Double Trouble (1967 film)

Last updated

Double Trouble
Elvis-double-trouble.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Norman Taurog
Screenplay by Jo Heims
Story byMark Brandel
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Daniel L. Fapp
Edited by John McSweeney Jr.
Music by Jeff Alexander
Production
company
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • May 24, 1967 (1967-05-24)(USA) [1]
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1,600,000 (US/ Canada) [2]

Double Trouble is a 1967 American musical film starring Elvis Presley. The comedic plot concerns an American singer who crosses paths with criminals in Europe. The movie was #58 on the year-end list of the top-grossing films of 1967. Released on April 5, 1967, the film, Presley's twenty-fourth, was actually filmed before his twenty-third film, Easy Come, Easy Go , which was released two weeks prior on March 22, 1967.

Contents

Plot

When singer Guy Lambert and his entourage travel from Swinging London to Antwerp on a tour, he is followed by Jill Conway, a beautiful but unworldly heiress, and Claire Dunham, a sexy society sophisticate. Complicating matters are a pair of ineptly comical jewel thieves who have hidden smuggled diamonds in Jill's luggage, a trio of bumbling Clouseau-like Flemish detectives, and a mysterious murderer who seems bent on killing Jill.

Cast

Background

It was the first film produced by Irwin Winkler, a manager who had impressed Robert O'Brien, head of MGM, during the making of Doctor Zhivago (1965). O'Brien suggested Winkler produce a movie for MGM, and Russell Thatcher, head of the studio's story department, offered the script for Double Trouble, thinking it would make an ideal vehicle for Julie Christie, who had been in Doctor Zhivago. Winkler agreed and took the project to O'Brien, who said he wanted to make it, but starring Elvis Presley instead of Christie. The script had to be rewritten to accommodate Presley. Although the film was set in Europe, all the action was shot on the MGM backlot in Culver City. [3]

Winkler later wrote that his first "foray into Hollywood" was "with a famous male rock singer playing a dramatic role that had been written for a woman, a controlling, hostile manager, a story that took place in Europe and would be shot in Culver City, California, and a very nice director who could hardly walk up the stairs to meet me and who'd told me he was going blind." [4]

Elvis was paid $750,000 plus 40% of the profits. [5]

Renowned character actor Michael Murphy made his big-screen, feature-film debut playing the character Morley.

Soundtrack

Reception

Howard Thompson of The New York Times called the film "pretty fair and far better than the last three Presley clinkers," adding, "The studio-photographed action, most of it very silly, has been blended rather neatly with the authentic backgrounds. At least the picture moves. Furthermore, the good tunes arrive thick and fast, and several numbers are festive and charming." [6] Variety wrote that the film "appears to have been whipped up to showcase a big name without much thought of content other than to serve as footage to cash in on the star's draw," though the review thought that Presley "gives a pretty fair account of himself despite what's handed him and the substantial hold he wields over his public should help reception." [7] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times praised the "likable" cast and production values that were better than those of most Presley films: "The cast never left Culver City, but you would never know it, so cleverly have quaint Belgian streets and other European settings been reproduced on the back lot." [8] The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote, "As an attempt to provide Presley with slightly different material (while retaining, of course, the usual plethora of songs), this comedy-thriller misfires, despite its genial approach." [9]

Related Research Articles

<i>Jailhouse Rock</i> (film) 1957 film by Richard Thorpe

Jailhouse Rock is a 1957 American musical drama film directed by Richard Thorpe and starring Elvis Presley, Judy Tyler, Mickey Shaughnessy, Vaughn Taylor and Jennifer Holden. Adapted by Guy Trosper from a story written by Nedrick Young, the film tells the story of Vince Everett (Presley), a convict who learns the guitar while in prison and later becomes a star following his release.

Irwin Winkler is an American film producer and director. He is the producer or director of over 58 motion pictures, dating back to 1967's Double Trouble, starring Elvis Presley. The fourth film he produced, They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969), starring Jane Fonda, was nominated for nine Academy Awards. He won an Oscar for Best Picture for 1976's Rocky. As a producer, he has been nominated for Best Picture for four films: Rocky (1976), Raging Bull (1980), The Right Stuff (1983), and Goodfellas (1990).

<i>Point Blank</i> (1967 film) 1967 American crime film directed by John Boorman

Point Blank is a 1967 American crime film directed by John Boorman, starring Lee Marvin, co-starring Angie Dickinson, Keenan Wynn and Carroll O'Connor, and adapted from the 1963 crime noir pulp novel The Hunter by Donald E. Westlake, writing as Richard Stark. Boorman directed the film at Marvin's request and Marvin played a central role in the film's development. The film grossed over $9 million in theatrical rentals in 1967 and has since gone on to become a cult classic, eliciting praise from such critics as film historian David Thomson.

<i>Follow That Dream</i> 1962 film by Gordon Douglas

Follow That Dream is a 1962 American musical comedy film made by Mirisch Productions and starring Elvis Presley. The film was based on the 1959 novel Pioneer, Go Home! by Richard P. Powell. Producer Walter Mirisch liked the film's song "Follow That Dream" and retitled the picture accordingly. The film reached #5 on the Variety weekly Box Office Survey, staying on the chart for three weeks, and finishing at #33 on the year-end list of the top-grossing movies of 1962.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Taurog</span> American film director (1899–1981)

Norman Rae Taurog was an American film director and screenwriter. From 1920 to 1968, Taurog directed 180 films. At the age of 32, he received the Academy Award for Best Director for Skippy (1931), becoming the youngest person to win the award for eight and a half decades until Damien Chazelle won for La La Land in 2017. He was later nominated for Best Director for the film Boys Town (1938). He directed some of the best-known actors of the twentieth century, including his nephew Jackie Cooper, Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Deanna Durbin, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Deborah Kerr, Peter Lawford, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Elvis Presley and Vincent Price. Taurog directed six Martin and Lewis films, and nine Elvis Presley films, more than any other director.

<i>Kissin Cousins</i> 1964 film by Gene Nelson

Kissin' Cousins is a 1964 American musical Panavision Metrocolor comedy film directed by Gene Nelson and starring Elvis Presley. Written by Gerald Drayson Adams and Gene Nelson, the film featured Presley playing two roles: an Air Force officer, with dark hair, and his look-alike hillbilly distant cousin, with blond hair.

<i>Girl Happy</i> 1965 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Boris Sagal

Girl Happy is a 1965 American musical romantic comedy and beach party film starring Elvis Presley in his eighteenth feature. The movie won a fourth place prize Laurel Award in the category Top Musical of 1965. It featured the song "Puppet on a String", which reached #14 on the Billboard Hot 100, #3 on the Adult Contemporary chart and in Canada, and was certified Gold by the RIAA.

<i>Frankie and Johnny</i> (1966 film) 1966 film by Frederick de Cordova

Frankie and Johnny is a 1966 American Western musical film starring Elvis Presley as a riverboat gambler. The role of "Frankie" was played by Donna Douglas from The Beverly Hillbillies TV series. The film reached #40 on the Variety weekly national box office list for 1966. The budget of the film was estimated at $4.5 million. The director was Frederick De Cordova, who in 1970 went on to become the director and producer of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

<i>Easy Come, Easy Go</i> (1967 film) 1967 music film comedy from the United States directed by John Rich

Easy Come, Easy Go is a 1967 American musical comedy film starring Elvis Presley. Hal Wallis produced the film for Paramount Pictures, and it was Wallis' final production with Presley. The film co-starred Dodie Marshall, Pat Priest, Pat Harrington, Jr., Skip Ward, Frank McHugh and Elsa Lanchester. The movie reached #50 on the Variety magazine national box office list in 1967.

<i>Speedway</i> (1968 film) 1968 musical film directed by Norman Taurog

Speedway is a 1968 American musical action film starring Elvis Presley as a racecar driver and Nancy Sinatra as his romantic interest.

<i>The Trouble with Girls</i> (film) 1969 film by Peter Tewksbury

The Trouble with Girls (and How to Get into It), also known as simply The Trouble with Girls, is a 1969 film directed by Peter Tewksbury and starring Elvis Presley. It was one of Presley's final acting roles, along with the same year's Change of Habit. It is based on the 1960 novel Chautauqua by Day Keene and Dwight Vincent Babcock.

<i>The Girl Cant Help It</i> 1956 musical comedy film by Frank Tashlin

The Girl Can't Help It is a 1956 American musical comedy film starring Jayne Mansfield in the lead role, Tom Ewell, Edmond O'Brien, Henry Jones, and Julie London. The picture was produced and directed by Frank Tashlin, with a screenplay adapted by Tashlin and Herbert Baker from an uncredited 1955 short story, "Do Re Mi" by Garson Kanin. Filmed in DeLuxe Color, the production was originally intended as a vehicle for the American sex symbol Jayne Mansfield, with a satirical subplot involving teenagers and rock 'n' roll music. The unintended result has been called the "most potent" celebration of rock music ever captured on film.

<i>Elvis: Thats the Way It Is</i> 1970 film by Denis Sanders

Elvis: That's the Way It Is is a 1970 American documentary film directed by Denis Sanders. The film documents American singer Elvis Presley's Summer Festival in Las Vegas during August 1970. It was his first non-dramatic film since the beginning of his film career in 1956, and the film gives a clear view of Presley's return to live performances after years of making films. The film was released simultaneously with Presley's similarly titled twelfth studio album, That's the Way It Is.

<i>The Split</i> (film) 1968 American film by Gordon Flemyng

The Split is a 1968 American neo-noir crime drama film directed by Gordon Flemyng and written by Robert Sabaroff based upon the Parker novel The Seventh by Richard Stark.

<i>Double Trouble</i> (soundtrack) 1967 soundtrack album by Elvis Presley

Double Trouble is the fifteenth soundtrack album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released by RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 3787, in June 1967. It is the soundtrack to the 1967 film of the same name starring Presley. Recording sessions took place at Radio Recorders and at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios in Hollywood, California, on June 28, 29, and 30, 1966. It peaked at number 47 on the Billboard 200.

<i>Clambake</i> (soundtrack) 1967 soundtrack album by Elvis Presley

Clambake is the sixteenth soundtrack album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released by RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 3893, in October 1967. It is the soundtrack to the 1967 film of the same name starring Presley. He entered RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee on February 21, 1967, for recording sessions for his twenty-fifth film. Supplemental material sessions took place on September 10 and 11, 1967. It peaked at number 40 on the Billboard 200.

<i>Believe in Me</i> (1971 film) 1971 American film directed by Stuart Hagmann

Believe in Me is a 1971 American romantic drama film directed by Stuart Hagmann and written by Israel Horovitz. The film was produced by Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler.

<i>Your Cheatin Heart</i> (film) 1964 film by Gene Nelson

Your Cheatin' Heart is a 1964 American fictionalized biographical-musical directed by Gene Nelson and starring George Hamilton as country singer Hank Williams. It co-stars Susan Oliver and Red Buttons.

"There Is So Much World to See" is a film song by Elvis Presley. It was featured in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer motion picture Double Trouble (1967). Elvis performs "There Is So Much World to See" to Jill Conway, while she is sitting on the bed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Long Legged Girl (with the Short Dress On)</span> 1967 single by Elvis Presley with the Jordanaires

"Long Legged Girl (with the Short Dress On)" is a song first recorded by Elvis Presley as part of the soundtrack for his 1967 MGM motion picture Double Trouble.

References

  1. "Double Trouble - Details". AFI Catalog of Feature Films . Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  2. "Big Rental Films of 1967" in Variety, 3 January 1968, p. 25. Please note these figures refer to rentals accruing to the distributors.
  3. Winkler, Irwin (2019). A Life in Movies: Stories from Fifty Years in Hollywood (Kindle ed.). Abrams Press. pp. 211–274/3917.
  4. Winkler p 274/3917
  5. Michael A. Hoey, Elvis' Favorite Director: The Amazing 52-Film Career of Norman Taurog, Bear Manor Media 2013
  6. Thompson, Howard (May 25, 1967). "Presley With Scenery". The New York Times : 54.
  7. "Double Trouble". Variety : 6. April 5, 1967.
  8. Thomas, Kevin. "'Double Trouble' in Citywide Showing". Los Angeles Times . June 23, 1967. Part IV, p. 8.
  9. "Double Trouble", The Monthly Film Bulletin , 34 (404): 140, September 1967

DVD reviews