Customer Reviews

Elvis / Spinout [VHS]

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Hooray, SPINOUT on DVD at last! One of Elvis' 60s movies, about which all you can say is, if you like them, you love them. Somewhere along the way, Elvis stopped really caring about everything except Gladys, and the scripts suffered. They were all the same with plenty of innuendo, but not much real sex. Except of course that sex is omnipresent in the air, it's built into each frame of film like a poltergeist nimbus in a haunted house. SPINOUT features Elvis opposite the perplexing pixie Deborah Walley, who often played a kind of tomboyish girl yearning to be a woman, the parts Debbie Reynolds owned a decade earlier. And yet Walley is extremely sexy, just not in this film. The other guys Elvis has to compete with aren't in his league, but they're not bad looking, at least Will Sugarfoot Hutchins and Carl Betz from the Donna Reed Show are passable and here even Warren Berlinger from BILLIE looks pretty sharp.

However in every department the women outclass them, from Deborah Walley in torn sweatshirts and pink Capris, to ultra-chic Diane McBain an "author" like Helen Gurley Brown of sex manuals for bachelorettes, to Shelley Fabares, the millionaire daughter of Carl Betz--a casting move that will leave you scratching your head if you remember her playing the same part in The Donna Reed Show. As many have noted, the final number is the best--I'LL BE BACK, sung by Elvis and band in a bohemian basement nightclub with weird proto-Dufy paintings on the walls and candles stuck in Chianti bottles, and the band drives the crowd to their feet eventually, everyone doing the Frug and the Monkey in wild 60s abandon.

The best things about this heavily formula vehicle are (1) Elvis' opening production numbers (including a nicely staged "Adam And Evil"); (2) Deborah Walley's "girl drummer" role; (3) the Deusenberg; and (4) Elvis' closing production number, the medium walking blues "I'll Be Back". Everything else is redundant.

This movie was not and will not be remembered as great cinema... but one of the 50 worst films of all time? Terrible? You have got to be kidding.
Simply put, if you don't like Elvis, you won't like this movie. If you are a fan of modern movies containing gratuitous violence, nudity, foul language and etc, you should avoid this movie because I guarantee you will not like it. BUT, if you want a innocuous, family film with fun music and a star who could charm the birds right out of the trees, you will enjoy this movie.
Was Elvis out of touch in the mid and late 60's? YES. And I for one am glad he was and appreciate the fact that he made music and movies that were entertaining, light-hearted and able to be played in the same room with children. In the 60's, Elvis' movies helped to create an escapism from a world that seemed to be falling apart and represented a gentler, more innocent time.

CORNY?...YES!, COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER?...DEFINITELY!, but a bad movie...NO! Compared to other star vehicles of the day (Frankie and Annette, Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin's Matt Helm films, Don Knotts, and etc) it is a very good movie.

"Spinout" is neither the best nor the worst Elvis movie of the 60's. But it is represenative of most of his films and thus a good movie for Elvis newbies to gauge whether they want to see any more from da' King.

The Plot? Well, here goes;

Elvis and his bandmates (who are also his pit crew) run across a millionaire's daughter & a attractive journalist who want Elvis as their trophy husband. The band's drummer (whose also a gourmet cook) is also smitten with the King. The millionaire wants Elvis as well, but only to drive his new race car. In the end, everyone is racin', dancin', & finally gettin' married. But which one (of any of them) does Elvis chose?

The songs are above average for a typical Elvis flick, lead off by the snappy rock number "Stop, Look, Listen". Other highlights include "Adam & Evil", "All That I Am", and the swaggering "I'll Be Back".

"Spinout" is perfect drive-in fare where the details of the plot should really be ignored if you're going to enjoy the film. Although I'll admit that some of it is so bad it's funny. Take for example the late night dinner scene that happens early in the film. Elvis manages to light a campfire simply by dropping a lit match on a small pile of dry wood (try that the next time your camping). Or how Elvis 'n bandmates manage to organize a pool party overnight to wake the millionaire up at dawn. Not to mention the band itself seems only vaguely familiar with how their instraments work. The fetching Deborah Wally seems completely lost while trying to maintain a beat.

The rest of the cast is fine, if not really outstanding. Shelly Fabares is appropriately spoiled, yet radient as the millionaire's daughter. Diane McBain is the quinessential cool blond jounalist who pops out of nowhere from time to time. And Warren Berlinger is in perfect sit-com form as the hapless assitant to the millionaire whose desparately in love with Fabares.

The film does have stretches where nothing really happens and the most groan inducing moment is when Elvis identifies a wondering mutt as a "Hound Dog". Elvis himself seems rather bored all through the film and his eyes are noticably hazy, as if...well, I'll leave any explaination for why up to y'all.

For those who love Elvis and enjoy his films, this one is for you. For those who are curious, "Spinout" is a good introduction and is just entertaining enough to pass a lazy afternoon.

Some extra trivia:
* - Cecil Kelloway & Una Merkel make their final movie appearence as the old couple that Elvis tricks into taking their second honeymoon. There characters are not the sharpest knives in the drawer considering that they leave their mansion in the hands of a total stranger whose a rock musician.

* - Note the first wide shot of the club that Elvis performs "Stop, Look, Listen". You'll see everyone movin' & dancin' to the song, including the guy on the phone.

* - One member of the band "plays" a double-necked guitar, which was just coming into prominence at the time.

* - The ad line for "Spinout" was "Elvis marries three women at once." It turns out to be literally true, but not in the way you might think.

This is an excellent musical comedy from the swinging 60s. Elvis Presley is at his very musical best and the color is nice, the songs are excellent and the whole movie is just fun, fun and great fun. I love this DVD. Highly recomanded!

"Spinout" has Elvis playing a singing race car driver with three beautiful women who want to race him down the aisle to marriage. They are Shelley Fabares, Diane McBain, and Deborah Walley. Looks like Elvis has a tough decision. I can't decide myself. In "Spinout" you'll find two veteran stars in the height of their stardom: Cecil Kellaway and Una Merkel in one of her last roles. Also, the man who plays Shelley Fabares' father is Carl Betz who also starred with her as her father on "The Donna Reed Show". So, try to not to knock this movie. It's got great songs and the title tune was a top 40 hit by just that much. So, treat yourself to a swinging film that you just can't understand why Elvis wants to stay single.

Three lovely young ladies all want Elvis' gearstick in this craptastic musical comedy that's so bad it ROCKS! I just love the title song sequence where Les and the guys 'provide' Elvis with "...lots and lots of girls." And who was that chick, the blonde with the short cropped hair who literally shoves all the other chikadees aside to get up and spinout with the King? She looks like she's out to prove she can really score, and I never saw parts move like that before! Elvis looks embarrassed. Anyway, after you've crossed those double lines and Spinout you will want to do so again and again and again. Simply awful, but I mean that in a great way.

Another Cool Elvis movie,with a cool car. this time a Cobra 427(I prefer Vettes'). I like Clambake better.

"Spinout" (1966) represents the nadir of Elvis Cinema - a bad sitcom without the laugh track. The only redeeming features are a few memorable songs, such as "I'll Be Back" and "Stop, Look and Listen." Buy the soundtrack and skip the movie.

SPINOUT is another hard movie to sit through, thanks to the weak dialogue and even weaker storyline.

Elvis plays a singing race car driver (for the second time), who is being chased by three women. These include a spoiled brat (Shelley Fabares), an erotic author (Diane McBain), and his own drummer (Deborah Walley).

The music is actually listenable in this picture. Highlights include "Stop, Look, and Listen" and "I'll Be Back".

Elvis appears to be sleepwalking through this one. His appearance is also disturbing: slightly overweight and his hair looks like a big black ball on his head.

Again, not QUITE the worst, but far from the best. Buy something more worthwhile first.