Frankie and Johnny

source: Frankie and Johnny

"Frankie and Johnny" is one in the long line of musicals which Elvis Presley churned out in the sixties. It has no connection with the Al Pacino/Michelle Pfeiffer film of the same name from 1991, but is instead fairly loosely based upon the well-known American folk-song. It is set some time in the late nineteenth century, probably around 1880 or 1890, although the exact date is never stated. Johnny and his girlfriend Frankie are performers on a Mississippi riverboat; Johnny is also a compulsive gambler, and as the boat has a casino on board he has plenty of opportunities to gamble. The film deals with the complications caused in their relationship by Johnny's gambling habit and Frankie's jealousy of his friendship with an attractive redhead named Nellie Bly. Johnny's interest in Nellie arises from the fact that a gypsy fortune-teller has informed him that a red-haired woman will bring him luck, but the jealous Frankie suspects that their relationship goes much deeper. One of the problems of casting a rock star in a Victorian period drama is that rock didn't actually exist in the Victorian era. The makers of this film are not really all that concerned with period accuracy- some of the music we hear sounds suspiciously like jazz, which didn't really exist in the 1880s, and even the song "Frankie and Johnny" itself was not published in its modern form until the 1920s. Somebody, however, obviously realised that rock-and-roll would be anachronistic, so the star gets to sing a series of bland, totally forgettable easy-listening numbers. Elvis was always fairly laid-back as an actor, but in this film he doesn't seem to make much effort as a singer either, being content just to stroll his way through the film. The rest of the cast are no better; in his film career Elvis played opposite some pretty obscure leading ladies, but Donna Douglas is one of the least memorable of the bunch. I was not surprised to discover that this was the last film she made in a brief cinema career. About the complicated and often far-fetched plot, the less said the better. Most Elvis Presley films these days are unlikely to appeal to anyone other than his many devoted admirers, but I suspect that even they will find themselves feeling a bit short-changed by this one. 4/10

Listless, abysmal Elvis Presley outing, loosely based on a 19th century French folk song, concerns a riverboat entertainer (and luckless gambling addict) in New Orleans told by a gypsy soothsayer that his luck will change once he dumps his blonde steady for a redhead. Filmed on the cheap, with Presley faking his way through. Two good EP songs, "Please Don't Stop Loving Me" and "Shout It Out", though the latter number is stolen from the star by a woozy ho-daddy guitarist in the bottom left of the screen. Donna Douglas, Nancy Kovack, and Sue Ane Langdon are a fun femme trio, but Harry Morgan is a colorless sidekick and Elvis just looks beat. *1/2 from ****

At first this Elvis Presley feature felt like a breath of fresh air, as it's a costume piece set aboard an old-time riverboat where Elvis plays an irresponsible and compulsive gambler named Johnny. Donna Douglas (best known as Elly May from "The Beverly Hillbillies") is his cutesy girlfriend and singing partner Frankie, and they perform as a duet on the boat (Douglas is unconvincingly dubbed). Harry Morgan of M*A*S*H fame plays Johnny's older mentor (he gets to sing too - uggghhh) who visits a gypsy fortune teller with Elvis to learn that a redhead (Nancy Kovack) will soon arrive to change his luck. Fate turns out to come true, but it creates a love triangle in the bargain. Once you get past the fancy costumes, this is fairly standard Elvis stuff. The stage songs aren't outstanding by any means, but they do fit nicely with the "showtime" feel of the proceedings. ** out of ****

I give this three stars just because it's a boring movie. I don't think it's bad. It's just really uneventful. I saw this on television once, and I switched over to the Food Network. I kind of remember what it was about, and that's about it. I have sat through probably everyone of his films, and while this isn't as bad as others (Harem Scarem!), it is pretty close. You can really tell that he was have less fun than the viewers. He looks really good (of course), but that's about it. It isn't even a fun bad movie, where you would see him as an Arabian Prince, or a race car driver. Instead of wasting time on this, watch Jailhouse Rock (the best), King Creole and even Blue Hawaii. You'll thank yourself later.

Elvis plays Johnny, a riverboat entertainer that has a big gambling problem. Donna Douglas, better known as Elly Mae Clampett, is Johnny's girl, Frankie. A fortune teller tells Johnny how he can change his luck. Enter a new lady luck played by Nancy Kovack and the cat fight begins. Costumes range from classy to gaudy. A dozen songs make up the soundtrack featuring "Hard Luck" and "Please Don't Stop Loving Me". This film was directed by Fred de Cordova, director of Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show". Also in the cast are Sue Ane Langdon, Harry Morgan and Anthony Eisley. A fun movie to watch.

"Frankie and Johnny" is undoubtedly one of, if not THE, worst of Elvis Presley's films. Mind you, none of Elvis' films were Academy Award material, but this film looked as if it were a hokey made-for-TV movie rather than a theatrical release. Donna Douglas' singing voice is obviously dubbed as is Harry Morgan's. Presley seems out of place in a cast made up primarily of 1960s supporting television actors. Even the director of the film, Frederick de Cordova, had his roots in TV working with George Burns and Johnny Carson - hardly credential enough to be directing a movie musical at a time when the movie musical was all but dead anyway. I walked away from the movie feeling as if I had wasted my time.

This movie was OK. Not good, not bad. Some of the songs leave a lot to be desired, but there was a pretty good supporting cast in this movie, Donna Douglas (The Beverly Hillbillies) and Harry Morgan (M*A*S*H*) to name a few. This was a typical Elvis movie, but the fact that it was on a riverboat set in the late 1800's early 1900's makes it interesting. There were a few good songs in this movie, but they were few and far between. A watchable movie, but nothing spectacular.

This is an oddity in Elvis’ filmography: a quaint but pleasing musical comedy based on the popular song which had already inspired a similarly-titled film from 1936 starring Helen Morgan – apart from being featured in the Mae West vehicle SHE DONE HIM WRONG (1933) and, again, as recently as Robert Altman’s A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION (2006). The star isn’t entirely comfortable amid the 1890s riverboat setting, what with a few of his musical performances (and especially his hairdo) coming off as inextricably modern. Still, the plot – thin as it is – emerges to be quite engaging (what with its backdrop of fortune-telling, gambling parlors, variety acts and costume parties and involving mistaken identities, misunderstandings, an attempted murder and a bar-room brawl)! The cast presents three notable female roles: Donna Douglas (as Frankie), Nancy Kovack as Elvis’ red-headed lucky charm and the flame of his jealous boss, and Sue Ane Langdon as a ditzy “blonde” – who, along with Presley’s long-suffering sidekick Harry Morgan, turns out to be the most likable character as well as the purveyor of the film’s comic relief. Elvis’ best ‘new’ number is “Hard Luck”; apart from the title tune, he also gets to sing the standard “When The Saints Go Marching In” (while dressed in full military regalia)! The film is short enough at 87 mins. not to overstay its welcome, but the rather low-key presentation also prevents it from being anything more than unassuming entertainment. I wouldn’t classify it among the top-flight Presley vehicles, therefore, but it’s certainly superior to some of the bigger-budgeted (yet simple-minded) fluff he made over at MGM – this being a production from independent producer Edward Small released through United Artists.

Elvis plays a singer with an addiction to gambling and of course he is surrounded by a string of beautiful women such as his singer/dancer partner and girlfriend Donna Douglas as well as Nancy Kovack, Joyce Jameson and I cannot forget to include the great Sue Ane Langdon who plays the bubbly and ditzy rebound girlfriend to a tee. This was a light yet very satisfying Elvis feature film that has stood the test of time for over fifty (50) years and I would definitely want it included in his franchise collection if one is ever released. Great song and dance numbers and a decent plot as well. A classic Elvis Presley franchise film with great songs, dance, action and plenty of attractive women that I would be more than happy to gamble on. A pleaseing 7 out of 10 IMDB rating