like a number of times before, and then changes his mind when, his friend, Maile, tells him that her boyfriend is coming home from the Army, is charming. The motorcycle cop gives Maile an escort (including siren) to the airport to pick up Chad Gates. And when Chad Gates tries to make Maile jealous when Chad is getting off the plane, by kissing the stewardess, that was funny and charming. Another charming moment is when Chad and Maile are making out on the beach and a little Hawaiian boy comes up to them and asks them if he can play the game and when Chad tells the little boy he's too young, the little boy is persistent and asks Chad if he can play if he can get a little girl to play the game with him. My girlfriend especially likes the "music box" scene where Chad Gates, played by Elvis Presley, sings "I Can't Help Falling in Love with You" to Maile's grandmother. We own the DVD of Blue Hawaii and I use the scene selection to get to that scene and my girlfriend and I watch that chapter over and over again. Angela Landsbury, playing Chad Gate's mother is enjoyable and she's a good actress. Jennie Maxwell, playing Ellie Corbett was a thoroughly enjoyable over-sexed brat. My girlfriend always says, "What a brat!" when she sees Jennie Maxwell in this film. When Chad Gates gives Ellie Corbett a spanking on the beach at night, it's both funny and a little sexy, as far as I'm concerned. The spanking straightens Ellie out and she's more manageable the rest of the film. The scene where the teenage girls invade Chad Gate's room at night and drive him nuts and then, when the school teacher comes in and tries to get romantic with him, are hilarious! Since we purchased this DVD, my girlfriend and I have watched it a number of times and will watch it a lot more. We even took this DVD to the local hospital to let my girlfriend's mother watch it. My girlfriends mother just had major heart surgery and she has been to, and loves Hawaii and she's been to Graceland (Elvis' home). My girlfriend's mother, who is 82, was entranced by this movie and I'm sure it helped her recover from her operation. I'd rate this movie high because it's so enjoyable.

This movie from beginning to end was held together by the secondary characters. The star, Richard Carlson, playing David Reed, could have taken acting lessons. Nestor Paiva, playing Lucas, the boat captain was great all the way through the film and Richard Denning, playing Mark Williams put in a fine performance. Whit Bissel, playing Dr. Thompson was believable and Julia Adams, playing Kay Lawrence wasn't bad. Antonio Moreno, playing Carl Maia was so-so. I thought the stunt men and divers playing the creature stole the show. The scene of the clawed hand coming through the tent in the Amazon was phony and so was the clawed hand coming in the porthole of the boat, menacing Dr. Thompson. I counted 12 costume changes for Julia Adams from the time they got to the Amazon to the end of the movie (if you count one being when she took off her top and dove in the water off the boat when they were in the Amazon). The bat in the cave was phony and when the creature picked up David Reed was pretty phony but most of the rest of the work the stunt men did of the creature throughout the film was believable. I thought Henry Mancini did a great job with the music in this film. The scenes of the creature grabbing Mark Williams under the water and dragging him down was very believable and the music by Henry Mancini during this was pretty good. I believed the struggle that the stuntman, playing Mark Williams, made. I've watched this movie probably near 100 times because my girlfriend is in love with it and every time I ask which VCR tape to put in the VCR, she says, "Creature from the Black Lagoon" or just, "The Creature". I'll keep watching this movie with my girlfriend because the underwater scenes are great and it's just a fun film. There's nothing scary about this film as far as I'm concerned. I always feel a little amorous when Julia Adams, playing Kay Lawrence, takes off her shirt and reveals a great body and a sexy swimsuit. I'd have to rate this movie pretty high because it's enjoyable.

From the rollicking opening of the camaraderie of a returning U.S. submarine crew to the booming "Great Guns" of the movie's finale, it's easy to understand why this movie was an antidote to the Depression Era. I personally discovered Eleanor Powell for the first time in this movie. She sure knows how to dance! Jimmy Stewart, who plays a clean cut sailor in this film, shows his talent, not just as an actor but as a singer and dancer as well. A little known Sid Silvers, who plays "Gunny Saks"in this movie is a short, stocky energetic dynamo who probably deserves more recognition, also is credited for the screenplay of the movie. Another actress I discovered for the first time when I saw this movie was Virginia Bruce and she is captivating in the musical number aboard the submarine with her Pekingese companion, "Cheeky". I had recognized the name but another actress who I had little knowledge of was Frances Langford and she is natural to dance with the young boot scooting Buddy Ebson. All of the other character actors in this film are a joy to see. The no-expense-spared musical number at the end of this movie is inspiring. Out of all the movies, I own, I watch this one over and over again, especially when I'm in a good mood.