Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Limerculer A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

zardoz-13 Gene Nelson's "Kissin' Cousins" qualifies as an average Elvis musical. The two things, however, set it apart from the usual nonsense. First, Elvis plays dual characters, something that he had never done and would never repeat. He is black-haired Air Force Lieutenant who flies F-84s, and later he is a blonde hillbilly. Mind you, Elvis was an adequate actor, but this duality is a genuine stretch for the King of Rock and Roll. Second, despite its cornball comedy plot, "Kissin' Cousin" acknowledge the perils of the Cold War. Now, this is something that you won't find in any other contemporary Elvis movie. Moreover, the idea that the setting of an Elvis movie is nothing but rainbows, which describes all his efforts, except "Love Me Tender," "Flaming Star," and "Charro." All those epics were westerns. Unfortunately, these two strengths don't overwhelm the general air of frivolity that permeates "Kissin' Cousins." More often than not, it amounts to just another silly, stupid, and shallow Elvis opus. Furthermore, it borrows a trope from the movie "Lil Abner" with aggressive women it hot, hormonal pursuit of men. All the women-except Ma Tatum-are lively little dishes in need of a man. The songs are all substandard, and the film itself looks rushed. Indeed, producer Sam Katzman produced it after Colonel Parker saw the excesses of "Viva Las Vegas." It is also interesting to note that "Kissin' Cousins" was finished before George Sidney's "Viva Las Vegas" illuminated movie screens. Katzman was known for making film not only quickly but as cheaply as possible. Nevertheless, the idea of negotiating with moonshining hillbillies who own land in the Great Smokey Mountains for the site of an ICBM missile base puts the entire fracas into a different category. The deployment of Elvis in to roles was done mostly in camera as the filmmakers relied on the old technique of over-the-shoulder shots rather than employing expensive special effects. You see Elvis talking to the other Elvis, but neither are shown face to face. Often, the stunt guys look too old to be Elvis. At the end, however, director Gene Nelson uses a long shot so that we can see both Elvis characters in the same image looking at each other. This was probably ambitious, considering that the notoriously frugal Sam Katzman produced this goofy nonsense. The predictable plot finds Elvis eventually getting Pappy Tatum to sign a lease for the Pentagon to install the ICBM missile base. "Kissin' Cousins" winds up better than most of the other contemporary Elvis movies because it reflects the tension that existed during the Cold War between Soviet Russia and the United States.

JohnHowardReid SYNOPSIS: The Air Force wants to build an ICBM base on top of a mountain in Tennessee, but the land is owned by a hillbilly moonshiner who fires on all Air Force negotiators. So an Air Forceman who was bred and raised in the area is sent to placate the locals.COMMENT: The first of the Elvis quickies (thank you producer Sam Katzman and Elvis Presley's manager, Tom Parker) but not as bare of interest as some of the later ones. Elvis has two roles but only occasionally are special effects employed. Mostly the other Elvis is a very blatant double. In fact the double is even used in one scene where he is not required for duplication at all! A typical quickie stratagem. But any film that gives a solo song to Glenda Farrell can't be all bad. And there are the usual generous quota of girls, girls, girls (even if their costumes are neither as "skimpy" or attractive as the on- screen characters suppose). In fact the songs themselves (including a blatant rip-off of "Across the Wide Missouri") are a fairly tuneful lot and Elvis is in good vocal form with his usual excellent backing. Just as well it's so packed with songs, as the script is mindless farce, (over-acted and pedestrianly directed). Thank you, L'il Abner.

MARIO GAUCI It should come as no surprise to anyone that, before now, I was only familiar with the two best-regarded of Elvis Presley’s films, namely JAILHOUSE ROCK (1957) and FLAMING STAR (1960). However, since this year marks the 30th anniversary of his death, I made it a point to watch as many of his movies I could lay my hands on…a sort of “it’s now or never” type of situation, if you will! Actually, I had caught the beginning of this one on local TV several years ago, where it was shown as part of a mini Elvis retrospective. The “citizens vs. missile-base” plot line here is basically the rural version of Leo McCarey’s RALLY ‘ROUND THE FLAG, BOYS! (1958) but, as it turns out, the hillbilly antics get tiresome pretty quickly – especially whenever the man-chasing Kittyhawks turn up, which is too often for my tastes! The best gag, then, is when Captain Jack Albertson suddenly leaves the farmers’ dinner table – after “Ma” Glenda Farrell describes the stomach-turning contents of the “delicious” meal he has just partaken of, and “Pappy” Arthur O’Connell asks his soldier kin Elvis if something has come up, to which the latter matter-of-factly quips, “Not yet, but I think it might”! For what it’s worth, the songs are variable and unmemorable (except, perhaps, for the title tune) and even Farrell gets her own maudlin number! This film is perhaps best-known for offering a dual role for The King, one of whom is a brown-haired layabout, but this eventually leads to an unintentionally hilarious ending where the two characters share the screen doing a number, but every time one sings, the other conveniently turns his back to the camera and a longshot exposes Elvis’ double all-too-clearly!

moonspinner55 Army Lieutenant Elvis Presley is assigned to infiltrate the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee to sweet-talk a hillbilly family into letting the government lease their mountain for a missile base; turns out Presley is distant kin-folk to the wrasslin' hick clan and bears a striking resemblance to the resident blonde hellraiser. Grubby-looking semi-musical manages to give us two Presleys for the price of one, but the script, direction, and production values are strictly third-rate. The bevy of squealing gals who chase Elvis through the woods have a much better time than most viewers will, seeing as how nobody cared enough to write a single decent song for the soundtrack--and E.P. himself walks through the picture looking non-plussed. Lovely Yvonne Craig, TV's Batgirl, is very frisky (until she goes all coy and demure) and has a fun scene proposing marriage to Elvis, but for a comedy this is awfully glum stuff. *1/2 from ****