Roustabout - Paramount
1964
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By: For Elvis Fans Only
Source: EPE
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Roustabout |
Elvis' sixteenth movie was the 1964
Paramount film "Roustabout."
Having at one time been a carnival
worker, the idea for a picture with a
carnival background had been that of
Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis's manager.
However, Colonel was adamant that the
movie "not cheapen carnival life....that
this was a wholesome way of life in
which the participants had a legitimate
pride."
The movie was first announced in May of
1961, but production was delayed until
March of 1964. In the time between there
were changes. Among them were: that the
working title went from "Right This Way
Folks" to "Roustabout;" that Elvis's
character name changed from Charlie Main
to Charlie Rogers; and that the
character of carnival owner Maggie Moore
changed to Maggie Morgan; and that the
actress chosen to play Morgan changed
from Mae West to Barbara Stanwyck.
The writers were Anthony Lawrence and
Allan Weiss.
Anthony Lawrence later worked on the
scripts for the Elvis movies "Paradise
Hawaiian Style" and "Easy Come, Easy Go"
and the 1979 TV biopic "Elvis," starring
Kurt Russell in the title role. Among
his other credits are a number of TV
series including "The Fugitive," "Hawaii
Five-O," "Cannon," "Quincy" and "The
Blue Knight."
Allan Weiss was the screenwriter for the
Elvis flims "Blue Hawaii," "Girls!
Girls! Girls!," "Fun In Acapulco,"
"Paradise Hawaiian Style" and "Easy
Come, Easy Go." He once remarked that
the scripts were written to producer Hal
Wallis's specifications: "Wallis kept
the screenplays shallow. I was asked to
create a believable framework for twelve
songs and lots of girls." However true
this was, both Mr. Lawrence and Mr.
Weiss received a nomination from the
Writers Guild of America in 1965 for
their work on "Roustabout" as the Best
Written American Musical of 1964.
The director was John Rich and this was
his first time to work with Elvis. He
came from a strong background in TV,
having directed such series as "Our Miss
Brooks," "I Married Joan," "Gunsmoke,"
"The Rifleman," "The Andy Griffith
Show," "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and
"Gilligan's Island." He was anxious to
break into film directing with Hal
Wallis. He wasn't impressed with Elvis's
entourage and their constant hanging
around and playing practical jokes on
one another. Elvis told Mr. Rich,
"...when these damn movies cease to be
fun, I'll stop doing them. And if my
guys go, (expletive), so do I." Elvis
and Mr. Rich had gotten off to a shaky
start when Elvis cajoled the director
into allowing him to do his own stunt
fight, which was very uncommon then due
to the possibility of the star's being
hurt and shutting down production. When
Elvis indeed was hurt in the stunt and
required several stitches above his eye,
Mr. Rich was afraid to tell Hal Wallis
that he'd allowed their star to become
injured. Then he came up with a plan to
write into the script the bandage that
covered the stitches and thus production
wasn't halted and Wallis was appeased.
John Rich later directed Elvis in "Easy
Come, Easy Go." By that time he was
disillusioned with Hal Wallis and his
methods and had developed a respect for
Elvis. He returned to directing TV
series including such programs as "All
In The Family," "Sanford and Son,"
"Maude," "The Jeffersons," "Barney
Miller," "Newhart", "Dear John" and
"Murphy Brown" among others. He has
received many accolades including seven
Emmy nominations with three Emmy wins.
On February 26, 1964, Elvis reported to
Paramount for pre-production. He started
with soundtrack recording sessions at
Radio Recorders of Hollywood. On March
3, Elvis recorded the version of the
title song "Roustabout" that was written
by Otis Blackwell and Winfield Scott. It
was not used in the film. Instead they
used a different song with the same
title written by Bill Giant, Bernie Baum
and Florence Kaye. Elvis recorded his
vocals for that second song on April 29,
1964 after the principal photography was
shot. An acetate of Elvis's
long-thought-lost Blackwell/Scott song
was found in Winfield Scott's basement
and RCA first released it as a bonus
track on the 2003 ELVIS 2ND TO NONE
album. To differentiate it from the one
used in the movie, the title was changed
to "I'm a Roustabout."
Elvis became frustrated during these
sessions when he wanted The Jordanaires
to back him up on a song that he would
be seen singing alone in the film while
riding a motorcycle down the road. One
of the producers questioned him as to
where the backup singers would be in the
shot. Elvis snapped back, "The same damn
place as the band!"
One of the songs in the film, "It's A
Wonderful World," written by Sid Tepper
and Roy C. Bennett, was for a time in
contention for an Academy Award
nomination as Best Song.
For authenticity in Elvis' sixteenth
film, "Roustabout," a real carnival was
employed and set up on land near
Thousand Oaks, California. This was one
of the locations used for exterior shots
in the movie. The interior shots used
three connecting sound stages (Nos. 12,
14 and 15) on the Paramount lot. The
doors between them were opened up to
make them into one huge stage, which was
needed to accommodate the set for the
big tent scenes. This was the first time
in the history of the studio that they
had done this.
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Barbara Stanwyck & Elvis Presley
in Roustabout. |
To Elvis the only exciting thing about
making the movie "Roustabout" was the
opportunity to work with the legendary
Barbara Stanwyck, who
played Maggie Morgan. Unknown to both of
them at the time, her long career of
over 90 films was about to take a turn.
For the next twenty years she would be a
popular television actress in such
series as "Big Valley," "The Thorn
Birds" (mini-series) and "The Colbys."
She was born Ruby Stevens in Brooklyn,
NY in 1907. Orphaned at a young age, she
was raised by her older sister, who was
a chorus girl. Ruby took the stage name
of Barbara Stanwyck, dropped out of
school in her teens and looked for work
as an actress. She became a dancer in a
chorus line of the Ziegfeld Follies. She
finally landed lead roles on Broadway,
where she met and married her first
husband Frank Fay. They moved to
Hollywood in 1928. There she received
tutelage under director Frank Capra. Of
him she once said, "Eyes are the
greatest tool in film. Mr. Capra taught
me that. Sure, it's nice to say very
good dialogue, if you can get it. But
great movie acting - watch the eyes!"
She was married to actor Robert Taylor
from 1939 until 1951. In 1944 the
government listed her as the nation's
highest-paid woman, earning $400,000.
She received four Academy Award
nominations and in 1982 was awarded an
Honorary Academy Award for her
contributions to the acting industry.
She was nominated five times for Emmy
Awards, winning three of them, and she
received four Golden Globe nominations,
winning one. She received Life
Achievement Awards from the American
Film Institute, the Screen Actors Guild
and the Los Angles Film Critics
Association and the Cecil B. DeMille
Award from the Golden Globes.
Another veteran actor in the movie was
Leif Erikson who played
the gruff Joe Lean. The son of a sea
captain and a writer, he was a big band
vocalist and trombone player. He made
his acting debut as a corpse in a Zane
Grey Western in 1935. He was known for
his brawny, deep-voiced characters,
including that of Big John Cannon in the
TV series "High Chaparral." He served in
World War II and was wounded in action
twice . Prior to "Roustabout," he had
worked with Barbara Stanwyck in the 1948
movie "Sorry, Wrong Number."
Actor Pat Buttram played the wily
villain Harry Carver. Born in Alabama in
1915, the son of a circuit-riding
preacher, he quickly became known for
his comedy. In the 1950s, he replaced
Smiley Burnette as the sidekick to
western star Gene Autry, with whom he
made a number of movies and a TV show.
In 1961 he played a mechanic in the
Elvis movie "Wild In The Country." By
1965 he became a regular on the TV
series "Green Acres," playing peddler
Eustace Haney. Over the years he also
proved to be a talented voice-over actor
for many Disney animated movies,
including "The Aristocats," "Robin
Hood," "The Rescuers," "The Fox and The
Hound," "Who Framed Roger Rabbitt" and,
his last one just before his death in
1994, "A Goofy Movie." In 1982 he
founded the Golden Boot Awards to honor
actors, directors, stuntpeople and
others professionals who make
significant contributions to the Western
film industry.
Jack Albertson played Lou, the manager
of Mother's Tea House in "Roustabout."
He had recently worked with Elvis in the
movie "Kissin' Cousins." Albertson was
born in Massachusetts in 1907 and was a
veteran of vaudeville and Broadway. He
was one of the few actors to win an
Academy Award, an Emmy Award and a Tony
Award. The Tony Award was for his role
as John Cleary in the play "The Subject
Was Roses" on Broadway. The Academy
Award was for the same role in the film
version. One memorable film role was
Grandpa Joe in "Willy Wonka & The
Chocolate Factory." He is best know to
many as Ed Brown in the TV series "Chico
and The Man," for which he won an Emmy
Award. Like Pat Buttram, he lent his
voice to the Disney film "The Fox and
The Hound" and was working in TV and
film right up to his death in 1981.
Another familiar face is that of Dabbs
Greer, who played Arthur Nielsen. His
long career includes many roles in film
and TV. Born in 1917 in Missouri, he was
the only child of a pharmacist and a
speech therapist. He began his career on
stage as a child and later studied drama
in college, earning his degree and then
becoming the head of the drama
department. He moved to California 1943
and became an instructor and
administrator as well as an actor at the
famed Pasadena Playhouse. He made his
film debut in 1948 and has continued to
act in TV and movies ever since. Among
his memorable roles are the Reverend
Robert Alden in TV series "Little House
On The Prairie," his role as a minister
on the TV series "Picket Fences" and
Paul in the film "The Green Mile."
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Joan Freeman & Elvis Presley
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Cathy, Elvis' character's love interest
in the movie, was played by actress
Joan Freeman. Born in
Council Bluffs, Iowa in 1942, Ms.
Freeman began acting as a child.
Although she has acted in a number of
movies, she has had more roles in
television series such as "Bus Stop,"
"Bonanza," "The Virginian," "CHiPs" and,
most recently, "The Commish." One source
places her today as retired and living
on a yacht with her husband.
"Roustabout" was based on the theme
of a traveling carnival show. As such,
among its actors were one the world's
shortest people, Billy Barty, and one of
the world's tallest, Richard Kiel.
Born in 1924, Billy Barty began
performing as a child of three and he
began acting in movies in the late
1920s. Among other roles, he played the
little brother of Mickey Rooney in the
"Mickey McGuire" comedy films. He also
had his own daily children's TV show in
California. He founded the Little People
of America in 1957 and The Billy Barty
Foundation in 1975. A champion for
knowledge of and acceptance of dwarfs,
he once said, "The general public thinks
all little people are in circuses or
sideshows. We have doctors, nurses, just
about every field covered." Barty also
appeared with Elvis in the film "Harum
Scarum. "
In contrast, Richard Kiel
played the 7' 2" strongman. He is likely
best known for his role as the
steel-toothed character Jaws of the
films "The Spy Who Loved Me,"
"Moonraker" and "Inspector Gadget." Born
in 1939, he was a night club bouncer and
a cemetery plot salesman before becoming
an actor in the late 1950s. He wrote,
produced and starred in the 1991 film
"The Giant of Thunder Mountain." Since
writing his autobiography in 2002, his
writing career has continued with
novels.
In most of Elvis' s 31 feature films as
an actor, there are various character
actors and actresses who have had small
roles in more than one Elvis movie. Some
of them whose Elvis film roles include
"Roustabout" are as follows: Fred the
pitcher was played by Steve Brodie. He
also had rolls in both "Paradise,
Hawaiian Style" and "Blue Hawaii,"
playing an antagonist for Elvis to fight
with. Norman Grabowski played Sam in
"Roustabout" and later played "Wolf
Call" O'Brien in "Girl Happy." Kenneth
Becker played Gregg in "Roustabout" and
was also was in "Loving You," "GI Blues"
and "Girls! Girls! Girls!" Joseph Forte
was a concessionaire in "Roustabout" and
he also played in "Loving You." Mike
Mahoney was the deputy in "Roustabout"
and had roles in "Loving You" and "It
Happened At The World's Fair." Lance Le
Gault, Elvis's long-time movie double,
played a carnival barker in
"Roustabout." Kent McCord, Elvis's
friend and fellow actor, had an
uncredited role in "Roustabout" as he
did in "Viva Las Vegas," "Kissin'
Cousins" and "Girl Happy." (McCord found
fame in the 1970s starring in the
television series "Adam-12.")
Many of the women in Elvis' movies were
dancers, models and beauty queens - some
of whom played in more than one Elvis
film and some who went on to notable
show business careers:
Linda Rand played a college girl in
"Roustabout" and she was in "Fun In
Acapulco" and "Girls! Girls! Girls!"
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Sue Ane Langdon & Elvis Presley
in Roustabout. |
Sue Ane Langdon played
Madame Mijanou in "Roustabout" and had a
larger role playing Mitzi in the 1966
"Frankie and Johnny." She has had a long
career in film and television,
includeing two Golden Globe Award
nominations for Best Supporting Actress-
TV and winning one in 1972 for her work
on the TVseries "Arnie."
Teri Garr played a
carnival dancer in "Roustabout" and she
danced in the Elvis movies "Clambake,"
"Viva Las Vegas" "Kissin' Cousins" and
"Fun In Acapulco." The daughter of a
dancer and a Broadway actor, she soon
established herself as an actress in
both TV and film, receiving an Academy
Award nomination for Best Supporting
Actress in the 1982 movie "Tootsie."
Despite her current battle with multiple
sclerosis, she continues to perform.
Among her jobs in recent years was the
recurring role of Phoebe's mother in the
hit TV series "Friends."
Marianna Hill was Viola in "Roustabout"
and played Lani Kaimana in "Paradise,
Hawaiian Style." Having lived in several
countries, she has to ability to act
with various accents and dialects. She
also has taught acting at the famous Lee
Strasberg Institute in London. Her birth
name is Marianna Schwarzkopf and she is
a cousin to General Norman Schwarzkopf.
Joan Staley played Marge in "Roustabout"
and Jonesy in the "Kissin' Cousins." She
was Playboy Playmate of the Month for
November 1958.
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Raquel Welch in Roustabout. |
Beauty queen turned actress,
Raquel Welch enjoyed one of her
first acting jobs playing a college girl
in Mother's Tea House scenes in
"Roustabout." She has had high-profile
roles in film and television and on
stage. She has been nominated twice for
a Golden Globe Award, winning one.
Wilda Taylor played Little Egypt, a
dancer, in "Roustabout" and also had
roles in "Harum Scarum" and "Frankie and
Johnny." Decades before "Roustabout," a
dancer actually known as Little Egypt
was Catherine Devine, who danced at the
Chicago World's Fair in 1893. Three
months after the release of
"Roustabout," another professional
dancer using the stage name Little Egypt
sued Paramount, RCA and Elvis Presley
Music for $2.5 million in damages. She
also sought an injunction against
showing the film and selling the LP,
saying she did not authorize the use of
the song nor the name in the film. The
song was written by Jerry Leiber and
Mike Stoller and had been recorded by
The Coasters in 1961. Miss Egypt lost
her lawsuit.
Principal photography for "Roustabout"
started on March 20, 1964. On that day
an article appeared in a Las Vegas
newspaper that would hurt and haunt
Elvis for the rest of his life. "Would
you believe that Richard Burton and
Peter O'Toole owe part of their current
success to Elvis Presley?" was the title
of the piece that went on to say, "These
two brilliant Shakespearean-trained
actors, winning worldwide acclaim for
their performances in "Becket" might not
have had the opportunity to star in the
picture, were it not for Sir Swivel
Hips." Quoting producer Hal Wallis, the
article indicated that it was the
profits from the commercially
successful, light-hearted Elvis movies
that made it possible for Wallis to fund
the production of more "artistic
pictures." The article was picked up by
the news services and printed throughout
the country. For Elvis it confirmed his
fears that he was never going to be
taken seriously as an actor.
"Roustabout" opened on November 11,
1964. As part of the promotion for the
film, a special copy of the title song
was sent to the theaters. Instructions
to play one side with the song and an
announcer saying "coming soon" before
the release of the film and then, after
the release of the film, play the other
side with song and the announcer saying
"now playing." The idea was to inspire
ticket sales in much the same manner as
Elvis's character Charlie Rogers did in
the film. Today, these promotional
singles are sought-after collectibles.
The movie was on Variety's chart for two
weeks, peaking at #8 and reaching #28 on
the list of films for the year of 1965.
Meanwhile, Elvis was ranked the sixth
biggest money making movie star for
1964.
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Roustabout |
Soundtrack
- Roustabout
- Little Egypt
- Poison Ivy League
- Hard Knocks
- It's A Wonderful World
- Big Love Big Heartache
- One Track Heart
- It's Carnival Time
- Carny Town
- There's A Brand New Day On The Horizon
- Wheels On My Heels
Directed John Rich
Writing Credits Allan Weiss
(story), Anthony Lawrence
Producer Hal Wallis
Associate Producer Paul Nathan
Production Manager Frank Caffey
Technical Advisor Colonel Tom
Parker
Music Joseph J. Lilley
Choreographer Earl Barton
Hair Style supervisor Nellie
Manley
Technicolor and Techniscope
Cast Overview
Elvis Presley .... Charlie Rogers,
Barbara Stanwyck.... Maggie Morgan, Joan
Freeman .... Cathy Lean, Leif Erickson
.... Joe Lean, Sue Ane Langdon ....
Madame Mijanou, Pat Buttram .... Harry
Carver, Joan Staley .... Marge, Dabbs
Greer .... Arthur Nielsen, Steve Brodie
.... Fred, Norman Grabowski.... Sam,
Jack Albertson .... Lou, Jane Dulo ....
Hazel.
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