Kid Galahad

source: Kid Galahad

Kid Galahad is directed by Phil Karlson and written by Francis Wallace and William Fay. It stars Elvis Presley, Gig Young, Lola Albright, Joan Blackman and Charles Bronson. Music is by Jeff Alexander and cinematography by Burnett Guffey. Out of the Amy, Walter Gulick (Presley) heads to his home town of Cream Valley looking for work as a mechanic. Unable to find employment in that field, Walter stumbles upon Willy Grogan's (Young) boxing operation and accepts an offer to spar with one of the fighters for five dollars. Though raw and taking far too many punches, Walter shows himself to have some skill and a knock out punch that flaws the local fighter. This catches the eye of Willy who spies a chance to get himself out of the debt he is in. With romance also in the air, in the form of Willy's sister Rose (Blackman), Cream Valley is about to become a hive of activity; both good and bad! A musical remake of the 1937 film that starred Edward G. Robinson, Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart, Karlson's Kid Galahad is what it is, a star vehicle for Presley to sing some tunes, fight some guys and win the heart of some dusky beauty. However, in the context of Presley's 60s movie output this is a good one. It has a strong support cast, a more than capable director and a superb cinematographer bringing out the beauty of Idyllwild, California. The King is not in the best of shape, the songs are disposable (with the exception of I Got Lucky) and the finale has a gigantic loose end that annoys greatly. But the songs don't dominate the story, Presley is playing a normal and decent guy and there's a genuine feeling of warmth about the whole thing (though Bronson and Presley didn't see eye to eye apparently). Safe, enjoyable and looking terrific visually, Kid Galahad is a more than adequate time waster for Presley film seekers. 7/10

A remake of a Warner Bros. golden oldie that starred Edward G. Robinson, Bette Davis, and Humphrey Bogart (often retitled "The Battling Bellhop" on television), "Kid Galahad" finds Elvis looking paunchy and bored while serenading a disinterested Charles Bronson, a tired Gig Young, and a lovely Joan Blackman. Some good songs ("I Got Lucky," "Home is Where the Heart Is"), but the film itself, perhaps attempting to counter the travelogue look of "Blue Hawaii" (also co-starring Blackman), is rather unpleasant to look at, and the story lacks the energy and punch of the original. For the record, Ed Asner, who would also appear in 1969's "Change of Habit" with Elvis and his future TV co-star Mary Tyler Moore, makes his film debut here.

Presley's first movies were arguably the best he made.Some of them were eminently watchable:"love me tender" "jailhouse rock" "king creole" "flaming star" -probably his very best- and at a pinch "Wild in the country".In almost all these movies ,there's a mother's loss (or absence).This permanent feature comes back in "Kid Galahad":the hero lost his parents when he was an infant.Besides ,as it is a remake ,we have at least a script ,which will cruelly lack in films to come. "Kid Galahad" is never exciting though.The songs always come at the most awkward moment ,and as only Elvis sings -his female partners contenting themselves with looking languorously at the star-,one can hardly call that (and all Presley's subsequent flicks)musicals.And the songs are not particularly memorable;only the peppy "I got lucky" and the romantic " Home is where the heart is" stand out.Whereas songs make sense in "jailhouse rock" or " king creole" ,where Elvis portrays singers ,they do not fit in a boxer's tale .Watchable because of the lovely pictures and the good -but wasted-supporting cast including Gig Young,Charles Bronson,Lola Allbright.Love interest consists of an affair between Elvis and Young's kid sister .Willy (what a naughty boy!) does not want Rose to marry Walter!

As long as Elvis Presley is in the cast, I'll always give it a 10!! I'm 58 and my generation look at Elvis as a watershed event in American Show Business (cap. by author). Those who didn't GET the 50's and the 60's deserve a lot of sympathy for the wonderful things that came to pass!!!! Although, seeing films from my decadent youth only makes me wistful for those times. I know E. looked like he knew enough about boxing to pull it off and he was in pretty good shape for the role of Galahad. He had been out of the Army for about two years and he hadn't gotten to the bad things in his lifestyle that made him leave at 42. But 1962 was a very good year. And I really like "Clambake" too!!

This is truly one of the best from Elvis! Not only is the story great, but the songs are all terrific. Elvis shines in his portrayal of Walter Gulick, a now former soldier who becomes a boxer. In Kid Galahad, you will see the true actor in Elvis...from the very first time i saw this film, i've been convinced that Elvis can act as well as sing. Unfortunately, he was not given too many chances to do so. His performance is credible, noteworthy, and unforgettable. The scenery is beautiful, the veteran actors also in the movie- GIG YOUNG, CHARLES BRONSON, ED ASNER, all give outstanding performances. This movie could have been a breakout role for Elvis, but he was not allowed to show his full dramatic range. His image as a happy-go- lucky, safe entertainer had to be maintained at the expense of a strong dramatic performance. In short, Elvis was not allowed to develop and explore the dramatic depths of his character. Compared to ROCKY, the movie falls way short. Nevertheless, Elvis gives a good, convincing performance as the rising boxing star. The songs might only be a few, KING OF THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD, I GOT LUCKY, etc, but still Elvis gives it his best. This movie is one of my personal favorites. Worth Watching...

Made at a time before Presley's film budgets became smaller and the ideas ran dry, this reasonably pleasant movie makes for an hour and a half of light entertainment. He plays a penniless ex G.I. who returns to the place of his birth (a woodsy region called Cream Valley!) in search of a job. He approaches Young, who runs an inn with girlfriend Albright, and inadvertently becomes a stand-in boxer for a group of pugilists that trains on-site. Soon, it's discovered that Presley, while he can't defend himself very well, packs a nasty right hook that's an instant knockout for whoever is on the receiving end! Young uses Presley to help win back some much needed cash since he is under the thumb of gangster Lewis and a couple of his henchmen. When Young's kid sister Blackman arrives, Presley falls for her, further complicating things. Bronson (who is perhaps one of the last people one would expect to find in a Presley musical) plays a lame, weathered boxing trainer. The film is a remake of a rougher 1937 version and the insertion of several songs really do nothing to enhance the tale. If anything, they sap the dramatic tension out of the story and come off as mostly corny. Presley is a tad fleshy here and hadn't yet turned his hair jet black. He gives an okay performance with a few good scenes and sings pleasantly, if a bit ordinarily. One unlikely number has him joining ten other singing boxers on the porch who effortlessly fall into harmony and seem unnecessarily happy living in a place that has only one or two women around. Young gives an amiable performance, but was already showing touches of his alcohol abuse, both in his appearance and speech. Albright is solid as his ignored "fiancee", though she does occasionally take some rather odd pauses in her dialogue. Blackman (who, at 25 years younger than Young, was certainly his KID sister!) is attractive, but has little to do but admire Presley's face and voice. More interesting work is turned in by Bronson. It's interesting to see him interacting with Presley and demonstrating extreme loyalty to him. Fans of "General Hospital" will be happy to spot Lewis in a small role that preceded his lengthy run as Edward Quartermaine. Other familiar TV faces such as Remsen, Glass and Asner are sprinkled into the cast. Dante, as the resident boxing champ prior to Presley, gives an unusual spin on the type by constantly touching Presley and making goo-goo eyes at him at every opportunity. The film benefits the most from a large amount of location filming amidst autumnal wooded foliage and mountain scenery. Rear projection is kept to a minimum here, which would not be the case in Presley movies for long. The songs are inoffensive, but also unmemorable. The worst is probably the one designed with him singing along to an antique car radio while Young and Bronson sit in the back-seat looking either embarrassed or embarrassing. Those who are used to benign plots and vanilla story-telling in The King's films will be surprised at the amount of violence towards the end, though regular action fans will likely not find it to be tough enough. Unfortunately, this remake lacks the downbeat effect of the original and opts for a happy ending. Still, it's worth seeing for it's varied cast and the youthful magnetism of its star.

The old Warner Brothers classic boxing story Kid Galahad was dusted off and rewritten to suit the Sixties and the talents of Elvis Presley. The man that's named Kid Galahad for the ring not only throws a mean punch, but he sings pretty good too. Elvis is a soldier fresh out of the army and broke and arrives at Gig Young's training camp looking for any kind of work. The only work that Young has available is for a sparring partner and Elvis does more than spar. He flattens a heavyweight contender and Young's found himself a new prospect. He needs one because he's into the bookies big time. And a couple of syndicate torpedoes working for gangster David Lewis have taken up residence at the camp. All this is dismaying girlfriend Lola Albright and sister Joan Blackman who Elvis takes a fancy to. As is usual with Elvis films, manager Colonel Tom Parker got the best talent he could to support the King. Besides those names Robert Emhardt plays the camp cook and up and coming movie legend Charles Bronson plays Elvis's trainer. And you'll see a lot of familiar Hollywood faces as you do in all his films. Not only the cast, but director Phil Karlson one of the best directors of noir ever, took charge. The scenes with the gangsters show Karlson's steady hand. Oddly enough Elvis had no real hit songs come out of Kid Galahad, but makes up for it with one of his best acting jobs on screen. For fans of the King.

Fresh from the military, Walter Gulick (Elvis) takes a job at a boxing training camp. Gig Young is the greedy gambler that owns the camp. The vivacious Joan Blackman plays his sister, Rose. Walter goes from being a punching bag to becoming the champ. Charles Bronson plays a stoic, but good hearted trainer. Ed Asner would make one of his first movie appearances. One of my all time favorite Elvis movie scenes is when Walter and Rose do a slow version of the twist as Walter sings "I Got Lucky". Elvis did his own boxing scenes. No way can this version of "Kid Galahad" be compared to Humphrey Bogart's classic.

OK. So it's not "Gone with the Wind," but "Kid Galahad" is well written, fun, and lightly sprinkled with some very good songs (catch the twisting "I Got Lucky" and the front porch "This is Living" scenes.) "Kid Galahad" also boasts a strong supporting cast (look for a young Ed Asner in one his first screen roles;) Academy-Award winner Gig Young, Charles Bronson, and Lola Albright, in a surprisingly emotive role, add "punch" to what, on the surface, appears to be just another Presley vehicle. "Kid Galahad" also had the blessing of being completed before they counted the receipts of "Blue Hawaii." When the studio saw how much money they made off of "Blue Hawaii," the dye was cast; Elvis would be stuck doing "14 song travelogues" for another 7 years. "Kid Galahad" catches Elvis in good humor, shape, and voice; he was having fun...You will too.