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To me GIRL HAPPY was one of the best Elvis films ever, great acting, great music, great fun to watch. This is a film that no Elvis fan should miss. Go to your local video shop and rent this film if you haven't already seen it, its good stuff.

9/10

Ft. Lauderdale frolic has Elvis Presley cast as a Chicago rock 'n roller who, along with his outfit-matching band members, takes an assignment to secretly chaperone the boss's daughter as she vacations with her girlfriends down in Florida. Plush MGM musical with a dandy production design, lots of fun slapstick and girl-watching. The plot, such as it is, doesn't make a whole lot of sense (especially with Elvis having his cover blown by Shelley Fabares' tyrannical father, who then gets mad at Presley when his daughter decides to go wild). The songs range from very good ("Puppet on a String", "The Meanest Girl In Town") to awful ("I've Got to Find My Baby", "Wolf Call"), but there's a groovin' beach bash with excitable dancing and a funny prison breakout sequence in which E.P. gets stuck in a cell with 20 females (and escapes in drag!). Mary Ann Mobley has an insulting role (and her make-up is too dark, causing her to look overcooked by the sun), but Fabares is breezy and there's a nice supporting turn by Nita Talbot as a streetwise stripper. Not bad Presley-fest, though the screenplay could've used some sharpening, and the extras are often hilariously wooden. **1/2 from ****

Elvis Presley and his band are "Girl Happy" in this 1965 film starring Shelley Fabares and featuring Gary Crosby, Mary Ann Mobley, Harold Stone, Nita Talbot, Joby Baker and Fabrizio Mioni.

Presley and his band are hired by the club owner (Harold Stone) they work for to go to Fort Lauderdale and make sure that his daughter (Fabares) doesn't get into trouble. This often means cutting the romantic evenings of the band short, but Rusty (Elvis) ends up combining business with pleasure.

This is pleasant enough Elvis fare. It's not the kind of movie he wanted to make, but thanks to Colonel Parker, we have a slew of them, part travelogue, part music video. Elvis looks great; the film has a lot of youthful energy and catches the spring break atmosphere.

After the success of Ricky Nelson on television, TV stars had to sing, and Fabares is no exception, and she makes a darling costar for Elvis. (Her description during an interview of being told she had to sing by the producer of "The Donna Reed Show" is quite funny. She refused and was asked, "Do you want to do the show next year?")

Former Miss America Mary Ann Mobley is the knockout Rusty tries to romance while on guard duty. Rusty's band, consisting of Crosby, Baker, and Hawkins, do well in their roles as lascivious lads.

I wasn't as taken with the music as some on the board. It was nice, but I missed a big hit like "Return to Sender." Elvis wanted to leave a more important film legacy. I for one am grateful for any chance to see him perform.

Elvis Presley formula movie at its best. Some catchy music, nice scenery and girls galore. Rusty Wells (Elvis) leaves the blowing snow of Chicago for the beaches at Fort Lauderdale during spring break. Rusty and his band are to guard a mobster's(Harold J. Stone) daughter(Shelley Fabares) without her knowledge. Boy sings; girls swoon. Best songs are "Cross My Heart And Hope To Die", "Puppet On A String" and "Got To Find My Baby". Cast seems like a party list featuring Mary Ann Mobley, Gary Crosby, Joby Baker, Jimmy Hawkins, Chris Noel and Nita Talbot. One of the most liked Elvis flicks. Soundtrack sold tons.

Elvis Presley was a hugely influential performer with one of the most distinctive singing voices of anybody. He embarked on a film career consisting of 33 films from 1956 to 1969, films that did well at the box-office but mostly panned critically (especially his later films) and while he was a highly charismatic performer he was never considered a great actor.

For a mid-60s onwards Elvis film, 'Girl Happy' is pretty good and while not one of his best films, like 'King Creole', 'Flaming Star', 'Jailhouse Rock', 'Viva Las Vegas' and 'Loving You', it is a long way from one of his worst (much worse followed).

The story is thin and formulaic, with parts not always making sense, and the dialogue is corn and silliness-heavy and enough to make one cringe. The extras' acting is indeed awfully wooden and just looks amateurish.

However, the settings are suitably exotic and the film is beautifully photographed. On the most part, the songs are good. Could have done without "Wolf Call" and "Do the Clam", the latter of which also being pretty embarrassingly choreographed, but the title song, "Puppet on a String", "Do Not Disturb" and "The Meanest Girl in Town".

'Girl Happy' is fun and good-natured, knowing exactly what it wanted to be, who to aim it at and never tries to do anything more. It's all competently directed and breezily paced, while Elvis is clearly enjoying himself and is well supported by charming and fiery Shelley Fabarres, menacing Harold J. Stone and perky Mary Ann Morbley. The chemistry between Elvis and Fabarres is great.

All in all, good bouncy fun. 7/10 Bethany Cox