hyped garbage

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Best movie ever!

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

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

remove 2-3 very silly songs...add some funny jokes...and it's watchable. but no...reality says, another Elvis coulda-shoulda mediocrity, utilizing 40% of his talent.gonna cut to the chase...in this case, a racing car track: has a lot of groovy stuff: (it appears) that RCA insisyed Elvis use a Producer to oversee his recording sessions, which were yielding less and less good stuff (Elvis stuck with picking the best of mediocre demos). here we can actually hear the band, and there are some nice touches by running a guitar through a Leslie speaker here and there. we have a real rock and roll song called STOP, LOOK, AND LISTEN, also recorded by fellow '50s rockers, BIll Haley & Ricky Nelson. a terrible tune, SMORGASBOARD is somehow made audible by a great bass arrangement, well mixed. Elvis' voice is too far forward again but there's some real "pop" to the soundtrack on film and on record. we also have a real hit record AL THAT I AM...a huge hit in UK, a modest B-sider here...but it was pretty darn good, and the violins actually worked! I read that Tony Bennett even covered it...can't find any evidence yet.I'LL BE BACK was arranged by Charlie HOdge and it captures some real '50s walking blues flavor, not dissimilar to MONEY HONEY, from 1956! to the frames: great to watch under rated Debbie Waley as the girl drummer and the sensuous Shelly Fabares (like Elvis) playing a not very hip 20 year old.there's even a real Duesenberg on hand....great performance....sorry yes we have CArl Betz , Shelly's real TV Father from the Donna Reed show, playing her Dad here. of course he's the backer for Elvis' racing gigs...and she's the sorta spoiled rich kid...but guess what? the ending is NOT what you might expect!

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.)

It's Elvis doing what Elvis always does, with a few,very few twists in turn. The best part of this movie however are the cars. A 427 Cobra is featured (although the car that gets wrecked early is a double). The car known as a fox five is a Mclaren Elva and a nice example. You won't see many of these around. In the racing scene you will also see a variety of sports racers including a Bill Thomas Cheeta which was a direct competitor for the Cobra. Really nice to see these cars on the screen. As for the rest, Well its just typical Elvis stuff, if you've seen Girl Happy or Roustabout or any of the rest then just fast forward to the car scenes.