Stay Away, Joe

OK I have seen almost all of Elvis movies, most of them are great. Even with not such great scripts Elvis always manages to carry the story. But this one was terrible. Perhaps they were trying to make him a more reckless rebel because of the late 60's vibe that was happening in the country. Really dumb story, too much fighting and beating each other up, him being attracted to Joan Blondell who looked like his grandmother. Whoever the makeup person was they did a bad job on Elvis dad and grandfather they both did not look like Indians. Burgess Meridith hair was not even dyed black well and in the beginning of the movie grandfather had pale skin that later turned tan. I have to say Elvis looked fantastic, tan and fit and as bad as the movie was he kept me interested that's how good an actor he was and a really handsome man.

Elvis plays Joe Lightcloud a modern Indian who returns to his reservation in order to assist his people with a goverment rehabilitation scheme. Of course its girls girls girls all the way too!

A weak Presley effort with a tediously thin storyline and the songs are below average too. The title song is more or less to the tune of Leadbelly's "Pick A Bale O' Cotton". If you miss this one you haven't missed much.

It's been a looooonnnggg time since I saw this comedy, and I'd forgotten just how idiotic it is. I'd place this easily in the lower two or three of Elvis Presley's very worst movies. Presley plays Joe Whitecloud, a half-breed Indian bull rider who returns home to Arizona and the broken-down shack where his family lives, and where his friends love to party all night long. His parents are played by Burgess Meredith and Katy Jurado, and his old Indian grandpa is Thomas Gomez. None of the three offer anything of substance , comically or otherwise. The government has invested in the family's cattle, but they're lacking a bull. Elvis gets to sing just a few utterly worthless songs, and is pursued by a young boy-crazy gal and her gun-toting mother. This is just a real slapdash of a mess, and the dilapidated surroundings practically stink of manure and don't make this much easier. The one thing that puzzles me, however, is that Elvis actually seems to be having a good time in the film. Hard to believe, considering he got so upset about being stuck making so many mediocre movies. *1/2 out of ****

Any film with Katy Jurado is worth seeing and she's on screen for about twenty minutes here. This is better than Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid where she's on-screen for two minutes and even makes that film worth seeing.

This is a silly comedy, with a few effective gags and lots of slapstick. I think the movie is hated because 1)many of the Native American characters are played in brown make-up by Euro-American actors and they seem to childishly enjoy getting drunk and getting into fights. 2)Presley has a bed scene with Quentin Dean (who won a Golden Globe the year before for "In the Heat of the Night"). Dean is supposed to be a Lolita type nymphet. Her age isn't mentioned, but she appears to be about 16 years old, at most.

If you can get over these two offensive points, the movie is fun in a three stooges type of way. Presley seems to be enjoying himself and his performance is pretty smooth and easy going. This was one of his last films and he seems totally comfortable playing rodeo rider Joe Lightcloud.

It is always nice to see Joan Blondell. She had become a big star again in 1968 with her role on the hit television show,"Here Comes the Brides." Still, her role is pretty pedestrian as the bootlegger mother of Quentin Dean, who first tries to keep Elvis away from her, but then decides to use a gun to make him marry her.

Still, its Katy Jurado's delightful small performance that made the film worth watching for me. We even get to see her taking a bath. That is worth two of the six stars I gave the film.

I have to disagree with a previous comment that this is Elvis' worst film. OK, it's not a comedy classic but surely, at least in my opinion, "Harum Scarum", "Paradise, Hawaiian Style" and "Easy Come, Easy Go" are much more inferior to this rather enjoyable yarn. I for one always enjoy watching it whenever it's screened on Cable TV and it's a pity it has not been released on DVD yet. Besides a very good-looking Elvis, the supporting cast Burgess Meredith, Katy Jurado & the wise-cracking Thomas Gomez (as grandpa) are a joy to watch. And the opening title sequence with the camera flying over the Grand Canyon while the lovely "Stay Away" (a re-working of "Greensleeves") plays on the soundtrack must rank as one of the most beautiful openings in all of Elvis' movies.