Blondes, brunes et rousses

For me, this is one of Elvis' more enjoyable early-'60s "formula" films, partly because at this point it was still early enough that Presley still seemed to pretty much have his heart in it and is not yet bored by it all. He's an out-of-work pilot named Mike Edwards who finds himself saddled with babysitting a sweet little girl (Vicki Tui - very cute and a fine little actress) at the 1962 Seattle World's Fair when her dad drops her off and then disappears. While seeing the sights, Elvis makes the acquaintance of a lovely nurse whom he keeps trying to snare, and this necessitates a hilarious and oft-cited scene with a very young Kurt Russell as a kid at the fair who agrees to kick Elvis hard in the shin for a quarter; it's a short sequence but it's a lot of fun, and quite ironic since Russell would wind up playing Presely himself in a 1977 TV movie. This one's got laughs, romance, and also some of the best trademark Elvis fist-fighting (it's amazing to me that he would be allowed to do his own stunts in these movies where he could easily have gotten injured). Oh yeah -- and there are more songs -- quite a few of them, actually -- but only "One Broken Heart For Sale" was of moderate interest for me. *** out of ****

The 1962 World's Fair is the eye filling backdrop for this typical Elvis Presley project. Elvis and his flying buddy (Gary Lockwood) have their plane confiscated. Trouble occurs with involvement with gamblers and gangsters. Elvis befriends a little 7 year old girl that wants to go to the fair. Elvis uses the girl and a little boy (Kurt Russell) to aid him in romancing the infirmary nurse (Joan O'Brian). Ten light and whimsical tunes make up a pleasant soundtrack featuring "One Broken Heart For Sale". A small scene with Yvonne Craig could scorch a ten ton block of ice. This may be the hardest of the Elvis movies to find on home video. Worth seeing!

Taking advantage of the Seattle World's Fair, frequent Presley director Norman Taurog does his best to spice up an otherwise routine programmer in which Elvis ends up the reluctant guardian of a cute little girl who has been separated from her folks. Chief among the delights that transcend the vanilla flavor of the picture is a scene between The King and scorching supernova Yvonne Craig in which the former croons the tune "Relax" while the latter deftly evades his prowling lips and paws. The mercury reaches the boiling point in record time, and fans of the gorgeous Craig will be transformed into Tex Avery's wolf, whistling vigorously, stomping on the floor, and bashing themselves repeatedly in the head with a large mallet.

Enjoyable but standard Elvis fare with Elvis girl-hunting and babysitting at the World's Fair in Seattle. Songs are a bit too cutesy, reflecting the shift in Elvis' image since his return from Germany. Fun story, though, and a fun song with Yvonne Craig. Douglas appears in a very early role as a kid who kicks Elvis on the shin -- twice. Lockwood is, as always, sufficient. Fans of Expos and World's Fairs (any others of us out there?) should be pleased to see so much footage of the excellent grounds and exhibits that graced the Seattle Expo.

It was late 1962 when Elvis Presley started filming at the World's Fair in Seattle, It Happened at the World's fair follows the exact same formula that producer Hal Wallis developed for Elvis on Paramount, beautiful scenery, beautiful girls, lots of songs and occasionally some children to showcase Elvis new found maturity.

As with most Presley movies, this has an innocent plot, a few fights, lots of movie songs, and a pretty gal to win his heart. Enjoy the Seatle fair as it was in 1962 and Elvis being on the receiving end of two painful kicks by child actor Kurt Russell. And there's some very heart warming moments as well as a few chuckles here and there.

This is a great light-hearted movie with a couple of well known Elvis songs, such as One Broken Heart For Sale. Elvis talks, sings, fights, loves, flies, fights again, and endearingly looks after a little girl.

Get away from reality and escape into Seattle's fair with Elvis - just for those ninety minutes. Nice Feelgood Movie.