Garotas e Mais Garotas

Elvis as a fisherman whose biggest dream is to own the boat he helped build with his father - to aid him in his quest he works for a jerk and sings at a club. Also, he falls for a girl.

Rumor is that studio execs in the 60's said that Elvis's films didn't need titles - just numbers. It's pretty funny, but I'm not in a position to judge just yet - I have a lot a Elvis flicks to go through. "Girls, Girls, Girls" is a pretty mediocre fare with sub par songs and a very thin story.

First off; Elvis isn't believable for a second as a fisherman. His on screen image as a somewhat mischievous yet good natured and wholly independent working class Joe (who never accepts handouts) is already getting tiresome; with some 20 more movies to go where he's playing basically the same guy. As most reviewers have pointed out; Elvis was a solid enough actor when working with decent people and material but in this flick he's neither here nor there.

The songs here aren't that good, sad to say. The classic "Return to Sender" is the real standout but others are fairly forgettable.

But on the whole I always enjoy these Elvis movies up to a point. Despite some obvious laziness inherent with Presley's movies they're mostly fairly attractive looking, always displaying nice scenery, have a number of knockout beauties and solid songs (not all, but most).

Elvis did some serious work before this film; most notably "Jailhouse Rock", "King Creole" and "Flaming Star". Those are excellent films, Elvis is excellent in them and they're a worthy addition in any film lover's collection. His later "fluff" films range from good to fairly lacklustre but fans of the King can easily sit through them and enjoy themselves.

In Hawaii, a fishing guide (Presley) tries to find a way to buy the Westwind, a boat that he & his father built, after his employer decides to retire to Arizona. Meanwhile he's caught between two women: An insensitive club singer (Stella Stevens) and a sweet rich girl who pretends to be working class (Laurel Goodwin).

"Girls! Girls! Girls!" (1962) was Elvis' 11th movie of the 31 in his acting filmography. It was the second of his three flicks shot in Hawaii, the other two being "Blue Hawaii" (1961) and "Paradise, Hawaiian Style" (1966). While it's a serviceable Presley flick and has its points of interest, it's the least of the three IMHO with "Blue Hawaii" being easily the best.

The serious drama is situated amongst the Hawaiian boating/fishing industry wherein Presley performs a song every 7-12 minutes with "Return to Sender" being a highlight.

Stevens' role is rather small so the focus is on the protagonist's romance with the secretly rich girl. Speaking of whom, two years later Goodwin played Yeoman Colt on the original (rejected) pilot episode of Star Trek, which was reworked into the two-part episode "The Menagerie," premiering in November, 1966. While Stevens and Goodwin are a'right, the female cast in "Paradise, Hawaiian Style" is superior.

There's an interesting scene near the end where Elvis's character is rescuing the girl and a sailboat runs into their smaller craft. The (presumable) stunt people in the motorboat get hit by the sailboat and somewhat pushed under.

The movie runs 1 hour, 36 minutes, and was shot in Hawaii.

GRADE: B-/C+

Certainly not one of Elvis Presley's best movies, OR soundtracks. 'Return to Sender','I Don't Wanna Be Tied' and a finish of 'Because of Love' are the only half decent songs in this rather boring tale that always fails to keep even me - an ardent Elvis fan - engaged for it's 95 minutes. Even the leading ladies Stella Stevens and Laurel Goodwin aren't particularly glamorous unlike those in other Elvis films. The leading ladies in Elvis films were on a par with the infamous 'Bond Girls' in my opinion, but not in 'Girls! Girls! Girls!'. Indeed, Stevens didn't take to Elvis at all, tried to pull out of filming and claims to have never watched the film... Elvis plays Ross Carpenter - a fisherman harbouring desires to run his own fishing business instead of working for his uptight, arrogant new boss. It's not much of a plot, and as stated, doesn't stand up as a memorable Elvis Movie.

Girls! Girls! Girls! is one of Elvis' best. From Storyline to soundtrack, you will be entertained.

Elvis (Ross Carpenter), Plays a fishing guide. He works for a kind old couple,(Papa Stavros) played by Frank Puglia and (Mama Stavros) played by Lili Valenty. They own the (Westwind) a boat that was built by Ross Carpenter's father. When the old couple breaks the news that they are retiring and moving to Arizona, Ross must find a way to buy the boat.

The lovely Stella Stevens (Robin Gantner) plays a singer in a night club that Ross frequents. He also sings at the club from time to time. The two become personally involved.

At the same time Ross has feeling for (Laurel Dodge), played by Laurel Goodwin. Who will he choose? I'm not going to spill the beans. I'll let you find the answer on your own. I can tell you that this picture is well worth your time. Both Stella Stevens and Laurel Goodwin give strong performances. Presely was very strong throughout this picture as well. He looked like he enjoyed working with the cast.

The two little girls in the movie, Ginny Tiu and Mai Ling were very charming. The inner play between Elvis and the children was remarkable. It gave this film a sweet touch.

(Interesting Facts) Girls! Girls! Girls! was released on November 21st 1962. It was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for best picture. Elvis won the 2nd place trophy for best actor at the Laurel Awards. The sound track was one of Elvis' best. It included the #1 smash, "Return To Sender"

One of Elvis' best movie song performances comes in this film, and it's "I Don't Wanna Be Tied". The King is electrifying in this number! I like it better than "Return To Sender", which was the big seller. Elvis shakes and bakes like there's no tomorrow! Next to "C'mon Everybody" from "Viva Las Vegas", I think Elvis does his best movie dancing. EPE ought to re-release this song as they did with "A Little Less Conversation".

Stella Stevens was cool in this film as well.

The King's acting is unusually strong in this film. He has an edge here that is not often seen in his other roles. The scenes with Jeremy Slate and Elvis are particularly entertaining. His character (Ross Carpenter) is in a fix financially and Elvis' edge suits the role.

I think that as the formula plot movies piled up, you can see Elvis just kinda going through the motions, and not developing a character.

Let's face it - Elvis Presley was about as handsome and talented as a man could be. It's a shame that the Colonel put him on the movie treadmill with banal vehicles.

I've heard that Elvis was offered the role of Tony in "West Side Story", but the Colonel's greed screwed up the deal. What a shame. It could have put Elvis in a serious direction cinematically. The role went to Richard Beymer, who was panned by the critics. I think of Elvis singing "Maria", "There's A Place For Us", and I know he would have been fantastic.