Easy Come, Easy Go

Elvis Presley was coming to the end of his cycle as a big name movie box office star when Easy Come, Easy Go was made for Paramount. We were deep in the flower power era by 1967 and Elvis was ceding his top spot to the lads from Liverpool and their imitators.

The one thing about Elvis films were was that the whole film was sold on the personality of its star. If it was a good script with an intelligent story line that was gravy. Easy Come, Easy Go was a steak tartar of a film.

No hit songs came out of this movie, but Colonel Tom Parker as he always did made sure the King was always given a good supporting cast of veteran Hollywood players. In this case we have two of the best. Elsa Lanchester has a brief bit as a yoga instructor who literally ties the King in knots. And she even sings a line or two with Elvis. Not a duet combination anyone would ever have dreamed.

Also Frank McHugh plays Captain Jack who owns a marine supply store who's never been to sea. Mr. McHugh graced just about every other Warner Brothers film during the hay day of the studio system and was always a welcome whimsical presence. He's no less welcome here in what turned out to be his feature film swan song. McHugh's problem is that he gets seasick in a row boat.

Elvis is a Navy Seal who on his last day in the service discovers some buried treasure at the same time some other folks have. He enlists the help of his former partner Pat Harrington, Jr. and McHugh in trying to get to the treasure. Of course Elvis has a couple of girls after him, Dodie Marshall and Pat Priest.

It's pleasant and entertaining enough, but not up to the standards of stuff like Blue Hawaii or Jailhouse Rock for Elvis.