Cowboy Melodie

Funny! This is one of my Elvis favorites! Yes, there is nothing serious here but good fun entertainment. Elvis in some really great candid shots and a spooky ghost town. Elvis in the rodeo. I really like this one and hope to see it on DVD. In fact, why isn't the entire Elvis movie collection on DVD??? When I think of all the trash movies that are being sold, why not some good, clean Elvis fun and some great music, too? I have been watching the Elvis movies since I was 6 years old. I love these old fun movies. I have the entire collection on VHS and have bought all that are available on DVD. These films take me right back to my youth. Pop some corn, pour a Pepsi, sit back and relax and recall the good IL' days when Elvis was showing off on the big silver screen.

In Tickle Me (easily one of the great titles of Elvis' illustrious screen career), the King plays -- brace yourself -- a singing rodeo cowboy with a lucrative second job as a handyman at a beauty spa. Naturally, all of the women at the ranch compete for E's attentions, but he's only got eyes for the stunning Jocelyn Lane. The second half of the film gets supremely silly, as the lovers search for a hidden treasure of gold in a haunted house. The horrifyingly awful gags that accompany the climactic sequence belong in a Scooby Doo episode, but are more accurately akin to the Three Stooges -- since writers Elwood Ullman and Edward Bernds had put in time for the eye-gouging, hair-pulling, face-slapping nitwits. Tickle Me has a weird appeal to me, however, as it allows Elvis the opportunity to show off his talent for comedy (an under-appreciated aspect of his acting for which he shows remarkable aptitude).

Elvis Presley plays a singing rodeo cowboy waiting for the rodeo season to open and takes a job at a dude ranch/health spa for models and well-to-do women. The adorable Jocelyn Lane plays the cowboy/handyman's love interest. The ranch manager(Julie Adams) also has eyes for the singing distraction. Hidden treasure in a ghost town causes mild suspense and some slapstick comedy. In order to save money for the production company no new songs were recorded for the movie. Some tunes are almost five years old. The better ditties include:"Night Rider", "Dirty, Dirty Feeling", "Slowly But Surely" and "Easy Question". Some of the background sets are super cheap; the plot kind of flimsy; but the magic between Presley and Lane sizzles and smolders. I think that and the music are worth the price of admission. Also in the cast are: Jack Mullaney, Edward Faulkner and Barbara Werle.

I have to admit this movie holds a special place in my heart as I saw in with the first girl I ever dated and fell in love with back in 1965. But all that aside, some 45 years later, I still enjoy the movie even if I haven't seen the girl in 40 years. Elvis as a singing rodeo cowboy gets sidetracked working at a dude ranch for young women wishing to look better and hooks up with Jocelyn Lane, possibly the best looking woman on the planet in 1965. The music, taken from some older Elvis LPs, fits fine. The songs "Dirty, Dirty Feeling" and "Slowly But Surely" are great songs on their own as is the opening sequence number, "Long Lonely Highway", which was released as a single. "Such An Easy Question", also released as a single in 65, is more of a romantic ballad and is quite good, tho it sounded better when it was released a couple years earlier on the "Pot Luck" album. They added some background orchestration to the movie version that is totally out of place. Julia Adams and "Wild" Bill Williams head up a stellar supporting cast. A good, solid Elvis movie and remember, these movies were not made to compete for Oscars.

A very funny film. The soundtrack was composed of old songs from earlier Elvis LPs (to keep the film's budget at a minimum). Elvis looks great and Jocelyn Lane looks incredible. In my opinion (along with many others), Jocelyn was the prettiest costar Elvis ever had. Julie Adams is very attractive as the "older" woman. Practically all of the women in the film are hot (and there are loads of groovy gals). In fact--although not intending to be--"Tickle Me" remains one of the best children's pictures ever. I certainly couldn't get enough of it when it played at the local theater when I was in grade school. I went back to see it again five times! What can I say? Puberty calling!