''Fun in Acapulco'' is a 1963 American musical comedy film starring

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

and Ursula Andress. The film featured the Top 10 ''Billboard'' hit " Bossa Nova Baby" and reached No. 1 on the national weekly box office charts a week after the

assassination of President John F. Kennedy John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife Jacqueline Kennedy Onas ...

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. The film would be Presley's last release before the arrival of

Beatlemania Beatlemania was the fanaticism surrounding the English rock band the Beatles from 1963 to 1966. The group's popularity grew in the United Kingdom in late 1963, propelled by the singles " Please Please Me", "From Me to You" and " She Loves Yo ...

. It was the top-grossing movie musical of 1963.

Plot

Mike Windgren works on a boat in Acapulco, Mexico. When Janie Harkins, the bratty daughter of the boat owner, gets him fired, Mike must find new work. A Mexican boy named Raoul helps him get a job as a lifeguard and singer at a local hotel. Clashes abound when Mike runs into a rival lifeguard, who is the champion diver of Mexico. He is angry at Mike for taking some of his hours, and for stealing his woman. Mike is recovering from

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a Psychological trauma, traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster ...

and a fear of heights, following a tragic high-wire accident during his career as a circus performer. However, after Mike sees the lifeguard perform a number of dangerous dives, including flips and head-first dives into a section of the pool surrounded by a ring of fire, he decides to get even with him and eventually sets himself up to perform a death-defying dive off the 136-foot cliffs of La Quebrada in front of hundreds of people. Mike dives off the cliff, and successfully lands in the water, earning the lifeguard's respect. As the crowd and the lifeguard applaud, Mike performs one more song and leaves with Margarita and Raoul.

Cast

as Mike Windgren * Ursula Andress as Margarita Dauphin * Elsa Cárdenas as Dolores Gomez *

Paul Lukas Paul Lukas (born Pál Lukács; 26 May 1894 – 15 August 1971) was a Hungarian actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor, and the first Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama, for his performance in the film ''Wat ...

as Maximilian Dauphin *Larry Domasin as Raoul Almeido * Alejandro Rey as Moreno * Robert Carricart as Jose Garcia * Teri Hope as Janie Harkins *Genaro Gomez as Bullfighter *

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 co-wrote the cont ...

as Poolside Guest *

Teri Garr Terry Ann Garr (December 11, 1944 – October 29, 2024), known as Teri Garr, was an American actress. Known for her comedic roles in film and television in the 1970s and 1980s, she often played women struggling to cope with the life-changing ex ...

as a credited extra * Tony Terran as trumpet player in the band

Controversy

Exterior filming in Acapulco took place in January 1963. A stunt double was used for Presley, whose own shots were later completed in March at the Paramount studios in Los Angeles. Presley was unable to travel to Mexico as he had been declared

persona non grata In diplomacy, a ' (PNG) is a foreign diplomat that is asked by the host country to be recalled to their home country. If the person is not recalled as requested, the host state may refuse to recognize the person concerned as a member of the diplo ...

by local authorities following two violent riots at the trendy 'Las Americas' cinema in Mexico City, during the openings of his previous films ''

King Creole ''King Creole'' is a 1958 American Musical film, 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, W ...

'' (El barrio contra mí) in 1959, and '' G.I. Blues'' (Cafe Europa) in 1961. In fact, the ban had actually started in 1957, when ''

Excélsior ''Excélsior'' is a daily newspaper in Mexico City. It is the second-oldest paper in the city after ''El Universal (Mexico City), El Universal'', printing its first issue on March 18, 1917. The newspaper's headquarters are located at Avenida Buc ...

'', Mexico's foremost newspaper published an article by

gossip columnist A gossip columnist is someone who writes a gossip column in a newspaper or magazine, especially in a gossip magazine. Gossip columns are written in a light, informal style, and relate opinions about the personal lives or conduct of celebrities fr ...

Federico de León that falsely stated Presley had been interviewed while visiting

Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

, a place Presley never visited, before or after, where he had allegedly said that "he would not care to go sing in Mexico, as he found it a distasteful country and that he would in fact prefer to kiss three

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

than a single Mexican woman." This led to a split in attitudes towards Presley among Mexican youth which became physically violent on several occasions. The ''King Creole'' riots saw 100 people jailed, but by the time of ''Fun in Acapulco''′s release, Presley's records had been banned from airplay in 1957, his records publicly burnt in the El Zocalo town square that same year, and as stated above, his ban from stores enforced since 1959. Decades later, it came to light that the false Presley quotes were the work of Ernesto Peralta Uruchurtu, a powerful politician and the Regent of Mexico City. Uruchurtu allegedly sent a blank check to Presley's Los Angeles offices in early 1957 in return for Presley's appearance at the 15th birthday bash of the daughter of a powerful media mogul on whose behalf he was acting. The invitation was not agreed upon, and the check was returned, despite the fact that the mogul had already began to boast publicly that Presley would appear at his daughter's birthday party. The story in "Excélsior" was then planted both as a form of revenge, and as a way of explaining why he did not come to Mexico to sing. These incidents were documented by Parménides García Saldaña in his book "Rey Criollo", and in Eric Zolov's book ''Refried Elvis: The Rise of the Mexican Counterculture''.

Soundtrack

Reception

Howard Thompson of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote in a positive review that "this attractive travel poster for the famed Mexican resort is far and away resley'sbest musical feature to date. It's a pleasant, idyllic movie that never takes itself seriously and moves briskly under Richard Thorpe's direction ... And Mr. Presley has never seemed so relaxed and personable." A middling review in '' Variety'' said, "Presley fans won't be disappointed—he sings ten serviceable songs and wiggles a bit to boot. However, the ground covered by the plot doesn't help to increase his star stature and, for those who are not devotees, the main attraction may only turn out to be the Technicolorful scenery of Acapulco." John L. Scott of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' wrote, "Presley buffs should eat it up ... Director Richard Thorpe has kept the film's pace swift, which helps to cover up a lack of character development and a routine plot." ''

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

'' declared, "There is a distinct falling away here from the charm, humour and liveliness of some recent Elvis Presley films, notably '' Follow That Dream'' ...."

References

2. See writer's biography in Wikipedia's Spanish language page.

External links

* *
Review
by Kevin Laforest at Apollo Movie Guide
Review of the 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 at DVD Talk, August 6, 2007
Review
by Mark Zimmer at digitallyOBSESSED!, January 22, 2003 {{Richard Thorpe 1963 films 1963 musical comedy films 1963 romantic comedy films 1960s romantic musical films 1963 controversies American musical comedy films American romantic comedy films American romantic musical films 1960s English-language films Films directed by Richard Thorpe Films set in Acapulco Paramount Pictures films Films produced by Hal B. Wallis Films shot in Los Angeles Films shot in Mexico Films about post-traumatic stress disorder 1960s American films Films about lifeguards Films scored by Joseph J. Lilley English-language romantic comedy films English-language romantic musical films English-language musical comedy films