L'homme à tout faire

Welcome to 1964. Elvis is still stuck in movie limbo, the Beatles are ready to conquer America, and this movie pops up. Elvis has one of his better roles since Flaming Star, as he plays a angry young man named Charlie Rogers, who is not that likable at all. After Charlie gets sprung for getting in a fight with some college students, he heads down the road to nowhere for the next gig. That's when he meets Maggie, Cathy, and Joe. Joe runs him off the road and destroys the Big E's guitar and 'cycle in the process. Maggie offers him a job as a roustabout in her carnival until his bike is repaired.

Elvis sheds the family friendly 60s image for this role. He is a cross between likable and a jerk. He has the benefit of working with a fine supporting cast. Barbara Stanwyck shines as Maggie, who lives and breathes the carnival life (She also keeps this film from being just average). Joan Freeman is great as Cathy, a love interest that plays much harder to get than any other Elvis movie femme fatale. Even Billy Barty shows up in a short role. Steve Brodie and Iris Adrian show up again to reprise their loud, annoying husband/wife roles (they just have different names and backgrounds in this one).

The King manages to belt out 11 forgettable songs that include his better than average take on "Little Egypt". This film also shows an era when the carnival was a profitable business (I laughed at seeing an orchestra pit inside a carnival tent). The 'Wall of Death' scene was also the basis of the Irish film, Eat The Peach. All in all, a better than average performance for Elvis in a standard formula film.

Whenever Elvis returned to his rebel roots, his product improved. Roustabout provided him with his meatiest sixties role, a leatherclad itinerant musician who falls in with Barbara Stanwyck's travelling carnival. He's lean and mean and his songs actually work as part of the film instead of as a distraction. Recommended.

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.

'Roustabout' is not one of Elvis' better overall films, not being as good as the likes of 'King Creole', 'Flaming Star', 'Jailhouse Rock', 'Viva Las Vegas' and 'Loving You'. This said as far as his mid- 60s onwards efforts go, 'Roustabout' generally is one of his better faring ones.

Very rarely were the script and story strong suits in Elvis' films, quite often being weak links even. 'Roustabout' is not an exception. The story is paper thin and formulaic, with neither the friction between Charlie and Joe or the romance between Charlie and Cathy ever igniting and structurally it's all too pat and obvious. The former due to too much immature silliness and not enough grit, which one kind of expected when you have the rebellious sort of character that Elvis played in the 50s in films that did have tension and grit, and the latter due to the chemistry not being there and Joan Freeman being somewhat bland.

The songs generally are less than stellar and mostly very forgettable. A few do work, and they will be mentioned later, but most suffer from lacking sound mixing that give them a cheapness, sloppy lip-synching, fitting awkwardly and from being too short. "Carny Town" and "It's Carnival Time" especially apply here. The script has its fun and good-natured moments, as well as its tragic ones, but over-silliness and corn run all over it as well.

However, 'Roustabout' is a good-looking film, it's beautifully shot with a great atmosphere and the rural scenery is colourful and evocative. A few of the songs are good, the title song and "Little Egypt" being knockouts. The tender "Big Love, Big Heartache", the acid "Poison Ivy League" and the energetic "One Track Shot" also stand out. The choreography has a good deal of energy, the carnival atmosphere is just magical and the Wall of Death scene hits hard.

A good cast helps and 'Roustabout' has that (Freeman excepted), John Rich also directing more than capably. Elvis is not at his very best and has been in better shape, but there is still an easy-going charisma and vigour to his performance. Barbara Stanwyk provides compelling realism and effortless command to her role, while Sue Anne Langdon adds a good deal of lustre and Leif Eriksson relishes his unsympathetic character. Familiar faces such as Pat Buttram, Steve Brodie and Jack Albertson are fun to see, and the film also boasts short appearances from Racquel Welch, Richard Kiel, Teri Garr and Billy Barty.

Overall, not great but decent likable fun. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Elvis plays a happy-go-lucky guy with a small chip on his shoulder. After his cycle is wrecked, he takes on a part time job at Barbara Stanwych's almost bankrupt carnival. Elvis' character sings a few songs and starts bringing crowds to the traveling show again. Joan Freeman plays the goody two shoes that for some reason has the new roustabout going in circles. Leif Erickson is a believable alcoholic, trying to protect his daughter. The soundtrack features "One Track Heart" "Big Love, Big Heartache" and "Little Egypt", plus several very short songs. Contrary of most of the songs being under two minutes long, this was a very popular album. A very pleasant movie directed by John Rich.

This is a very entertaining film. Elvis (Charlie Rogers) is a rebel biker who has a reputation as fighter and a womanizer. He makes a living as a traveling singer.

Early on in the film he is fired for getting into a fight with a group of college toughs. While riding his bike to the next engagement, the father of a girl he was flirting with tries to run him off the road. To make ends meet, and to earn enough money to repair his bike, he joins up with a traveling carnival.

The carnival is run by Maggie Moran, played by legendary actress Barbara Stanwyck. Elvis falls quickly for her lovely daughter Cathy, (Joan Freeman). The film takes off from there.

It's a wonderful adventure and is sure to entertain. Plus there are some great music tracks. "Little Egypt", "Roustabout", and "Big Love, Big Heartache" are great examples. The soundtrack went to #1 on the Billboard charts.

Some fun facts: Raquel Welch has a bit part at the very beginning of the film, and Teri Garr is one of the dancers. The title song, Roustabout is one everyone remembers. However Elvis also recorded another song for the film called "I'm a Roustabout". "Roustabout" was picked and "I'm a Roustabout" was never released. The song was recently discovered and was released as a bonus track on a CD in 2003. The motorcycle Elvis rides throughout the movie is a Honda 305 Superhawk.