Blue Hawaii

I'd been watching this for ages before I realised that it was actually the real life Angela Lansbury (aged 35) playing Elvis's mother - he being 25 years old at the time! A bit of much needed cinematic licence in this otherwise really rather staged romantic comedy that doesn't really do anyone any favours. Having returned from Germany, "Chad" is at a loss as to what to do. He doesn't want to join the family fruit business, preferring to work with girlfriend "Maile" (Joan Blackman) - much to the chagrin of the aforementioned mum. Sorry, mom. "Maile" is a tour guide showing off all the beautiful sights of Hawaii. That's when he encounters the teenage "Ellie" (Jenny Maxwell) who takes a mischievous shine to him, causing no end of havoc between everyone, her teacher "Abigail" (Nancy Walters) and a bout of fisticuffs with just about the entire island! He's undoubtedly a charismatic man to watch but an actor he isn't. His renditions of "Blue Hawaii" and "Can't Help Falling in Love" demonstrate clearly that he can't lip-sync very well either. Lansbury adopts a squeaky accent and looks like she's having some fun, but the rest of it is all too rigid and unnatural looking - I think some of the cyclorama photography was just on a loop and even I know that you have to change chords playing an ukulele. I guess the star's timetable didn't allow Norman Taurog to spend too much time finessing what is just essentially a feel-good film for the star, but this is all pretty standard and unremarkable fayre from everyone.