Kissin' Cousins | |
---|---|
Directed by | Gene Nelson |
Screenplay by | |
Story by | Gerald Drayson Adams |
Produced by | Sam Katzman |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Ellis W. Carter |
Edited by | Ben Lewis |
Music by | Gene Nelson |
Production company | Four-Leaf Productions |
Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
Release date |
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Running time | 96 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $3,000,000 (USA & Canada) [1] |
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.
The U.S. Federal Government has run into a dead end trying to negotiate the lease of mountaintop land owned by Pappy Tatum, in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, for use as an ICBM missile base. U.S. Army General Alvin Donford gives Captain Robert Salbo seven days to secure the lease, or face permanent assignment to Greenland. After a quick computer search of military records, Salbo requests that U.S. Air Force pilot Second Lt. Josh Morgan, born elsewhere in the Great Smoky Mountains, be assigned as his number two. When they arrive in Tennessee with a small platoon, dark-haired Josh is surprised to meet his look-alike third cousin Jodie Tatum, a blond hillbilly.
Josh also meets his two beautiful country cousins, Azalea and Selena, who compete to win his affections. Josh eventually chooses Azalea and pairs off Selena with his friend, Master Sgt. William Bailey. Jodie, on the other hand, falls for Private Midge Riley, a beautiful but fiery soldier. There are also a group of 13 mountain maidens called the Kittyhawks who create havoc when they set their sights on the marriage-eligible soldiers.
Josh persuades Pappy Tatum to lease the mountaintop to the government for a monthly payment of $1,000 ($9,800 today) as long as an access road is built from the far side and the military provide security to prevent government employees from accessing Tatum's side – which will prevent "revenoors" from interfering with Pappy's moonshining.
While set in the Great Smoky Mountains, the film was shot in the Los Angeles area, both on set at MGM Studios and outdoors in the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles; some filming took place in Big Bear Lake. [2] The film was produced by Sam Katzman for Four-Leaf Productions, and was distributed in the United States by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film was released in the United States on March 6, 1964 and reached #11 on the Variety National Box Office Chart, earning $3 million, and finished at #26 on the year end list of the top-grossing movies of 1964. [3] Presley's film, Viva Las Vegas , filmed during the summer of 1963 before Kissin Cousins, was released after Kissin' Cousins. Both Arthur O'Connell and Jack Albertson were cast alongside Presley, thus providing the film with 'double-barreled curmudgeons,' per Variety.
Sam Katzman produced an unsuccessful 1965 MGM Television television pilot starring Edd Byrnes for the NBC television network. [4]
In 1988, Kissin' Cousins made its home video debut, released on VHS. When it was reissued on VHS in 1997, the song "Smokey Mountain Boy" was deleted. It was later restored to the film when it made its DVD debut in 2007.
The song "Kissin' Cousins", which was performed as the movie's finale, reached #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 [5] and was certified Gold by the RIAA. [6] There are two different versions, or arrangements, of the song, both performed by Presley: one of which played over the opening and closing credits, and the other of which was performed by both Presley characters as a "duet" in the final scene.
Howard Thompson of The New York Times wrote, "With the flavor of 'Fun in Acapulco'—and that it was—fairly fresh, Elvis Presley's movie status takes a nosedive in his latest, 'Kissin' Cousins' ... Sam Katzman's production is tired, strained and familiar stuff, even with double-barreled Presley." [7]
Variety wrote, "This new Elvis Presley concoction is a pretty dreary effort, one that certainly won't replenish the popularity of Sir Swivel. Presley needs — and merits — more substantial material than this if his career is to continue to flourish as in the past." One of the review's primary criticisms was "the business of bursting into song out of context in the middle of a scene. This used to be reasonably acceptable to audiences, but now it is beginning to evolve into an anachronism." [8]
Margaret Harford in the Los Angeles Times called the film "a frisky mixture of 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers' and 'Li'l Abner.' You get your money's worth before monotony sets in as it does in nearly all the Presley pictures." [9]
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote,
"Presley films of only two or three years back set high standards of humour, characterisation and pictorial attractiveness. With its tired hillbilly jokes, dance routines reminiscent of Li'l Abner, over-acting and straggling plot, this is a poor successor to comedies like Follow That Dream. The effort into presenting Presley in two roles in the same shot, and even fighting 'himself', seems strangely wasted, so little importance does the similarity of Josh and Jodie have in the story." [10]
Screenwriters Gene Nelson and Gerald Drayson Adams were nominated for the Writers Guild of America Award in the category of Best Written American Musical (won by Mary Poppins ). [11]
Dolores Agnes Fuller was an American actress and songwriter known as the one-time girlfriend of the low-budget film director Ed Wood. She played the protagonist's girlfriend in Glen or Glenda, co-starred in Wood's Jail Bait, and had a minor role in his Bride of the Monster. After she broke up with Wood in 1955, she relocated to New York and had a very successful career there as a songwriter. Elvis Presley recorded a number of her songs written for his films.
Roustabout is a 1964 American musical feature film starring Elvis Presley 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 award for best written American musical although Roustabout received a lukewarm review in Variety. The film's soundtrack album was one of Elvis Presley's most successful, reaching no. 1 on the Billboard Album Chart. It was filmed in Techniscope at Paramount Studios, with carnival sequences shot in Thousand Oaks, California. Filming began in March 1964.
Blue Hawaii is a 1961 American musical romantic comedy drama film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Elvis Presley. The screenplay by Hal Kanter was nominated by the Writers Guild of America in 1962 in the category of Best Written American Musical. The film opened at number two in box-office receipts for that week and, despite mixed reviews from critics, finished as the 10th top-grossing film of 1961 and 14th for 1962 in the Variety national box office survey, earning $5 million. The film won a fourth place prize Laurel Award in the category of Top Musical of 1961.
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. Set in Las Vegas, Nevada, the film is about two competing race car drivers who also compete for the same girl.
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.
Tickle Me is a 1965 American musical comedy western film directed by Norman Taurog and starring Elvis Presley as a champion rodeo bull rider and bronco buster.
Stay Away, Joe is a 1968 American comedy western film with musical interludes, set in modern times and starring Elvis Presley, Burgess Meredith, Joan Blondell, Katy Jurado and Thomas Gomez. Directed by Peter Tewksbury, the film is based on the 1953 satirical farce novel of the same name by Dan Cushman. The film reached number 65 on the Variety weekly national box office chart in 1968.
Speedway is a 1968 American musical action film starring Elvis Presley as a racecar driver and Nancy Sinatra as his romantic interest.
Sam Katzman was an American film producer and director. Katzman's specialty was producing low-budget genre films, including serials, which had disproportionately high returns for the studios and his financial backers.
William Lance LeGault Sr. was an American actor. He was best known as U.S. Army Colonel Roderick Decker in the 1980s American television series The A-Team.
Gerald Drayson Adams was a Canadian-born American business executive and literary agent when he began writing for films in the 1940s. The Oxford University-educated Adams specialized in action/adventure and western films. His films include Dead Reckoning (1947) starring Humphrey Bogart, The Big Steal (1949), Armored Car Robbery (1950), His Kind of Woman, The Black Sleep (1956), and Kissin' Cousins (1964), starring Elvis Presley, for which he received a WGA award nomination. Adams also wrote for television series, including the pivotal episodes "Hostage" with James Garner and Jack Kelly and "Stampede" with Efrem Zimbalist Jr. for Maverick (1957) as well as "The Savage Hills" with Diane Brewster for the same series.
Randy Starr is an American dentist and singer-songwriter known for writing twelve songs for Elvis Presley.
Kissing Cousins may refer to:
Cynthia Pepper is a retired American actress whose principal work was during the early 1960s. She was the star of the 1961–1962 television series Margie. She played Midge in Elvis Presley's Kissin' Cousins (1964).
Tommy Farrell was an American actor who appeared in over 100 films and TV series between 1944 and 1983. He was best known for his sidekick roles in the Hollywood Golden Age.
Kissin' Cousins is the eighth soundtrack album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released by RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 2894, in April 1964. It is the soundtrack to the 1964 film of the same name starring Presley. Recording sessions took place at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 26 and 27, and September 29 and 30, 1963. It peaked at number six on the Billboard Top LPs chart. The album was certified Gold on March 27, 1992 by the Recording Industry Association of America.
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.
Hootenanny Hoot is a 1963 folk music musical film directed by Gene Nelson. It stars Peter Breck and Ruta Lee.
Pamela Austin is an American retired actress.
"Kissin' Cousins" is a song first recorded by Elvis Presley as the title track for the soundtrack of the 1964 motion picture Kissin' Cousins. The movie also featured a completely different song, titled "Kissin' Cousins ", written by Bill Giant, Bernie Baum and Florence Kaye.