''Roustabout'' is a 1964 American

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

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 singer who takes a job working with a struggling carnival. The film was produced by Hal Wallis and directed by

John Rich John Rich (born January 7, 1974) is an American country music singer-songwriter. From 1992 to 1998, he was a member of the country music band Lonestar, in which he played bass guitar and alternated with Richie McDonald as lead vocalist. After ...

from a screenplay by Anthony Lawrence and Allan Weiss. The screenplay was nominated for a

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 ...

award for best written American musical although ''Roustabout'' received a lukewarm review in ''

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), ...

''. The film's soundtrack

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

was one of Elvis Presley's most successful, reaching no. 1 on the Billboard Album Chart. It was filmed in

Techniscope Techniscope or 2-perf is a 35 mm motion picture camera film format introduced by Technicolor Italia in 1960. The Techniscope format uses a two film-perforation negative pulldown per frame, instead of the standard four-perforation frame us ...

at Paramount Studios with location for carnival sequences shot in

Thousand Oaks, California Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown. It is named after the many oak tr ...

. Filming began in March 1964.

Plot

Musician Charlie Rogers is fired from a job at a teahouse after brawling with several college students in the parking lot. After a night in jail, Charlie hits the road on his Honda 305 Superhawk motorcycle. He spots Cathy Lean driving with her father Joe, and their employer, Maggie Morgan. When Charlie tries to become friendly with Cathy, Joe forces him off the road and the bike is wrecked after crashing into a wooden fence. Maggie offers him a place to stay and a job with her struggling

traveling carnival A traveling carnival (US English), usually simply called a carnival, or travelling funfair (UK English), is an amusement show that may be made up of amusement rides, food vendors, merchandise vendors, games of chance and skill, thrill acts, ...

while the bike is being repaired. Charlie becomes a "carnie", a roustabout. Maggie recognizes his musical talents and promotes him to feature attraction. His act soon draws large crowds. Off stage, Charlie romances Cathy, which creates animosity with Joe. After the two men repeatedly clash and Charlie is accused of holding back a customer's lost wallet that Joe was accused of stealing, Charlie leaves to star in the much better financed show of rival carnival producer Harry Carver. Once again, he is a great success. However, when Charlie learns that Maggie is facing bankruptcy, he returns to her carnival. In the musical finale, he is happily reunited with Cathy.

Cast

as Charlie Rogers *

Barbara Stanwyck Barbara Stanwyck (; born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress, model and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career she was known for her strong, realistic sc ...

as Maggie Morgan * Joan Freeman as Cathy Lean * Leif Erickson as Joe Lean *

Jack Albertson Harold Albertson (June 16, 1907 – November 25, 1981), known professionally as Jack Albertson, was an American actor, comedian, dancer and singer who also performed in variety. Albertson was a Tony, Oscar, and Emmy winning actor. For his perfo ...

as Lou, a teahouse manager * Sue Ane Langdon as Madame Mijanou, a

fortune teller Fortune telling is the practice of prediction, predicting information about a person's life.J. Gordon Melton, Melton, J. Gordon. (2008). ''The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena''. Visible Ink Press. pp. 115-116. The scope of fortune telling ...

* Pat Buttram as Harry Carver *

Joan Staley Joan Staley (born Joan Lynette McConchie; May 20, 1940 – November 24, 2019) was an American actress and model. Early life Staley was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the daughter of James and Jean McConchie. Her father was a minister, a ...

as Marge * Dabbs Greer as Arthur Nielsen * Steve Brodie as Fred the Pitcher *Norman Grabowski as Sam *

Lynn Borden Lynn Marie Freyse (March 24, 1937 – March 3, 2015) was an American film and television actress. She was known for playing Barbara Baxter in the final season of the American sitcom television series '' Hazel''. Life and career Borden was bo ...

as a college student *Jane Dulo as Hazel * Joel Fluellen as Cody Marsh, another roustabout *Wilda Taylor as Little Egypt, the principal dancer in the number "Little Egypt" Uncredited actors listed alphabetically: * Beverly Adams as Cora, a dancer *

Billy Barty Billy Barty (born William John Bertanzetti, October 25, 1924 – December 23, 2000) was an American actor and activist. In adult life, he stood tall, due to cartilage–hair hypoplasia dwarfism. Because of his short stature, he was often cast ...

as Billy, carnival midget * Teri Garr as College Girl. Garr can also be seen as a backup dancer during several musical numbers. * Joy Harmon as College Girl * Richard Kiel as Strongman. Kiel is better known for playing "Jaws" in the James Bond movies '' The Spy Who Loved Me'' (1977) and '' Moonraker'' (1979) * Kent McCord as Carnival Worker *

Raquel Welch Jo Raquel Welch ( Tejada; September 5, 1940) is an American actress. She first won attention for her role in '' Fantastic Voyage'' (1966), after which she won a contract with 20th Century Fox. They lent her contract to the British studio Hamm ...

as College Girl *

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 Carnival Worker

Musical numbers

:''See also

Roustabout (soundtrack) ''Roustabout'' is the ninth soundtrack album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released on RCA Victor Records in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 2999, in October 1964. It is the soundtrack to the 1964 film of the same name starring Presle ...

'' *"Roustabout" by Bill Giant, Bernie Baum and Florence Kaye *"Poison Ivy League" by Bill Giant, Bernie Baum and Florence Kaye *"One Track Heart" by Bill Giant, Bernie Baum and Florence Kaye *"Wheels On My Heels" by Sid Tepper and

Roy C. Bennett Roy C. Bennett (August 12, 1918 – July 2, 2015) was an American songwriter known for the songs he wrote with Sid Tepper, which spawned several hits for Elvis Presley. Between 1945 and 1970, Tepper and Bennett published over 300 songs. Biograp ...

*"It's a Wonderful World" by Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett *"It's Carnival Time" by

Ben Weisman Benjamin Weisman (November 16, 1921 – May 20, 2007) was an American composer. He wrote 57 songs recorded by Elvis Presley, more than any other songwriter. Biography Weisman was born in Providence, Rhode Island, and grew up in Brooklyn, New Yor ...

and Sid Wayne *"Carny Town" by Fred Wise and

Randy Starr Randy Starr (born Warren Nadel, July 2, 1930) is an American dentist and singer-songwriter known for writing twelve songs for Elvis Presley. Early life Starr was educated at Columbia University where he took his undergraduate degree from Colu ...

*"Hard Knocks" by Joy Byers *"There's a Brand New Day On the Horizon" by Joy Byers *"Big Love, Big Heartache" by Dolores Fuller, Lee Morris and Sonny Hendrix *"Little Egypt" by

Jerry Leiber Lyricist Jerome Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933) were American songwriting and record producing partners. They found success as the writers of such Crossover music, crossover hit songs ...

and

Mike Stoller Lyricist Jerome Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933) were American songwriting and record producing partners. They found success as the writers of such crossover hit songs as " Hound Dog" ( ...

*"I'm A Roustabout" by

Otis Blackwell Otis Blackwell (February 16, 1931 – May 6, 2002) was an American songwriter whose work influenced rock and roll. His compositions include " Fever" (recorded by Little Willie John), " Great Balls of Fire" and " Breathless" (recorded by Jerr ...

and

Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as a general in the United States Army from 1814 to 1861, taking part in the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, the early s ...

, a different and unreleased theme song for the movie All tunes in the film were sung by Presley.

Reception

''Roustabout'' reached #8 nationally at the box office in 1964 based on the ''Variety'' survey. The film finished as #28 on the year-end list of the top-grossing movies of 1964 and earned $3 million at the box office. ''

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 ...

'' writer Howard Thompson complained about "little in the way of dramatic substance" and that the movie wasn't "nearly so trim a package" as '' Fun in Acapulco'' or ''

Viva Las Vegas ''Viva Las Vegas'' is a 1964 American musical film directed by George Sidney and starring Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret. The film is regarded by fans and film critics as one of Presley's best films, and it is noted for the on-screen chemistry b ...

'', but noted that Elvis was "perfectly cast" and "surprisingly convincing in his role." ''

'' was lukewarm, faulting mainly a script "loaded with clichés", but noted the film would likely be a box-office hit based upon its star names, songs, and "

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

frame." 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 ...

'' called the film "a trite, cliche-ridden story that has been thrown together to showcase Elvis Presley and his vocalizing. It serves its purpose well, and probably will prove a box office bonanza for producer Hal Wallis." '' The Monthly Film Bulletin'' wrote, "Presley vehicles have sadly deteriorated since the days of '' Follow That Dream,'' and this amiable but uninspiring piece does nothing to halt the process, despite curiosity value provided by Barbra Stanwyck, back with Paramount for the first time in ten years."

Awards and honors

The film's screenwriters, Anthony Lawrence and Allan Weiss, were nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Musical. The film generated a best-selling soundtrack

that went #1 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' charts. The soundtrack album would be Presley's final #1 soundtrack and last #1 album until 1969's ''

From Elvis in Memphis ''From Elvis in Memphis'' is the tenth studio album by American rock and roll singer Elvis Presley. It was released by RCA Records on June 17, 1969. It was recorded at American Sound Studio in Memphis in January and February 1969 under the direc ...

'', which topped the charts in the U.K.

References

External links

* * * * {{Authority control 1964 films 1960s romantic musical films American musical drama films American romantic drama films American romantic musical films Circus films Films directed by John Rich Films produced by Hal B. Wallis Films shot in California Paramount Pictures films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films