''Girls! Girls! Girls!'' is a 1962 Golden Globe-nominated American

musical comedy film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as break ...

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 ...

as a penniless

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 ...

-based fisherman who loves his life on the sea and dreams of owning his own boat. " Return to Sender", which reached No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' pop singles chart, is featured in the film. The film peaked at #6 on the ''

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), ...

'' box office chart and finished the year at #19 on the year-end list of the top-grossing films of 1962. The film earned $2.6 million at the box office. The film was the second of three films Presley shot on location in

Plot

Elvis Presley plays Ross Carpenter, a Hawaii-based fishing guide and sailor who enjoys boating and sailing out on the sea. When he finds out his boss is retiring to

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, he seeks to find a way to buy the ''Westwind'', a boat that he built with his father. Ross is caught in a love triangle with two women: childish, insensitive club singer Robin (

Stella Stevens Stella Stevens (born Estelle Eggleston; October 1, 1938) is a American former actress. She began her acting career in 1959 and starred in such popular films as '' Girls! Girls! Girls!'' (1962), '' The Nutty Professor'' (1963), ''The Courtship of ...

), and sweet Laurel (

Laurel Goodwin Laurel Goodwin (August 11, 1942 – February 25, 2022) was an American film and television actress who is known for her role as the love interest of Elvis Presley in the 1962 film ''Girls! Girls! Girls!'', as well as appearing as Yeoman J.M. Col ...

). When Wesley Johnson (

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 ...

) makes advances on Laurel, Ross punches him out. Wesley owns the boat, so Ross thereby loses it. Laurel, however, is not who she pretends to be. Ross has to choose between her and Robin.

Cast

as Ross Carpenter *

as Robin Gantner *

as Laurel Dodge *

as Wesley Johnson *

Benson Fong Benson Fong ( Chinese: ; October 10, 1916 – August 1, 1987) was an American character actor. Born in Sacramento, California, Fong was from a mercantile family of Chinese extraction. After graduating from high school in Sacramento, he studied ...

as Kin Yung *

Beulah Quo Beulah Quo (April 17, 1923 – October 23, 2002) was a Chinese-American actress and activist born in Stockton, California. The spelling of her last name changed from Kwoh to Quo because she was constantly asked if KWOH was a radio station. She st ...

as Madam Yung *

Guy Lee Arthur Guy Lee (5 November 1918 – 31 July 2005), known informally as Guy Lee, was a British Classical scholar and poet. He was particularly notable as a Latinist for his work on the Roman poets Ovid, Propertius, and Catullus; he also transla ...

as Chen Yung * Ginny Tiu as Mai Ling * Elizabeth Tiu as Tai Ling * Alexander Tiu as Mai and Tai Ling's Brother * Robert Strauss as Sam Anderson * Ann McCrea as Mrs. Arthur Morgan *

Jack Nitzsche Bernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche ( '; April 22, 1937 – August 25, 2000) was an American musician, arranger, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He first came to prominence in the early 1960s as the right-hand-man of producer Phil Spe ...

as Piano Player in Lounge Band * Nestor Paiva as Arthur Morgan * Linda Rand as Village Woman * Edward Sheehan as Ed-Man on Dock *

Red West Robert Gene "Red" West (March 8, 1936 – July 18, 2017) was an American actor, film stuntman and songwriter. He was known for being a close confidant and bodyguard for rock and roll singer Elvis Presley. Upon his firing, West wrote the cont ...

as Bongo-Playing Crewman on Tuna Boat

Soundtrack

Reception

A review in ''

'' wrote that the film put Presley "back into the non-dramatic, purely escapist light musical vein," adding, "Essentially, Presley plays himself in the breezy sea session. He handles the role capably, though one would hardly expect a hardened fisherman to be as soft, smooth and white as the one Presley depicts. The character has little depth, but he is pleasant." ''

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 ...

'' wrote in a fairly positive review that the songs were "strung very pleasantly on a story-line of disarming simplicity and bedded comfortably in a stretch of gently fizzing repartee." Margaret Harford 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 ...

'' called it "no better or worse than previous Elvis epics."

Awards and nominations

Golden Globes The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

: Nominated for Best Motion Picture - Musical at the 1963 ceremony. The winner that year was ''

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and leader and sells band instruments ...

''. Elvis Presley received a 2nd place

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 ...

for the best male performance in a musical for his acting role in this movie.

Box office

''Girls! Girls! Girls!'' earned $2,600,000 at the box office in the United States.

References

External links

Elvis in Hawaii
fansite. * * *

Movie reviews

Review
by Jamie Gillies a
Apollo Movie Guide

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 Paul Mavis a
DVD Talk
August 6, 2007.
Review
by Jon Danziger a
digitallyOBSESSED!
February 3, 2003. {{Norman Taurog 1962 films 1962 musical comedy films 1962 romantic comedy films American musical comedy films American romantic comedy films American romantic musical films 1960s English-language films Films directed by Norman Taurog Films set in Hawaii Paramount Pictures films Films shot in Hawaii Films produced by Hal B. Wallis Films with screenplays by Edward Anhalt Sailing films Films about fishing Films about singers 1960s American films