elvis facts, girls! girls! girls! 1 - 3

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Girls! Girls! Girls! - 1 - 3

Elvis's eleventh film was "Girls! Girls! Girls!" (Paramount, 1962). Elvis reported to the studio on March 26, 1962.

With the huge success of "Blue Hawaii" (Paramount 1961), producer Hal Wallis had decided to promote Elvis as an entertainer rather than the rebel actor, reminiscent of James Dean, as Elvis had been seen in "King Creole" (Paramount 1958). Thus another script was set in scenic Hawaii. The working titles for "Girls! Girls! Girls!" had been "A Girl In Every Port," "Welcome Aboard," "Jambalaya," and "Gumbo Ya-Ya,"which is said to be a Creole expression for "everybody talks at once."

The story was written by Allan Weiss, who also worked on the Elvis films "Blue Hawaii", "Fun In Acapulco", "Paradise, Hawaiian Style", "Easy Come, Easy Go" and "Roustabout." For "Roustabout" he received a 1965 nomination from the Writer's Guild of America for Best Written American Musical. Also working on the script was Edward Anhalt, who won Academy Awards for his screenplays for "Becket" and "Panic In the Streets."
He received an Academy Award nomination for "The Sniper."

On March 26, 1962, Elvis began three days of soundtrack recording at Radio Recorders in Hollywood.
The title song "Girls! Girls! Girls" had been written in 1960 by Leiber and Stoller for The Coasters. Elvis was not pleased with the direction his career was headed and wasn't pleased with the prospect of singing to shrimp or any other sea creatures ("Song of the Shrimp" is a soundtrack song). However, one great classic Elvis song came from this film's soundtrack. It was the Otis Blackwell and Winfield Scott composition "Return To Sender." The song had not been written for this movie, but when Colonel Parker heard it he knew it would be perfect for Elvis and made sure he heard it as well. And in the scene of the movie when Elvis sings the song, you can see in his movements the influence of one of his favorite entertainers, Jackie Wilson.

Two of the songs Elvis recorded in the soundtrack sessions were not used in the film. It was the group The Amigos' version of "Mama" that was used instead of Elvis's rendition. The group consisted of Jose Vadiz, Pedro Berrios, Miguel Alcade and Felix Melendes. "Plantation Rock" was cut as well.

With the music recorded, it was time to go to Hawaii for the location portions of shooting the film. Elvis wanted to go to Hawaii by ship, however, a strike forced him to fly. The decision placed the production behind schedule. Later, when Paramount sent a check for two extra days of Elvis's time, Colonel Parker refused the payment as it had been Elvis's reluctance to fly that had caused the filming delay. The check was never cashed.

On April 7, 1962 , Elvis and his entourage arrived in Hawaii on Pan Am flight #817. Elvis then took a helicopter ride to the Hawaiian Village Hotel where he would stay. Approximately 8,000 fans were on hand for his arrival and in the 100-yard walk between the helicopter and the hotel he lost his yachting cap, his jewel-tipped tie clasp and a diamond ring that he especially liked. The next day, a young girl called the hotel and said that his ring had come off in her hand and that she wished to return it. She did leave the ring at the front desk of the hotel.
At this time Elvis was very much into karate and actively practicing - breaking up to 40 boards a night. Hal Wallis put an end to it for the druation of the production for fear that Elvis would break his hand and hold up the production schedule.

Principal photography began on April 9, 1962. Shooting in Hawaii included locations such as the Bumble Bee Tuna plant near Waikiki Beach and the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor. On April 26, 1962 location shooting was finished.
Elvis and the production team returned Hollywood where filming resumed on Stage 5 at the Paramount Studios on May 1, 1962 .

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