Girls! Girls! Girls! is a 1962 American musical comedy film starring Elvis Presley as a penniless Hawaii-based fisherman who loves his life on the sea and dreams of owning his own boat. "Return to Sender", which reached No. 2 on the Billboard pop singles chart, is featured in the film. The film peaked at #6 on the Variety box office chart and finished the year at #19 on the year-end list of the top-grossing films of 1962, having earned $2.6 million at the box office.[3] It was also nominated for the Golden Globe award for Best Motion Picture - Musical in 1963.

Girls! Girls! Girls!
Theatrical release poster
Directed byNorman Taurog
Screenplay byEdward Anhalt
Allen Weiss
Story byAllan Weiss
Produced byHal B. Wallis
Starring
CinematographyLoyal Griggs
Edited byStanley E. Johnson
Music byJoseph J. Lilley
Production
company
Hal Wallis Productions
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release dates
  • October 31, 1962 (1962-10-31) (Honolulu)[1]
  • November 21, 1962 (1962-11-21) (Los Angeles)[2]
Running time
106 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2,600,000 (USA)[3][4] or $3.6 million (US/Canada)[5]

The film was the second of three films Presley shot on location in Hawaii.

Plot

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Ross Carpenter is a Hawaii-based fishing guide and sailor who enjoys boating and sailing out on the sea. When he finds out his boss is retiring to Arizona, he seeks to find a way to buy the Westwind, a boat that he built with his father.

Ross is caught in a love triangle with two women: childish, insensitive club singer Robin, and sweet Laurel. When Wesley Johnson makes advances on Laurel, Ross punches him out. Wesley owns the boat, so Ross thereby loses it. Laurel, however, is not who she pretends to be. She is an heiress getting over a bad breakup, and searching for someone who doesn't love her for her money. She secretly buys the Westwind for him, but Ross' male pride won't allow him to take it. Ross has to choose between her and Robin.

Cast

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Notes

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Pamela Tiffin was asked to play Laurel Dodge, but turned down the role.[6]

Soundtrack

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Reception

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A review in Variety wrote that the film put Presley "back into the non-dramatic, purely escapist light musical vein," adding, "Essentially, Presley plays himself in the breezy sea session. He handles the role capably, though one would hardly expect a hardened fisherman to be as soft, smooth and white as the one Presley depicts. The character has little depth, but he is pleasant."[7] The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote that the songs were "strung very pleasantly on a story-line of disarming simplicity and bedded comfortably in a stretch of gently fizzing repartee."[8] Margaret Harford of the Los Angeles Times called it "no better or worse than previous Elvis epics."[9]

Awards and nominations

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Box office

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Girls! Girls! Girls! earned $2,600,000 at the box office in the United States.[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Girls! Girls! Girls! - Details". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved July 7, 2018.
  2. ^ "Elvis' Film Opens Today". Los Angeles Times: Part IV, p. 6. November 21, 1962.
  3. ^ a b c "Girls! Girls! Girls!". The Numbers. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
  4. ^ Michael A. Hoey, Elvis' Favorite Director: The Amazing 52-Film Career of Norman Taurog, Bear Manor Media 2013
  5. ^ "Big Rental Pictures of 1962". Variety. January 9, 1963. p. 13. Please note these are rentals and not gross figures
  6. ^ Lisanti, Tom (2015). Pamela Tiffin: Hollywood to Rome, 1961-1974. McFarland. p. 49. ISBN 978-1476620169.
  7. ^ "Girls! Girls! Girls!". Variety: 6, 16. November 7, 1962.
  8. ^ "Girls! Girls! Girls!". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 30 (348): 8. January 1963.
  9. ^ Harford, Margaret (November 23, 1962). "Elvis Back in Form in 'Girls' Picture". Los Angeles Times: Part IV, p. 17.
  10. ^ HFPA – Nominations and Winners Archived December 16, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "Elvis Presley". IMDb.
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Movie reviews

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DVD reviews

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