Without the musical numbers of which no Elvis Presley film could be without, Live A Little, Love A Little plays more like one of those big screen Ross Hunter comedies that might have starred Rock Hudson. In fact the characters that Elvis and leading lady Michele Carey play bear no small resemblance to the ones played by Hudson and Paula Prentiss in one of my favorite of Hudson's comedies, Man's Favorite Sport.
A chance encounter at the beach with a very kookie girl played by Carey leaves Elvis's life in total chaos. He finds himself working two full time jobs as a photographer at the same time just to keep up with his new mode of upscale living. Of course in the end she tones it down a bit when she finds true love with the King.
Of course since this is a Presley vehicle, Live A Little, Love A Little has to have a score. It has four numbers the best of which is the song sung right at the beginning called Wonderful World. It's a philosophical type number, the kind Bing Crosby used to have a specialty of in his films. Sad to say that the King's time as film star was drawing to a close. Had this been done in the Fifties, these songs might have yielded a Presley hit or two.
As usual Colonel Tom Parker made sure that Elvis was given good support by some veteran familiar players. Next to Walt Disney, Elvis Presley and his manager were the great employers of veteran movie faces who were finding it harder and harder to get work. Such folks as Dick Sargent, Joan Shawlee, Sterling Holloway are in the cast.
Two more who play Elvis's rival employers who work in the same building are Don Porter and Rudy Vallee. Porter plays a Hugh Hefner type hedonist publisher of skin magazines and displays a certain avuncular charm.
And Live A Little, Love A Little gives fans a treat to see singing idols of two generation sharing the screen. It would have been great to see Rudy Vallee and the King do a number together, but I suspect that the lack was by mutual consent. Vallee plays another variation on his conservative ad agency president from How To Succeed in Busines Without Really Trying.
Though Elvis's vehicles were not up to what he was putting out earlier in his career, Live A Little, Love A Little is a nice bit of entertainment and the King's fans will love it.
A chance encounter at the beach with a very kookie girl played by Carey leaves Elvis's life in total chaos. He finds himself working two full time jobs as a photographer at the same time just to keep up with his new mode of upscale living. Of course in the end she tones it down a bit when she finds true love with the King.
Of course since this is a Presley vehicle, Live A Little, Love A Little has to have a score. It has four numbers the best of which is the song sung right at the beginning called Wonderful World. It's a philosophical type number, the kind Bing Crosby used to have a specialty of in his films. Sad to say that the King's time as film star was drawing to a close. Had this been done in the Fifties, these songs might have yielded a Presley hit or two.
As usual Colonel Tom Parker made sure that Elvis was given good support by some veteran familiar players. Next to Walt Disney, Elvis Presley and his manager were the great employers of veteran movie faces who were finding it harder and harder to get work. Such folks as Dick Sargent, Joan Shawlee, Sterling Holloway are in the cast.
Two more who play Elvis's rival employers who work in the same building are Don Porter and Rudy Vallee. Porter plays a Hugh Hefner type hedonist publisher of skin magazines and displays a certain avuncular charm.
And Live A Little, Love A Little gives fans a treat to see singing idols of two generation sharing the screen. It would have been great to see Rudy Vallee and the King do a number together, but I suspect that the lack was by mutual consent. Vallee plays another variation on his conservative ad agency president from How To Succeed in Busines Without Really Trying.
Though Elvis's vehicles were not up to what he was putting out earlier in his career, Live A Little, Love A Little is a nice bit of entertainment and the King's fans will love it.