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Kissin' Cousins - 1 / 2
Elvis's fourteenth film was 1964's "Kissin' Cousins".
In this film Elvis played the dual role of look-alike cousins: Josh
Morgan,
a dark-haired air force officer, and Jodie Tatum, a blond mountain
man.
The script was written by Gerald Drayson Adams and Gene Nelson.
Nelson also directed the film. Together, Adams and Nelson received a
1965 nomination from the Writer's Guild of America for "Kissin'
Cousins" as the "Best Written American Musical" of the year.
Gerald Adams was born in Winnipeg, Canada in 1900. He was
educated at Oxford University in England and became a business
executive and literary agent. He didn't begin writing until the
mid-1940s. He specialized in writing action/adventure and western
films such as "The Magnificent Rogue," "Old Los Angeles" and "The
Lady From Texas".
He also wrote for such TV series as "Broken Arrow" and "Maverick."
He also wrote the script for the 1965 Elvis film "Harum Scarum."
The multi-talented Gene Nelson was born Eugene Leander Berg in
1920. He was captivated by seeing Fred Astaire in the 1933 film
"Flying Down To Rio". It was then that he decided to become a
dancer. He toured with the Sonja Henie Ice Show before World War II
prompted him to join the U.S. Army. After the war he returned to his
dancing and acting career in both TV and film. You might remember
him in such films as "Tea For Two" and "The Daughter of Rosie
O'Grady" or his role of Will Parker in the movie "Oklahoma!" He won
a Golden Globe Award in 1951 as Most Promising Newcomer for his work
with Doris Day in "Tea For Two." In between his own acting roles he
became a film and TV director. Among his director credits are many
well known TV shows such as "F Troop," "I Dream of Jeannie," "Gunsmoke,"
"Hawaii Five-O," "Dan August," "The Rookies," "Barnaby Jones," "Get
Christie Love," "Starsky and Hutch" and "Quincy." He died of cancer
in 1996.
The producer of the movie was Sam Katzman, known as the "King of
the Quickies" for having made many films quickly and cheaply.
Elvis's manager Colonel Tom Parker was concerned as Elvis's lates
movie "Viva Las Vegas" had gone way over budget and cut into his and
Elvis's portion of the profits. He was determined that wouldn't
happen again. With Sam Katzman at the helm they wouldn't have any
problems with budget.
In his teens, Mr. Katzman started his show business career as a
prop man and then worked his way up through all the phases of movie
making to become a producer in 1935 at the age of 34. He then became
known for movie serials featuring such characters as The East Side
Kids, Brenda Star and Captain Video. He also produced teenage
musicals such as "Hootenanny Hoot," "Rock Around The Clock" and
"Twist Around The Clock." He made some 230 films in his career,
including the Elvis movies "Kissin' Cousins" and "Harum Scarum."
On Monday, September 16, 1963 Elvis received the songs that the
director Gene Nelson and the musical director Fred Karger had chosen
for the movie. Fred Karger not only worked as a composer, arranger
and musical director but was also at one time a vocal coach for
Columbia Pictures, where one of his young students was Marilyn
Monroe. He was married to actress Jane Wyman twice, from 1952 - 1954
and again from 1963 - 1965. His film credits include "From Here To
Eternity," "The Eddy Duchin Story," "Pal Joey," "Bye Bye Birdie,"
"Your Cheatin' Heart," "Gidget" and "When The Boys Meet The Girls."
He also worked on two other Elvis films - "Harum Scarum" and
"Frankie and Johnny." |
