Une rousse qui porte bonheur

Frankie and Johnny (1966)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Johnny (Elvis) is a riverboat singer who is also one of the worst gamblers in the world, which gets him into major debt and grief to his partner Frankie (Donna Douglas). With no where else to turn, Johnny starts going to a gypsy for advice and she tells him that great luck will come in a beautiful redhead (Nancy Kovack) but this starts trouble with his boss as well as Frankie. I was pleasantly surprised to see how good this little film was, although it suffers from the same issues as many Elvis films of this period. The story is incredibly weak and once again we've gotta see The King fall for the wrong woman and try to get himself out of trouble while singing. What stands this film apart from the others through are the incredibly well done songs, which also feature some great musical numbers. The highlight is the wonderfully played out title song as well as several other tunes including "What Every Woman Lives For", "Down By the Riverside", "When the Saints Go Marching In" and "Hard Luck". Elvis doesn't give what I'd call a good performance but he fits his role well as the dumb but entertaining singer. The biggest credit must go to the supporting cast with Douglas stealing the show and Harry Morgan adding great comedy.

This is an oddity in Elvis’ filmography: a quaint but pleasing musical comedy based on the popular song which had already inspired a similarly-titled film from 1936 starring Helen Morgan – apart from being featured in the Mae West vehicle SHE DONE HIM WRONG (1933) and, again, as recently as Robert Altman’s A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION (2006).

The star isn’t entirely comfortable amid the 1890s riverboat setting, what with a few of his musical performances (and especially his hairdo) coming off as inextricably modern. Still, the plot – thin as it is – emerges to be quite engaging (what with its backdrop of fortune-telling, gambling parlors, variety acts and costume parties and involving mistaken identities, misunderstandings, an attempted murder and a bar-room brawl)! The cast presents three notable female roles: Donna Douglas (as Frankie), Nancy Kovack as Elvis’ red-headed lucky charm and the flame of his jealous boss, and Sue Ane Langdon as a ditzy “blonde” – who, along with Presley’s long-suffering sidekick Harry Morgan, turns out to be the most likable character as well as the purveyor of the film’s comic relief.

Elvis’ best ‘new’ number is “Hard Luck”; apart from the title tune, he also gets to sing the standard “When The Saints Go Marching In” (while dressed in full military regalia)! The film is short enough at 87 mins. not to overstay its welcome, but the rather low-key presentation also prevents it from being anything more than unassuming entertainment. I wouldn’t classify it among the top-flight Presley vehicles, therefore, but it’s certainly superior to some of the bigger-budgeted (yet simple-minded) fluff he made over at MGM – this being a production from independent producer Edward Small released through United Artists.

Elvis plays Johnny, a riverboat entertainer that has a big gambling problem. Donna Douglas, better known as Elly Mae Clampett, is Johnny's girl, Frankie. A fortune teller tells Johnny how he can change his luck. Enter a new lady luck played by Nancy Kovack and the cat fight begins. Costumes range from classy to gaudy. A dozen songs make up the soundtrack featuring "Hard Luck" and "Please Don't Stop Loving Me". This film was directed by Fred de Cordova, director of Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show". Also in the cast are Sue Ane Langdon, Harry Morgan and Anthony Eisley. A fun movie to watch.

This movie followed "Harum Scarum" and was a big step up simply because "Harum Scarum" was arguably Elvis's worst movie. This one is actually the closest thing that Elvis ever did to a typical Hollywood musical like "Music Man." There's an interesting plot and some good energy that carries through the first half of the movie, but it limps along badly in the second half. I went to sleep and had to finish watching it the next morning.

The large amount of Broadway musical-type tunes simply doesn't fit Elvis' style very well. Only the title tune is really interesting and works very well. At the end, there is a gem called "Please, Don't Stop Loving Me." It comes at about 80 minutes of the film's 87 minute run and I'm not sure that anybody except Elvis fans will last that long.

Apparently Donna Douglas and Elvis had deep philosophical conversations on Paramahansa Yogananda and the Christian religion during the breaks while shooting this movie. This shows as there is very little chemistry between them. Second lead, Nancy Kovack provides whatever sexual chemistry the film does have. One suspects that if Douglas and Kovack had changed roles, the film would have worked much better.

This doesn't fit into the category of Elvis' good movies, but it also doesn't fit into the category of his bad movies. Lets just say that it is an okay movie that only Elvis fans will find pleasurable.

Takes place in the 1890s. Elvis Presley plays Johnny a riverboat performer who has a weakness for gambling much to the disgust of his girlfriend Frankie (Donna Douglas). Then a phony gypsy tells him a red-headed woman will be his good luck charm. Soon Nellie Bly (Nancy Kovak) joins the riverboat...and is a beautiful red head AND the ex of Johnny's boss. Complications ensure.

Pleasant enough. It's shot in BRIGHT color, the cast is attractive and Presley sings a few good songs. The comedy is OK (seeing Harry Morgan so young is fun) and it's perfect family viewing. Not Presleys best but not his worst.