''G.I. Blues'' is a 1960 American musical comedy film directed by

Norman Taurog Norman Rae Taurog (February 23, 1899 – April 7, 1981) was an American film director and screenwriter. From 1920 to 1968, Taurog directed 180 films. At the age of 32, he received the Academy Award for Best Director for '' Skippy'' (1931). He i ...

and starring

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

and

Juliet Prowse Juliet Anne Prowse (September 25, 1936 – September 14, 1996) was a dancer and actress whose four-decade career included stage, television and film. She was raised in South Africa, where her family emigrated after World War II. Known for her ...

. The movie was filmed at

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

studio, with some pre-production scenery shot on location in Germany before Presley's release from the army.Victor, Adam, ''The Elvis Encyclopaedia'', pp. 190-191. The movie won a 2nd place or runner-up prize

Laurel Award The Laurel Awards was an American cinema awards system established to honor films, actors, actresses, producers, directors, and composers. This award was created by the ''Motion Picture Exhibitor'' magazine, and ran from 1948 to 1971 (with the ...

in the category of Top Musical of 1960.

Plot

U.S. Army Specialist 5 (SP5) Tulsa McLean (

) is a tank crewman with a singing career. Serving with the 3rd Armored "Spearhead" Division in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

, McLean dreams of running his own nightclub when he leaves the army, but such dreams don't come cheap. Tulsa and his buddies have formed a band and perform in various German " Gasthauses", night clubs, and on an Armed Forces stage. In one bar, he even discovers the record "

Blue Suede Shoes "Blue Suede Shoes" is a rock and roll standard (music), standard written and first recorded by American singer, songwriter and guitarist Carl Perkins in 1955. It is considered one of the first rockabilly records, incorporating elements of blues ...

" sung by someone named Elvis Presley on a

jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media. The classic jukebox has buttons, with letters and numbers on them, which are used to sele ...

. To raise money, Tulsa places a bet with his friend Dynamite (

Edson Stroll Edson Stroll (January 6, 1929 – July 18, 2011) was an American actor who appeared in over 20 film and television programs beginning in 1958. Career Born in Chicago to Charles Stroll and Estelle Rose Stroll in a Jewish family, Stroll enlisted in ...

) that he can spend the night with a club dancer named Lili (

), who is rumored to be hard to get since she turned down one other G.I. operator, Turk (

Jeremy Slate Jeremy Slate (born Robert Bullard Perham; February 17, 1926 – November 19, 2006) was an American film and television actor, and songwriter. He is best known for Larry Lahr in '' The Aquanauts'' (1960–1961), Chuck Wilson in ''One Life to L ...

). Dynamite and Turk have vied for women before when the two were stationed in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. When Dynamite gets transferred to

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U ...

, Tulsa is brought in to take his place. He is not looking forward to it, but must go through with it. Tulsa uses his

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

charm and calls Lili "ma'am." She at first sees Tulsa as another Occupation Duty GI. Then after a day on the Rhine, Lili begins to fall for him. Tulsa's friend Cookie, meanwhile, falls in love with Lili's roommate, Tina (Letícia Román) from

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. In the end, Rick's and Marla's baby son Tiger helps Tulsa win the bet for the outfit—and Lili's heart.

Cast

as Spec. 5 Tulsa McLean *

as Lili * Robert Ivers as PFC Cookie * James Douglas as Rick *

Letícia Román Letícia Román (''née'' Novarese; born 12 August 1941) is an Italian film actress. Early years Román was born Letizia Novarese in Rome in 1941. She was the daughter of stage actress Giuliana Gianni and screenwriter/costume designer Nino Nova ...

as Tina * Sigrid Maier as Marla *

Scotty Moore Winfield Scott Moore III (December 27, 1931 – June 28, 2016) was an American guitarist who formed The Blue Moon Boys in 1954, Elvis Presley's backing band. He was studio and touring guitarist for Presley between 1954 and 1968. Rock critic ...

as himself *

D.J. Fontana Dominic Joseph Fontana (March 15, 1931 – June 13, 2018) was an American musician best known as the drummer for Elvis Presley for 14 years. In 1955, he was hired to play drums for Presley, which marked the beginning of a 15-year relationshi ...

as himself *

Arch Johnson Archibald Winchester "Arch" Johnson (March 14, 1922 – October 9, 1997) was an American actor who appeared on Broadway and in more than 100 television programs. Early years Archibald Winchester Johnson was born in Minnesota in 1922. He served ...

as MSG McGraw * Kenneth Becker as Mac (as Ken Becker) *

Carl Crow Carl Crow (1884–1945) was a Highland, Missouri-born newspaperman, businessman, and writer who managed several newspapers and then opened the first Western advertising agency in Shanghai, China. He ran the agency for 19 years, creating cale ...

as Walt * Beach Dickerson as Warren * Trent Dolan as Mickey *

Fred Essler Fred Essler (born Fritz Essler; 13 February 1895 – 17 January 1973) was an American actor. He worked film, television and on stage. He was born Fritz Essler, on 13 February 1895 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, (now Austria); and, died on, 17 Janu ...

as Papa Mueller * John Hudson as CPT Hobart *

The Jordanaires The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. Over the years, they recorded both sacred and secular music for recording companies such as Capitol Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Vocal ...

as Themselves * Mickey Knox as Jeeter * Erika Peters as Trudy *

as Turk *

as Dynamite * Ron Starr as Harvey * Ludwig Stössel as Owner,

puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods or strings to move ...

show

Background

Elvis Presley's Army career American singer and actor Elvis Presley served in the United States Army from 1958 to 1960. At the time of his enlistment, he was widely regarded as the most well-known name in the world of entertainment. Before entering the Army, Presley had ...

began in 1958, and by 1960 it had been two years since Presley had made his last film, ''

King Creole ''King Creole'' is a 1958 American musical drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and based on the 1952 novel '' A Stone for Danny Fisher'' by Harold Robbins. Produced by Hal B. Wallis, the film stars Elvis Presley, Carolyn Jones, Walter Matthau, ...

''. Despite his previous three films being mostly slammed by the critics, they warmed to ''King Creole'' and its star. Presley felt confident that he had a future in acting after this praise and he was looking forward to returning to Hollywood after his time in the army. The script was written by Edmund Beloin and

Henry Garson Henry Garson (31 March 1912, New York City — 29 May 2003, Los Angeles) was an American scriptwriter, producer, and playwright. His notable writing includes the film ''G.I. Blues'', starring Elvis Presley, as well as two Jerry Lewis films. He ...

, who had done the final revisions for Hal Wallis on '' Don't Give Up the Ship''. In 1958 they came up with an original treatment for an Elvis Presley movie called ''Christmas in Berlin''. It was later known as ''Cafe Europa'' before becoming ''GI Blues''. Eight months prior to Presley being discharged, in August 1959, producer

Hal Wallis Harold Brent Wallis (born Aaron Blum Wolowicz; October 19, 1898 – October 5, 1986) was an American film producer. He is best known for producing ''Casablanca'' (1942), ''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1938), and '' True Grit'' (1969), along wi ...

visited with him in Germany to go over the script for ''G.I. Blues'' and film some on-location scenes. Although some scenes were used in the final film, Presley did not film at any time during his time there. Elvis' double, Private First Class Tom Creel, was used for some shots. The U.S. Army supplied tanks and vehicles on manoeuvres to be used in the filming, and appointed public information officer John J. Mawn (1915–2007) as technical advisor for the film. Mawn had presided over Presley's military

press conference A press conference or news conference is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicians, corporations, non-governmental organ ...

s. Presley returned to the U.S. in March 1960 and began work on the film in late April. Hal Wallis originally wanted

Michael Curtiz Michael Curtiz ( ; born Manó Kaminer; since 1905 Mihály Kertész; hu, Kertész Mihály; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed cla ...

to direct but eventually selected Norman Taurog.

Dolores Hart Dolores Hart, O.S.B. (born Dolores Hicks; October 20, 1938) is an American Roman Catholic Benedictine nun who was a prominent actress. Following her movie debut with Elvis Presley in '' Loving You'' (1957), she made ten films in five years, inc ...

, Joan Blackman and

Ursula Andress Ursula Andress (born 19 March 1936) is a Swiss-German actress, former model and sex symbol who has appeared in American, British and Italian films. Her breakthrough role was as Bond girl Honey Ryder in the first James Bond film, '' Dr. No'' (1962 ...

were all tested to play the female lead before deciding on Juliet Prowse.

Reception and box office

The film received mixed reviews from critics.

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' was noncommittal, mostly remarking on Presley's new clean-cut image: "Gone is that rock 'n' roll wriggle, that ludicrously lecherous leer, that precocious country-bumpkin image, that unruly mop of oily hair ... Elvis is now a fellow you can almost stand." ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' remarked that the film "restores Elvis Presley to the screen in a picture that seems to have been left over from the frivolous filmusicals of World War II" and called it "rather juvenile." ''

Harrison's Reports ''Harrison's Reports'' was a New York City-based motion picture trade journal published weekly from 1919 to 1962. The typical issue was four letter-size pages sent to subscribers under a second-class mail permit. Its founder, editor and publisher ...

'' graded the film as "Fair-to-good ... The cast performs well and direction and production values are good. A prime attraction, aside from Juliet Prowse is the beautiful scenery of Europe in wondrous Technicolor." John L. Scott of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' wrote in a generally positive review, "I wouldn't actually call Elvis sophisticated in the picture, but he has grown up, for which we give thanks. And he's learning how to act, too, particularly in the lighter sequences. I'm certain most mature theatergoers will welcome the change in Presley. Now as for his squealing teenage fans—it is hoped they also will go along with the metamorphosis."

Richard L. Coe Richard Livingston Coe (New York City, November 8, 1914 – Washington, D.C., November 12, 1995) was a theater and cinema critic for The Washington Post for more than forty years. Coe became known as one of the most influential theater critics outsi ...

of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'' write that the film "probably will satisfy the audiences for which it has been so awarely, if depressingly, created." ''

The Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...

'' dismissed the picture as "a series of numbers loosely strung around a trite and thin and terribly insubstantial plot. Juliet Prowse manoeuvres her superbly engineered torso through two meagre dances with infectious exuberance, but she deserves a better rôle and a more mature leading man; certainly one with more genuine fire than Presley." The film opened at the Victoria Theater in New York City on November 4, 1960 grossing $31,000 in its first week. After opening in more cities in Thanksgiving week, it reached number 2 on ''

s weekly national box office chart. It finished the year as the fourteenth biggest box office grossing film of the year generating $4.3 million. Despite critics being dismissive of the overall plot, the film was nominated for three awards in 1961: Best Soundtrack album Grammy, Grammy for Best Vocal Performance, Album, Male, and WGA Best Written Musical. The success of ''G.I. Blues'' may have been the catalyst for the formulaic films that Presley was to make for much of the 1960s. His next two films, ''

Flaming Star ''Flaming Star'' is a 1960 American Western film starring Elvis Presley, Barbara Eden and Steve Forrest, based on the book ''Flaming Lance'' (1958) by Clair Huffaker. Critics agreed that Presley gave one of his best acting performances as t ...

'' and ''

Wild in the Country ''Wild in the Country'' is a 1961 American musical–drama film directed by Philip Dunne and starring Elvis Presley, Hope Lange, Tuesday Weld, and Millie Perkins. Based on the 1958 novel ''The Lost Country'' by J. R. Salamanca, the screenplay ...

'', were more straight acting vehicles, with fewer songs and a more serious approach to the plot lines. However, despite Presley relishing a meatier role and enjoying the chance to act dramatically, both films were less successful at the box office than ''G.I. Blues'' had been, resulting in a return to the musical-comedy genre with ''

Blue Hawaii ''Blue Hawaii'' is a 1961 American musical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Elvis Presley. The screenplay by Hal Kanter was nominated by the Writers Guild of America in 1962 in the category of Best Written Americ ...

'' as his next film role. ''Blue Hawaii'' proved to be even more profitable than ''G.I. Blues''. Currently on Rotten Tomatoes, the film has 0% rating based on 5 critics reviews.

Soundtrack

The ''G.I. Blues'' soundtrack album was nominated for two

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

in 1960 in the categories Best Sound Track Album Or Recording Of Original Cast From A Motion Picture Or Television and Best Vocal Performance Album, Male. Edmund Beloin and Henry Garson were both nominated in 1961 by the

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers Gu ...

for ''G.I. Blues'' in the category of Best Written American Musical.

References

External links

* * *
Elvis News Network - GI Blues

Movie reviews

by Chad Plambeck a
3-B Theater

Review
by Dan Jardine a
Apollo Movie Guide

by Andy Webb a
The Movie Scene

DVD Reviews

Review of the movie collection "Lights! Camera! Elvis! Collection (King Creole, Blue Hawaii, G.I. Blues, Fun in Acapulco, Roustabout, Girls! Girls! Girls!, Paradise, Hawaiian Style, Easy Come, Easy Go)
By Noel Murray a
The AV Club
August 29, 2007.
Review of the movie collection "Lights! Camera! Elvis! Collection (King Creole, Blue Hawaii, G.I. Blues, Fun in Acapulco, Roustabout, Girls! Girls! Girls!, Paradise, Hawaiian Style, Easy Come, Easy Go)
by Paul Mavis a
DVD Talk
August 6, 2007.
Review
by Fusion3600 a
DVD Authority
{{Authority control 1960 films 1960 musical comedy films 1960 romantic comedy films American musical comedy films American romantic comedy films American romantic musical films 1960s English-language films Military humor in film Puppet films Films set in West Germany Films shot in Germany Paramount Pictures films Films directed by Norman Taurog Films produced by Hal B. Wallis Films about the United States Army West German films 1960s American films