Today’s Elvis ‘B’ topic for my A to Z Blogging Challenge is one of my favorite Elvis movies Blue Hawaii. This is a fan favorite with probably the highest selling soundtrack including the following songs: “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” “Hawaiian Love Song,” “Rock-a-Hula Baby” and “Blue Hawaii.” With its great success at the box office after two ‘failures’ of more serious, dramatic, non-musical Elvis movies, Blue Hawaii was THE movie that was to be the formula for most of Elvis’ remaining movies – the cheesy Elvis gets girl musical formula, but this one wasn’t as cheesy as its successors would be.

Blue Hawaii was Elvis’ 8th movie and my 5th favorite. I am not even an Angela Lansbury or Murder She Wrote fan, but Angela (who plays Elvis’ mother even though she was only 10 years older than Elvis) almost steals the show with her comedic performance. I find Lansbury absolutely hysterical in this movie. Joan Blackman, who also costars with Elvis in Kid Galahad (another favorite of mine), plays Elvis’s love interest. Besides Shelley Fabares (who costarred with Elvis in three of his movies including my favorite Girl Happy), Joan is probably my favorite Elvis costar. The only person I have met from Blue Hawaii is Darlene Tompkins, who played one of the teen girls Elvis takes around Hawaii as their tour guide.

 

If you would like to read more about what I think of all 31 of Elvis’ movies, please click here. What is your favorite movie, song, book about Elvis that begins with ‘B’? Please comment below.  Remember to check back tomorrow to see what ‘C’ topic I’ve chosen for Elvis, as my A to Z April Blogging Challenge continues here.