Miliardario... ma bagnino

This movie represents the end of Presley´s cinematic career,because the other "movies" after this one was just a waste of time for him,and he knew it. When you see Clambake,you can smell the 60´s decade,the inocence and childish happiness before the Vietnam War,the death of Kennedy and Martin Luther King. The title song shows what you can expect of it,it´s a fun film,with no intentions to be taken serious by anyone.It´s a party,with lot´s of girls,color and Elvis Presley.The songs are not so bad,"You don´t know me"is a great ballad,"A house that has everything"it´s a little pearl,just like "The girl i never loved". About the plot....well,it´s a quest for find true love,and that great question:"Does she love me,or my money?"... It´s always great to see Elvis,even in his movie decade,because there´s no artist´s like him nowadays,unfortunatelly....I almost forgot to say that this movie is better than:"Gigli"

Not-bad Elvis Presley outing has the son of a Texas oil tycoon escaping to Cypress Gardens, Florida in search of a girl who will love him for himself and not his millions; after swapping identities with a penniless water-ski instructor (unctuous Will Hutchins), Presley falls for a pretty brunette who makes it clear she wants only to marry for money. Lively direction by Arthur Nadel gives this musical-comedy some drive, with studio shots and location footage smoothly integrated (although the back-projection routine does get a real workout). Elvis sings a handful of fine songs including "A House That Has Everything", and his performance towers above the others, particularly a grating turn by Bill Bixby as a professional speedboat racer. The close-ups of the cast during the climactic speedboat race are hilariously over-exaggerated, but Shelley Fabares is a decent love-interest and the flick has a satisfying wrap-up. **1/2 from ****

Good Happy movie with reasonable plot, good songs and lots of beautiful girls. Elvis plays the fabulously rich son of an oil tycoon. He fears that girls want him for his money and not for himself, so he switches places with a poor water ski instructor, who pretend to be each other.

They are at a hotel where the fabulously rich congregate and all the girls are trying to land a rich husband.

Poor Shelley Fabares is ignored by the man she hopes to land, so she has no choice but to turn to poor Elvis for help. She seems unimpressed by the beautiful songs Elvis sings to her, as she still tries to catch her millionaire. Little does she know what a choice catch Elvis would really be.

The show-down is a boat race. Elvis, who has been hiding his true identity as a high-level chemical engineer, invents an epoxy resin capable of holding a boat together at high speeds.

I liked the movie and wondered why critics panned it. I suppose that it lacks depth and soul wrenching internal conflict, but I cannot see how a movie could be better than this one. Sam Sloan

As weird as this sounds, I've always preferred the Elvis movies that aren't considered among his best. His best include "Jailhouse Rock," "Loving You" and "Wild In The Country." You know, the heavier, more serious early ones.

No, I'll take his later films - you got it, the dumb, stupid, oh-so light ones. Films like "Tickle Me," "Girl Happy," "Spinout" and "Double Trouble." And "Clambake." The plots were always mindless fun and "Clambake" is no different.

Elvis was almost always a moody, brooding loner in the early films. He usually played unappreciative guys with chips on his shoulder the size of the Rock of Gibraltar. The characters in those films are guys I'd have little desire to know.

However, the guys he played in his later movies aren't that way at all. They're nice, decent, upstanding, fun-loving fellas. I like those guys. I like watching them as heroes, as leading characters in fun, dumb little movies. Hence, I like those movies a lot more. I couldn't give a rat's rear about appraising them as serious films because they're not.

In his silly mindless mid-'60s films, Elvis always had a goofy main sidekick. Here in "Clambake," it's Will Hutchins, who starred in one of Warner brothers' classic '60s television westerns, "Sugarfoot." And believe me, Hutchins can goof it up with the best of them.

The two wise, sage, old guys are (1) old pro James Gregory and (2) Bette Davis' ex, Gary Merrill, who, if you really look, often looked as though he hated whatever film he was in.

Elvis' Number One girl, Shelly Fabares plays the gal Elvis competes for with Bill "My Favorite Martian" Bixby. There are also plenty of Elvis Girls around, as usual.

Alas, there are no true classics or any memorable songs in the entire film. Tunes like "High Hopes" clone "Confidence" aren't either.

"Clambake" ain't no "Tickle me," but it's still great fun!

That's right....the filmmakers are so lazy, they don't even bother about hiding the California mountains in the final shots. It's bad enough that we must sit through dozens of rear-projected shots; it's quite obvious Elvis never set foot in Florida for this flick. By this time, Presley's movies were becoming interchangeable - same plots, same songs, same go-go dance numbers, etc. Well, I enjoyed "Clambake" when I was ten years old, but I'm afraid it's quite difficult to sit through as an adult.

Instead, catch 1962's "Follow That Dream," which is actually filmed in Florida. The plot is a bit hokey, but Elvis still looks sexy, and has some fun with the role.