FRANKIE AND JOHNNY

Frankie and Johnny
United Artists, 1966, Color, 87 minutes, ***½
Released March, 1966

The Mississippi River's never seen as many wild twists as in this spirited and extravagant riverboat ride which stars King of Rock 'n' Roll Elvis Presley and lovely Donna Douglas of "The Beverly Hillbillies!"

Presley is Johnny, a riverboat singer whose life, according to girlfriend and singing partner Frankie (Douglas), has become "one great big roulette wheel." And he's so obsessed with that wheel of misfortune that when a gypsy woman prescribes a redhead to be his good luck charm, Johnny sets out to find one. Trouble is, Frankie is most definitely a blonde... and a jealous blonde at that. When she sees Johnny with curvaceous carrot-top Nellie Bly (Nancy Kovack of The Silencers), Frankie decides that she'll break off her romance with Johnny - and end their big number - with a bang!

Featuring hilarious support from Harry Morgan ("M.A.S.H.") and eleven original Presley tunes as well as his motion picture dancing debut, Frankie and Johnny is a "sure-fire romp - pretty girls, a toe-tapping score and Elvis all the way" (Variety)!

A lot of fun, laughs and music in yet another incarnation of this classic tale. Plays like a classic musical comedy. Good period piece; Elvis sings songs that at least sound like they fit into the period - with a style that only he can muster. Sue Ane Langdon practically steals the show.

Producer: Edward Small
Associate Producer: Alex Gottlieb
Production Supervisor: Harold E. Knox
Directed by: Frederick de Cordova
Assistant Director: Herbert S. Greene
Screenplay by: Alex Gottlieb
Story by: Nat Perrin
Music Director: Fred Karger
Music Scored and Conducted by: Fred Karger
Musical Numbers Staged by: Earl Barton
Vocal Backgrounds: The Jordanaires
Art Director: Walter M. Simonds
Set Decorator: Morris Hoffman
Costume Designer: Gwen Wakeling
Wardrobe Coordinator: Wes Jeffries
Makeup by: Dan Greenway
Hair Stylist: Joanne St. Oegger
Sound: Alfred J. Overton
Special Effects: Charles E. Dolan
Director of Photography: Jacques Marquette Filmed in Technicolor
Supervising Film Editor: Grant Whytock

Cast: Elvis Presley [Johnny], Donna Douglas [Frankie], Harry Morgan [Cully], Sue Ane Langdon [Mitzi], Nancy Kovack [Nellie Bly], Audrey Christie [Peg], Robert Strauss [Blackie], Anthony Eisley [Braden], Joyce Jameson [Abigail], Jerome Cowan [Wilbur], Dave Willock [Pete the Bartender], Naomi Stevens [Princess Zolita], Henry Corden [Gypsy], James Millhollin [Costume Shop Proprietor], Wilda Taylor, Larri Thomas, Dee Jay Mattis, Judy Chapman [Earl Barton Dancers], The Jordanaires [backup vocals]

Musical Program: [0:00] Come Along (sung by Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires behind titles and into opening scene); [0:05] Petunia, the Gardener's Daughter (vaudeville act sung by Elvis Presley and Donna Douglas, Eileen Wilson dubbing for Donna Douglas); [0:13] Chesay (sung by Elvis Presley, Harry Morgan and Gypsy Ensemble); [0:23] What Every Woman Lives For (sung by Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires); [0:27] Frankie and Johnny (skit with singing by The Jordanaires, Elvis Presley, Eileen Wilson dubbing for Donna Douglas, Sue Ane Langdon, Audrey Christie, Harry Morgan and Chorus); [0:35] Look Out Broadway (vaudeville skit sung by Elvis Presley, Eileen Wilson dubbing for Donna Douglas, Audrey Christie, Harry Morgan and The Jordanaires); [0:43] Beginner's Luck (sung by Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires); [0:45] Show Boat Parade: Down by the Riverside / When the Saints Go Marching In (sung and danced by Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires and Ensemble); [0:51] Shout It Out (sung by Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires); [1:07] Hard Luck (sung by Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires and shoe-shine boy on harmonica onscreen); [1:13] Please Don't Stop Loving Me (Elvis Presley with The Jordanaires, in two parts); [1:20] Frankie and Johnny (skit reprised); [1:26] Everybody Come Aboard (sung by Elvis Presley and Company)