1h 35min | Comedy, Crime, Musical | 15 December 1965 | Color, ws
Director: Gene Nelson
Stars: Elvis Presley, Mary Ann Mobley, Fran Jeffries, Michael Ansara, Billy Barty.
Earl Barton ... choreographer
Watched online, mediocre print.
10 songs in the Soundtracks, 2 without performers.
The songs were not dominant here, the plot was. Movie star EP is recruited by the Assassins to kill the king of some remote territory that has not yet exploited its oil resources. (Why the brother MA couldn't kill his rival is not clear. He was in charge of his security. Loyal guards?)
The Assassins have a beautiful lieutenant FJ who distracts EP before he's kidnapped. The king has a beautiful daughter MM who EP meets in their summer palace where she'd hidden to avoid the Assassins. And EP meets a trio of beautiful gypsy/slave girls who want to do his bidding, including a 4th who is less than 10, but dancing in imitation of the older girls; cringeworthy.
Although we're clearly in Muslim territory (Ramadan is mentioned often), none of the women cover their heads. That would be inconvenient in an EP movie.
The print was blurry, so I didn't watch the action to see how well it was executed. EP was clearly in his martial arts phase.
This was a breath of fresh air after all the Beach and Beach' movies. But I can't say that I liked it.
distr. MGM, dir. Nelson; 6
