Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

GazerRise Fantastic!

Borserie it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

TheLittleSongbird Elvis Presley was a hugely influential performer with one of the most distinctive singing voices of anybody. He embarked on a film career consisting of 33 films from 1956 to 1969, films that did well at the box-office but mostly panned critically (especially his later films) and while he was a highly charismatic performer he was never considered a great actor.As far as Elvis films go, 'Spinout' belongs in neither extreme of best or worst. It's average fare that serves as a serviceable enough one-time watch, but not particularly distinguished and one for completests intent on checking out all of Elvis' films (like me). It's no 'King Creole', 'Flaming Star', 'Jailhouse Rock', 'Viva Las Vegas' and 'Loving You', but it is far better than 'Kissin' Cousins', 'Frankie & Johnny', 'Paradise Hawaiian Style' and particularly 'Harum Scarum' as well as his later efforts.'Spinout' benefits in particular from the climactic big race, an incredibly fun scene that is the most energetic everything gets, and a generally polished supporting cast (with Shelley Fabares, Diane McBain, Dodie Marshall and Carl Betz lighting up the screen and Cecil Kellaway and Una Merkel nearly stealing the show).It is a decent looking film, there are better-looking Elvis films but it is a long way from cheap apart from the racing footage looking artificial but the photography and sets are fine. The soundtrack is generally unimpressive (though there are far worse Elvis film soundtracks), but there are a few standouts, such as the title song, "I'll Be Back" and "All That I Am". Usually a hit and miss director, Norman Taurog gives some of his most enthusiastic directing of his numerous collaborations with Elvis.However, there are exceptions with the supporting cast and they are Jack Mullaney and Deborah Walley, both very annoying in roles written in a way that grates on the nerves fast. Most of the soundtrack is forgettable at best, with "Beach Shack" and "Smorgasbord" being disposable songs that one can easily do without.Regarding Elvis himself, he has certainly been far more disengaged before and since but he has also been much more enthusiastic and it was like he didn't trust the material. Not that one can blame him, because the script is more cringe-worthy than funny and flags in energy. The story has its slow spots, but also suffers from being too busy.Overall, you can certainly do with far worse but Elvis and the cast did deserve better. 5/10 Bethany Cox

w22nuschler This is one of my favorite Elvis films because of the humor, the cast, and the music. Elvis plays Mike Mccoy, a singer and race car driver. it also includes Jimmy Hawkins(my favorite male Elvis co-star), Jack Mullaney(comic relief) and Deborah Walley. They all do a nice job playing off Elvis. Shelley Fabares is one of the three women after Elvis in the film. She plays the spoiled rich girl Cynthia beautifully, and she has never looked prettier on film than she does here. Her father is played by Carl Betz, who as many know, played her father on the Donna Reed show for five years. He also does a great job trying to get Elvis to drive his car, but keep him away from his daughter. Warren Berlinger also plays a great comic relief role as Philip, who really likes Cynthia. Will Hutchins is very funny as the cop who tries to run Elvis and crew out of town. He would later star with Elvis in Clambake. Adding a nice touch to the film as well is Una Merkel and Cecil Kellaway. They play an elderly couple that Elvis meet and convinces them to let him and his band watch their house as they take a vacation in his car. The songs are wonderful. I especially love Spinout, Smorgasbord, Adam and Evil and the great I'll Be Back, sung at the end. All in all, a very entertaining film that has a good feel and good flow to it.

Brian Camp Elvis Presley spent most of the 1960s making fluffy lightweight romantic comedies with music, all constructed on a studio assembly line during the waning days of the old Hollywood studio system. These films tended to sap Elvis of the energy he could have devoted to better films and better roles, all of which he was capable of. Having said that, some of these films were more tolerable than others.SPINOUT, made at MGM, is one of the most entertaining thanks to its teaming of Elvis with three colorful and delightful leading ladies, all of whom more than hold their own with their charismatic leading man. Deborah Walley plays the tomboyish redhead drummer in Elvis' band and has a secret crush on him; Diane McBain plays a sexually voracious best-selling author on the hunt for the perfect American male; and Shelley Fabares plays the heiress of an auto fortune who thinks she's entitled to whatever she wants and whose father wants Elvis to race a car for him. In the course of it, Elvis encounters rivals for each of the girl's affections, leading to a set of romantic entanglements that are ultimately resolved in an inspired and original ending. The plot is packed with lots of clever twists, thanks to a script co-written by Theodore J. Flicker who would write and direct the cult hit, THE PRESIDENT'S ANALYST, the following year. Fortunately, the film's racing angle is downplayed in favor of comic situations and a set of enjoyable songs.The supporting players deserve singling out, including Jack Mullaney as Elvis' comical bandmate; Carl Betz as Shelley's father (a role he played with Shelley on "The Donna Reed Show" as well); Warren Berlinger as Betz's loyal assistant; TV cowboy Will Hutchins as a highway cop with a penchant for gourmet cooking; and Hollywood veterans Cecil Kellaway and Una Merkel as an elderly rich couple who allow Elvis and his band to take over their house when they go on vacation. (This latter touch is representative of the film's Hollywood fantasyland approach to life, but it's all so well played by such skilled hands that it's difficult not to get sucked into the fun of it all.)

JoeKarlosi Elvis juggles a career as singer/race car driver in this typical but harmless '60s Presley vehicle. Looking more pudgy than usual, he is an unmarrying kind of guy contending with the attentions of three beautiful women.Shelley Fabares is one delicious cutie I could stare at all day long, and Diane McBain exudes sophisticated beauty. But putting up with the over-animated antics of Deborah Walley as Presley's jealous tomboy drummer wears on my nerves.This one's got a ton of Elvis songs, none of which are great but range from pretty good ("Spinout" "All That I Am") to unbearable ("Beach Shack", "Smorgasbord").