Kissin' Cousins

Elvis is not engaged here at all and who could blame him? by late '63 he surely expected to be making one serious picture after another.

nonetheless, storyline happens to be very entertaining > the Military heads desperate to secure ol' Smoky Mountain for their missile site, while trying not to be swept away from the sexed up "kittyhawks", bring a smile.

did not need "two Elvis(s)"....but whatever. they both sing real good. as one song suggests, "ON(C)E IS ENOUGH".

title tune is particularly strong, shoulda-coulda been a smash...guess the competition from overseas at the time, like, his many imitators, cut down on his airplay. KISSIN' COUSINS/IT HURTS ME (not from film) was as good as many singles from the previous decade!

This movie, tho not one of Elvis' best, certainly isn't as bad as some reviews have stated. Those who say it is Elvis' worst film have obviously never seen "Double Trouble", "Clambake", "Speedway", "Stay Away Joe" and a couple others. The movie is fun, if not brilliant and the blond wig he wore is tacky and a couple of the songs are pretty horrible (Barefoot Ballad). However, the supporting cast is quite good headed up by Oscar winning actor Jack Albertson. It also features the wonderful character actor Arthur O'Connell and Glenda Farrell. Batgirl from TV's "Batman", Yvonne Craig, is in fine form as Elvis' love interest. As for the music, the title tracks are pretty good. "Tender Feeling" is a wonderful ballad and "Catching on Fast" is a lively rock tinged number that goes down quite well. It is also apparent from many of those who did not like the film at all that they did not pay attention as they all claim one of the Elvis characters, Josh, is an army officer. Not so. He is an air force officer. Go back and look folks. At any rate, I've seen every Elvis movie ever made many times and this one is worth a watch.

Elvis returns to the military comedy genre a few years after 'GI Blues' in this hillbilly romp about a pilot recruited to help convince his kin folk to let the S.A.C. put a missile silo on their land. Elvis also plays a secondary role as his look-alike hillbilly cousin.

The material is straight out of Li'l Abner - man-crazy half-dressed hillbilly females, disgusting possum based cuisine, a mournful coon hound and a patriarch named Pappy, not to mention moonshiners with a powerful dislike for 'Revenuers'. It's pretty familiar stuff, but dished up with enough energy and amiability that for once the whole exercise manages to rise above the usual (low) formulaic quickie level of the 'Elvis movie'. There are a few half decent songs and a couple of rousing musical numbers in the spirit of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (albeit much less elaborately choreographed). Of interest - leading actress Yvonne Craig became famous two years later as Batgirl.

Here is an Elvis picture with something for everyone: The King appearing in a dual role as a soldier and a hillbilly, exciting fist-fights, surrealistically phony mountain and forest studio sets, hapless choreography, and gorgeous Yvonne Craig as one of the backwoods spitfires who tries to capture E's heart. The film's true value, however, is that is accomplishes the touchstone of any Presley flick worth its salt -- it contains a scene in which Elvis takes a pratfall into a body of water. In one song, E croons, "Life's a playful puppy/You can grab by the scruff/And if you live every sec, what the heck?/Once is enough." My thoughts exactly.

My rating: 6/10

This movie is all about fun and laughs. Very humorous, with a several good lines [What're you doin' with my face?]. The songs were toe-tapping, up-beat songs with that Elvis flair. Although it did have a very understated plot, Kissin' Cousins was a very enjoyable ride [if you like that kind of thing].

Now, the way I rate movies...This one was great for fun and little thinking, but it obviously was not a masterpiece of filming or anything like that...

Fun for oldies music lovers!

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