''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 Character (arts), charac ...

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

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 ...

as a singer who takes a job working with a struggling carnival. The film was produced by Hal Wallis and directed by John Rich from a screenplay by Anthony Lawrence and Allan Weiss. The screenplay was nominated for a

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is the name of two American labor unions representing writers in film, television, radio, and online media: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is headquartered in New York City and is affiliated wit ...

award for best written American musical although ''Roustabout'' received a lukewarm review in '' Variety''. The film's soundtrack

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

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 ...

Paramount Studios Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production and distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount Global. It is the sixth-oldest film studio i ...

, with carnival sequences shot in

Thousand Oaks, California Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, located in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles. Approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown Los Angeles, it is named after the many oak trees pr ...

. 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 (American English), usually simply called a carnival, travelling funfair or travelling show (British English), is an amusement show that may be made up of List of amusement rides, amusement rides, food vendors, merchandi ...

while the bike is being repaired. Charlie becomes a "carnie", a

roustabout Roustabout (Australia/New Zealand English: rouseabout) is an occupational term. Traditionally, it referred to a worker with broad-based, non-specific skills. In particular, it was used to describe show or circus workers who put up tents and boo ...

. Maggie recognizes his musical talents and promotes him to feature attraction. His act soon draws large crowds. 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. Charlie goes back to the carnival to help rescue the carnival. Joe takes another swung at Charlie and Charlie defends himself. Maggie witnesses the fight and asks Charlie to be honest once in his life and stop being a louse. Charlie said he came back to save the carnival and because he loves Cathy.

Cast

as Charlie Rogers * Barbara Stanwyck as Maggie Morgan * Joan Freeman as Cathy Lean * Leif Erickson as Joe Lean *

Jack Albertson Harold "Jack" Albertson (June 16, 1907 – November 25, 1981) was an American actor, comedian, dancer and singer who also performed in vaudeville. Albertson was a Tony, Oscar, and Emmy winning actor, which ranks him among a rare stature of 24 ...

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

Pat Buttram Maxwell Emmett "Pat" Buttram (June 19, 1915 – January 8, 1994) was an American character actor. Buttram was known for playing the sidekick of Gene Autry and for playing the character of Mr. Haney in the television series ''Green Acres''. He had ...

as Harry Carver * Joan Staley as Marge *

Dabbs Greer Robert William "Dabbs" Greer (April 2, 1917 – April 28, 2007) was an American character actor in film and television for over 60 years. Greer appeared in nearly 100 film roles and in nearly 600 television episodes of various series. He pl ...

as Arthur Nielsen * Steve Brodie as Fred the Pitcher * Norman Grabowski as Sam * Lynn Borden 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 i ...

as Billy, carnival midget *

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 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 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 co-wrote the cont ...

as Carnival Worker

Musical numbers

:''See also Roustabout (soundtrack)'' * "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 and Sid Wayne * "Carny Town" by Fred Wise and Randy Starr * "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 and

Mike Stoller Leiber and Stoller were an American songwriting and record production duo, consisting of lyricist Jerome Leiber (; April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933). As well as many R&B and pop hits, they wr ...

* "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 Jerry ...

and

Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as Commanding General of the United States Army from 1841 to 1861, and was a veteran of the War of 1812, American Indian Wars, Mexica ...

, 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'' (''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 ...

'' 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 rock and roll musical film directed by George Sidney, written by Sally Benson, choreographed by David Winters, and starring Elvis Presley, Ann-Margret, Cesare Danova, William Demarest and Nicky Blair ...

'', but noted that Elvis was "perfectly cast" and "surprisingly convincing in his role." '' Variety'' 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 family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...

frame." 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 ...

'' 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 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 ...

'' 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 Barbara Stanwyck, back with Paramount for the first time in ten years."

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American filmmaker, actor, and author. Quentin Tarantino filmography, His films are characterized by graphic violence, extended dialogue often featuring much profanity, and references to ...

called ''Roustabout'' one of Presley's most entertaining films and said that it had the best soundtrack of all of Presley's color films. ''Roustabout'' holds a 56% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

based on nine reviews.

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 advertis ...

'' 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 ninth studio album by American rock and roll singer Elvis Presley. It was released by RCA Records on June 2, 1969. It was recorded at American Sound Studio in Memphis in January and February 1969 under the dire ...

'', 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 English-language romantic musical films