Year: 1966
Director: Frederick De Cordova
Country: US
Language: English
In standard reviews of Elvis Presley's pictures at the time it was obligatory to lead in with a prediction of how well this particular film being reviewed would do at the box office. In the late 60's the studio was changing, adhering to the style of New Hollywood and thus most tamer pictures would not be financially successful. It was important to note that Elvis was still a box office draw during these times of change so execs would pour even more money into his ventures.
A riverboat singer (Elvis Presley) with a weakness for gambling wants to find his lucky red head, but his girlfriend Frankie is not amused.
Frankie and Johnny was the first major motion picture starring role for Donna Douglas, who played Elvis’s love interest in the film. It was the last movie directed by Frederick de Cordova, who was previously best known for directing Ronald Reagan in the 1952 feature Bedtime for Bonzo. By this period most of Elvis' fans had gone over to The Beatles. Unfortunate as it was, no old-school picture starring Elvis would ever bring them back.
The film was not an answer to A Hard Day's Night, even Elvis seemed disinterested in singing his usual ballads. While the first half of this film has great momentum it loses a tremendous amount of steam and can't keep up with its promising beginning. This, like other Elvis pictures before it, becomes a tedious waste of time that can't be saved by star power alone.
A victim of the tumultuous times of the mid-late 60's, Elvis' picture never stood a chance amongst the more serious box office contenders. News media at the time predicted a flop and they would certainly be right. It's a good thing these movies were cheap to make.
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