O Barco do Amor

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.

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 ****

By 1967 with the Beatles leading the British invasion of new musical performers, the King of the Sixties was in decline at least in his film career.

You can tell with Clambake. The plot is essentially the same story as Blue Hawaii and not half as good. Once again he's the son of a rich man who wants to make it on his own. This time though he changes places with happy-go-lucky water skiing instructor Will Hutchins. They're both headed to the same Florida resort now with each other's identities.

Well of course being he's the King, he does find a girl who falls for him without knowing he's a millionaire. For the rest of it you'll have to buy or rent the film.

He does have some nice songs. Two songs Who Needs Money is the kind of stuff Bing Crosby used to do in a lot of his films, the upbeat philosophical number and the song Confidence is a ripoff of Frank Sinatra's High Hopes. But Elvis does well by both.

He also reprises a song he missed the first time around. You might remember that the original artist who sang the song, Jerry Vale, got to reprise it in Goodfellas. You Don't Know Me sold a whole lot of platters for Mr. Vale, but the big seller of that song was done by Ray Charles. Presley does very well by it, a pity it did not become a big hit for him like it was for the other two.

As usual Elvis gets a nice supporting cast and a pretty leading lady in Shelley Fabares. In the cast we have Bill Bixby, Will Hutchins, Gary Merrill and James Gregory all of whom do a good job.

Still it's all been done before.

Although this film is not brilliant and nothing compared to the ingenuity that was "Jailhouse Rock" I enjoyed this film immensely and it is, as many Elvis films are, simple light-hearted fun. I would much rather watch Elvis in this than in the embarrassment of "Live a Little, Love A Little" where even the most devoted Elvis fan finds it hard to watch the icon suffer in such an embarrassing predicament. This film however is fun to watch and I did enjoy it although if you're looking for Elvis at his best or a serious film then this isn't the one for you. The plot, although predictable, was amusing and despite numerous goofs such as the scenery Elvis certainly had an on-screen presence and it was hard to keep my eyes off him!

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