Customer Reviews

Double Trouble

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This was the first Elvis movie I ever saw. It's definitely not the way to start out watching Elvis' movies, but it is an honest effort. You have to give it credit for having a different setting (in Europe) and for having a different type of plot than other Elvis movies.It has a basically good soundtrack,"Baby,If You'll Give Me All Your Love","City By Night","Long-legged Girl","There's So Much World To See","Could I Fall In Love","I Love Only One Girl",and "Double Trouble" are all good, with the exception of "Old MacDonald". I wouldn't say it was a "horrid rendition", but just the fact that this song is sung, period, makes it beyond ridiculous. I like, however, the fairly engaging plot, kind of a spy-spoof at times. John Williams, Annette Day,and Leon Askin stand out among the cast. Not highly recommended, but recommended nonetheless.

"Double Trouble" took advantage of the spy themes in the '60s. Elvis does his martial art moves in this picture. Unfortunately, his fighting opponent falls down a boarded-up well and...well, enough said. Annette Day tries to put her move on Elvis. He's a little resistent at first, but eventually gives in. A lot of action, a lot of comedy, and a lot of music is what is made up of "Double Trouble". Whoever said that they were the only one enjoying this picture was wrong. You're not alone. I am a true and huge Elvis fan. I love all of his movies, no matter what they stuck him in. "Double Trouble" is double fun.

While certainly not as good as any of his 50s pictures (or even BLUE HAWAII), DOUBLE TROUBLE is certainly more watchable than TICKLE ME or HARUM SCARUM.

The plot is typical: Elvis falls for two women (that's certainly been done before), and gets into some sort of conflict. This time it's trying to save his girlfriend from her Uncle Gerald, who is after her inheritance.

OK, the plot isn't much, but Elvis looks good in some of the outfits he wears in this picture. The songs are not much either, especially the horrid rendition of "Old MacDonald". The best songs are "Long Legged Girl" and "City By Night".

At least this is a picture in which I didn't cringe. The dialogue isn't quite as corny as some of the other pictures, and it doesn't get too boring either.

A marginal "thumbs up" from me.

Though it doesn't reach the musical-comedy heights of "Viva Las Vegas," Elvis Presley's "Double Trouble" (1967) remains among his better efforts. Despite a shaky start, the film is fairly enjoyable with a refreshing change of locale: the MGM backlots of Europe. Elvis doesn't sleepwalk through the proceedings, showing his adept flair for comedy. There are a few memorable songs (notably "Long Legged Girl") and the supporting cast is quite good. No classic, but a decided improvement over "Spinout" and "Kissin' Cousins."

Among Elvis' many movies, this is perhaps the lousiest one. The plot, the story, it's just no good. Elvis acts the way he always does. I'm not saying he's a great actor, but a funny one, in his own way. But the rest of the actors ... They're overdoing it completely. British and French comedians ?? No, Elvis deserved better than this crew and set.

You really don't expect a terrific plot in an Elvis film. Typically the story is innocent, light, and fun fluff, without a hint of impropriety, however that doesn't seem to be the case in Double Trouble (1967), where Presley's love interest is a seventeen years old. Spoilers follow, so proceed as you will.

Presley is Guy Lambert, a singer in a rock band performing in England. Unknown to Guy, Jill Conway (Annette Day) the girl he seems most interested in, is just seventeen. The band is about to head over to Belgium, and Guy is looking to put some moves on Jill before he leaves, but the precocious youngster skips out of his flat, before he can commit any illegal acts. After having a talk with Jill's uncle Gerald Waverly (John Williams), he discovers that she is just a few days short of her eighteenth birthday.

Jill has marriage on her mind, and boards Guy's ship bound for Belgium. On the trip smugglers slip some jewels the singer's luggage. Upon reaching port, Guy and the band head to Bruges to perform in a club. Predictably, Jill shows up there, and in no time at all is up in Guy's hotel room, spinning stories that her uncle is cruel to her. Guy agrees to take Jill to Stockholm, while the buffoonish smugglers are hanging around, trying to recover their hidden loot.

While in Antwerp, things take a dark turn. Apparently Uncle Gerald has squandered away his niece's inheritance, and has sent someone to kill her. Elvis has to break out his karate moves to defend Jill, as the attempted assassin ends up breaking his neck. Guy is taken into police custody, where he is questioned by inspector de Groote (Leon Askin, General Burkhalter on Hogan's Heroes), as Gerald Waverly arrives on the scene. The film's big finale features Guy's escape from the police station, and a lackluster chase through the town.

Elvis Presley met his future wife Priscilla Wagner in 1959 when she was 14, and eventually married her in 1967 about a month after Double Trouble was released. As Presley had himself been romantically involved with a minor, and was not yet married, his decision to participate in a film that resembles his real life situation is somewhat baffling. The whole storyline involving a minor would be a little dodgy, even for an actor with no personal baggage, but given his history, Presley's involvement in such a badly written effort, is more than a little strange.

Double Trouble is pretty much just for die hard Elvis fans. The story is very weak, and the music isn't good either, as the King even sings Old MacDonald on the back of a truck. Disappointingly, there are only two principal women in the film. This remains Annette Day's only film, and while she may be handicapped because she is playing a minor, Day doesn't have the qualities you normally find in one of Elvis's leading ladies. Yvonne Romain, who plays Gerald's girlfriend Claire Dunham, is the only other female with any major screen time. Double Trouble is also available in a double feature with Spinout (1966) on a flipper disc Spinout/Double Trouble.

Although "Double Trouble" was made a year before his famous "NBC Comeback Special", and there were yet some other bad movies in store for him, before his movie career finally came to an end, this is one perfect example of why his Actor's days were finally numbered.

In a way it revealed itself a blessing, since the plots became carbon copies of each other, in which all he had to do anyway, was to look smart and to sing songs. A thing he could do much better on a live stage.

"Double Trouble" was a vehicle for the "King" for European audiences, just as "G.I. Blues" had attempted seven years earlier.
Unfortunately, this effort backfired and the movie had cold receptions in Europe, except maybe in Belgium, where the movie is supposed to take place.

Its plot is a typical cliched slapstick comedy with romance interwoven in it, here and there, just to allow Elvis to do what he was good at.

Banal and shabby, just meant for Elvis fans, it is a very forgettable movie, perhaps to join other bad movies like "Change of Habit", "Harum Scarum" and
"The Trouble with Girls".

The transfer of it on DVD on the contrary, is very well done, with a very fine resolution and sharp colors. The sound also has been taken care of, and although conventional, sparkles for its clarity.

Just recommended for die-hard Elvis fans. For the others, I would recommend to stick to his earlier movies, such as "Wild in the Country" or "King Creole".

My husband is an Elvis fan and loves it. He watches it over and over.

I feel as if I'm the only that a good time with this Elvis Presley film. If you want to see a worst Elvis Presley film, then check out Harum Scarum. There are nine songs in this film not 2. And I own both films. I own this and Harum Scarum. But Elvis Presley didn't have a choice, his manger/agent decided that instead of performing concerts. I like this better than Harum Scraum and worth giving this above 3 stars. But I would have given this 5 stars if they would have gotten somebody who had more than one or 2 film playing Elvis Presley's love in the film. As the movie opens, when Guy Lambert (Elvis Presley) heads off to Europe, little does he know that his tour will include stops aong the way with spies, counterspies, jewel thives, and two lovely foreign feemes, (newcomer Annette Day and Yvonne Romain). If you don't like this, then move out of the United States.

I really enjoyed this movie! Its not one of the best and a little cheesy! but easy to watch and one of the funniest films ive seen him in!Just a shame he never got to show us what a good actor he could have been!