G.I. Blues

1960 "Elvis scores... a singing triumph... and a romantic hit!"
6.2| 1h44m| PG| en| More Info
Released: 23 November 1960 Released
Producted By: Hal Wallis Productions
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

Stationed in West Germany, soldier Tulsa McLean hopes to open up a nightclub when he gets out of the army. Tulsa may lack the capital for such a venture, but a chance to raise the cash comes his way through a friendly wager. Local dancer Lili (Juliet Prowse) is a notorious ice queen, and Tulsa bets everything he has that a friend of his can earn her affections. But, when that friend is dispatched to Alaska, it's up to Tulsa to melt Lili's heart.

Genre

Comedy, Music

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Director

Norman Taurog

Production Companies

Hal Wallis Productions

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G.I. Blues Audience Reviews

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film
Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.
Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
one-nine-eighty Elvis plays Tulsa Mclean, a soldier stationed in Germany. When he's not marching or driving a tank he's playing the Frankfurt music scene, trying to earn enough money to save up for a nightclub back home in the Oklahoma, USA. Tulsa places a bet with a fellow soldier, Dynamite, that he can't win the heart of the local ice queen - Lili, a dancer at one of the clubs they frequent. When orders come in the relocate Dynamite, Tulsa take's his place and tries to win the bet. G.I. Blues was Elvis' first post army film, so to some extent he's re-living some the experiences he's had. The music is comprised of decent pop songs rather than rock and roll, so he comes across more grown up than in other wild child films that he's been in. It looks like there was on-screen chemistry with Juliet Prowse as they are believable in the context of the film - there are some scenes where they carry the film too. There is an element of camp and cheese, as there is in all Elvis films, but it's all light hearted and fun. When you stack this up against other films he done, this one is, for me, one of the better ones - one I'm sure Elvis fans love too. I'd give this a 7 out of 10 and I'd happily randomly watch this on any given lazy Sunday.
hthremly By far my favorite Elvis movie. Love him in uniform and the story line is so believable.
zardoz-13 You can always tell a good Elvis movie from a bad one, and "G.I. Blues" ranks as one of his better efforts. The story boils down basically to Elvis gets the girl no matter how reluctant she may be. This time he pursues the gorgeous Juliet Prowse. Prowse plays an eligible, single, white, female named Lili who puts on quite a floor show in the German nightclub where she dances. Elvis is in the military—as he was briefly in real life—but this time he is Tulsa MacLean, a member of a U.S. Army tank battalion. The G.I.s challenge him to a bet that he cannot spend a night alone with Lili, and Tulsa embarks on the arduous task of romancing this iceberg. Predictably, the Pelvis wins the wager, but he doesn't do it in an obnoxious fashion. Indeed, his behavior is that of a gentleman, and he impresses Lili with his good manners while his drooling buddies watch from afar. "G.I. Blues" was his fifth cinematic outing, coming between Michael Curtiz's above-average "King Creole" and one of his finest westerns Don Siegel's "Flaming Star." This was his sixth outing with director Norman Taurog, the most prolific of Elvis's directors with nine films films to his credit. The Germany scenery is nice. "Donovan's Reef" writer Edmund Beloin and "A Visit to a Small Planet" scribe Henry Garson drum up some good dialogue in this lightweight but entertaining romantic comedy.
Michael_Elliott G.I. Blues (1960) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Better than average Elvis vehicle has him playing a G.I. who dreams of one day owning his own nightclub. He makes a bet with some older soldiers that he can take out a dancer (Juliet Prowse) but soon he starts to have feelings for the woman and wants out of the bet. Elvis' comeback film is a pretty good one even though there are still a few weak moments. For the most part the film is charming enough to keep itself going from start to finish even though the thing runs a tad bit too long. Elvis must have been very comfortable in the role of a G.I. because I've never seen him as relaxed in a role. He actually does a pretty good job here and comes off very natural and gets to show off some of his sense of humor. It goes without saying that this film wanted to cash in on The King's military career and for the most part they nail him in the role. The supporting players are equally impressive and add a lot as well. Prowse is very sexy in her role and manages a good performance. The film stealers for me were Robert Ivers and Leticia Roman as the sidekicks. Ivers has a great comic timing and makes for several funny sequences. The music numbers here are all rather hit and miss with none of them what I'd call classic Elvis. I thought the use of Presley's "Blue Suede Shoes" was a nice touch as was the sequence with Elvis trying to babysit. The film is certainly lightweight and predictable but it does have enough charm to make it worth watching and I'm sure the girls in 1960 were passing out at the site of Elvis in the shower.