 Elvis Presley's nineteenth movie was
'Harum Scarum' (MGM, 1965), also known by one of the working titles
as 'Harem Holiday'. It was produced by Sam Katzman, who was known
'king of the quickies' for making films quickly and cheaply.
Principal photography began on March 15, 1965. Elvis was finished
his work on the movie on April 19, 1965.
Filming took place
on the lot in Culver City, California with sets reused from Cecil B.
DeMille's 1925 silent film 'King of Kings' and with costumes from
the 1944 movie 'Kismet' and its 1955 remake.
Elvis' character
Johnny Tyronne is an American actor visiting the Middle
East for the premiere of his latest film, 'Sands of the
Desert'. Tyronne is kidnapped, which leads to a series
of adventures in the fictitious Arabian kingdom of
Lunarkand. The thin plot and the economical production
with a short shooting schedule brought Elvis more
disappointment and frustration over the state of his
film career.
The film was released for
Thanksgiving weekend on November 24, 1965 and reached
#11 on the following week's 'Variety Box Office Survey',
the fortieth-highest grossing film for 1965. The
soundtrack album, which contained a souvenir picture of
Elvis in one of his costumes from the film, had a
23-week stay on the Billboard LP chart, peaking at #8.
At first, Elvis was at first very excited about working
again with director Gene Nelson, with whom he had worked
on the film
'Kissin' Cousins',
and about wearing the Rudolph Valentino type costumes.
So enthusiastic was he that Priscilla says in her
memoirs that Elvis would wear his full makeup and
costume home each night, fully immersed in his role. His
excitement soon waned when it became apparent that, as
she put it, 'the plot was a joke, his character a fool,
and the songs were disastrous'.
Even Elvis' manager
Colonel Parker expressed in a letter to MGM that
it would take 'a 55th cousin to P.T. Barnum to sell this
picture'. He suggested they add a talking camel as
narrator, a la 'Francis the Talking Mule' in the Donald
O'Connor movies, in order to save it and to make it seem
as if the ridiculousness was intended. His idea was
rejected by the studio.
 Producer Sam Katzman's career started as a teenager
working with movie props and continued as he learned all
the various phases of movie making. He became a producer
in 1935. He produced over 230 movies, most of which were
profitable due to his penchant for producing with little
budget. He also was the producer for Elvis' film
'Kissin' Cousins' as well as numerous jungle films,
westerns, and the East Side Kids film series.
The
director, Gene Nelson, had worked with Elvis on 'Kissin'
Cousins'. Along with Gerald Drayson Adams he
received a Writers Guild of America nomination in 1965
for that film as Best Written American Musical. In 1933,
Mr. Nelson was inspired by
Fred Astaire to become a dancer. He joined the
Sonja Henie Ice Show and toured for three years with her
before joining the US Army in World War II. After the
war he appeared in movies, receiving a Golden Globe
Award in 1951 as Most Promising Newcomer for his work in
'Tea For Two'. He might be best remembered for the role
of cowboy Will Parker in the film 'Oklahoma'. He also
directed many television series including 'I Dream of
Jeannie', 'Star Trek', 'Hawaii Five-O', 'Starsky and
Hutch' and 'Fantasy Island'. After 'Harum Scarum'
wrapped Elvis gave him an autographed picture saying
'Someday we'll do it right'.
 Writer Gerald Drayson Adams was
educated at Oxford University in England. He worked as a
literary agent and business executive. He specialized in
action-adventure and western movies as well as TV
series. He shared in the Writers Guild nomination with
Gene Nelson for 'Kissin' Cousins', as mentioned above.
Mary Ann Mobley was Elvis' leading lady for
'Harum Scarum', the second of her two films with him.
Previously, she was in 'Girl
Happy' with Elvis and leading lady
Shelley Fabares. Mobley was was born in Biloxi,
Mississippi. She was crowned Miss Mississippi 1958 and
went on to win the title of Miss America 1959. She sang
in the talent segment of the Miss America pageant, which
started her television career singing on variety shows.
She won a Golden Globe Award in 1965 for Most Promising
Newcomer- Female along with Mia Farrow and Celia Kaye.
She has since had many roles in both film and
television. Ms. Mobley currently suffers from Crohn's
Disease and is an advocate for related research funding
. She has also been active in the March of Dimes as well
as other charities that support children around the
world.
Fran Jeffries played the sultry Aishah. Ms.
Jeffries was born in San Jose, California and became a
recording artist and night club performer while still in
her teens. She performed in many prestigious hotel
venues and clubs and toured with Sammy Davis Jr. and Bob
Hope. Before becoming a solo act she was partnered with
her first husband, Argentine-born singer Dick Haymes.
Years later, her second husband, actor/director Richard
Quine, featured her in films such as 'Sex and The Single
Girl' and 'Talent for Loving'. She also had a role in
the film 'The Pink Panther'.
Michael
Ansara played Prince Dragna. He was born in
Syria of American parents. The family moved to the
United States when he was two and eventually settled in
California when he was ten. He originally planned to
pursue a career as a doctor, but became involved in
studying drama instead. He started appearing in films in
1944, playing in such movies as 'The Robe', 'The Ten
Commandments', 'The Greatest Story Ever Told' and 'The
Sad Sack' among many others. It was his role of the
Indian chief Cochise in the 1950's TV series 'Broken
Arrow' that first made him widely known. He was married
for some time to actress
Barbara
Eden, who, early in their marriage, worked
with Elvis in the film
Flaming Star and later became best known as the
star of the 'I Dream of Jeannie' television series
Ansara directed and appeared in episodes of 'I Dream of
Jeannie'. You might remember him as the Blue Djinn who
placed Jeannie in the bottle to begin with. In recent
years he has had a role in three of the Star Trek film
series, 'Star Trek: The Next Generation', 'Star Trek:
Deep Space Nine', and 'Star Trek: Voyager'. His is also
the voice of Dr. Victor Fries/ Mr. Freeze in the
animated 'Batman' series.
Philip Reed played
King Toranshah and father to Princess Shalimar, played
by lieading lady Mary Ann Mobley. Born in 1908, Mr. Reed
began his career as a handsome leading man on stage. His
movie career began in 1933 and he appeared in movies
such as 'Female', 'Affairs of a Gentleman', "The Last of
the Mohicans", 'Madame X' and 'Girl In the Red Velvet
Swing'. 'Harum Scarum' was his last film before
retiring.
This was also the last movie for Larry
Chance, who played Captain Heart. He had numerous TV
roles in the 50's and 60's, as well as roles in such
films as 'Against All Flags', 'The Rose Tattoo' and 'Al
Capone'. In the Elvis film 'Flaming Star' he played an
Indian chief.
Barbara Werle played Leilah,
servant to Princess Shalimar. Ms. Werle had a number of
roles on various TV adventure series in the 1960's. She
also played in movies such as 'Battle of the Bulge',
'The Rare Breed', 'Krakatoa, East of Java' , along with
the Elvis films 'Tickle Me'
and 'Charro!'.
Theodore Marcuse played the evil villain Sinan. He was
known for his sinister presence and often played such
roles both on TV and om films such as 'Star Trek', 'The
Wild, Wild West' and 'The Glass Bottom Boat'.
Jay
Novello played Zacha, the leader of the thieves that
Elvis' character befriends. Mr. Novello had a
distinguished career as a character actor from the
1930's to the 1970's. His hundreds of credits can't be
listed here, but some highlights are: his role of
Captain Sam Sabaaya on CBS Radio's 'Rocky Jordan' from
1948 1953, his role as Juan Greco in the long running TV
series 'Zorro', and roles in the films 'Boys Town', 'The
Great Train Robbery', 'Captain America', 'The Robe' and
'Pocketful of Miracles'.
The famed 'little
person'
Billy Barty played the mute pickpocket
Baba. Mr. Barty was a prolific actor beginning his
career at the age of three. A successful activist for
the rights of persons of small stature, he founded The
Little People Of America Inc. in 1957 and The Billy
Barty Foundation in 1975. He was quoted as saying, 'The
general public thinks all little people are in circuses
or sideshows. We have doctors, nurses, just about every
field covered'.
Barty's acting credits are many and include a role in
the Elvis film 'Roustabout'.
Julna the drummer was played by Jack Costanza, also
known as 'Mr. Bongo'. He was a dancer from Chicago who
developed an interest in bongos while visiting Africa.
He worked in the 1950's with Stan Kenton's jazz band and
eventually played percussion on hundreds of jazz, big
band, and Latin recordings.
The dancing girls
were Sapphire, Amethyst and Emerald were played,
respectively, by Gail Gilmore, Wilda Taylor and Brenda
Benet. Ms. Gilmore did not continue in movies. Ms.
Taylor had dancing roles the Elvis films 'Roustabout'
and 'Frankie and
Johnny'. Ms. Benet was a dancer and actress
probably best recognized for her role of Lee DuMonde on
the TV show 'Days Of Our Lives'. She was married for a
time to actor Paul Petersen and then to actor Bill
Bixby, who co-starred with Elvis in two films - 'Speedway'
and 'Clambake'.
Tragically, Ms. Benet committed suicide in 1982 due to
grief over the sudden death of her six-year-old son
Christopher Bixby.
Although the production of
'Harum Scarum' had its flaws, one saving grace was the
exceptional sets and set decoration designed by the
award nominated team of George W. Davis, McClure Capps,
Henry Grace and Don Greenwood Jr. George W. Davis was
nominated seventeen times for Academy Awards, winning
two. Henry Grace was nominated thirteen times winning
one. Don Greenwood was nominated once. They have worked
on films such as 'How The West Was Won', 'The Blackboard
Jungle', 'All About Eve', 'Gigi', 'The Robe',
'Cimarron', 'The Diary of Anne Frank", "Mutiny On The
Bounty", "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm',
'Patch of Blue', 'The Unsinkable Molly Brown', 'Mr.
Buddwing' and 'The Shoes of the Fisherman' , among
others.
It was while filming 'Harum Scarum' that
Elvis began in earnest to pursue his spiritual studies.
When the film wrapped, Elvis presented the cast and crew
with watches that he had Harry Levitch, one of his
favorite jewelers, design. It featured both a cross and
a Star of David and symbolized for Elvis 'universal
brotherhood'.
 Soundtrack
Harem
Holiday (Andreoli/Poncia Jr./Crane)
My Desert Serenade (Gelber)
Go East-Young Man (Giant/Baum/Kaye)
Mirage (Giant/Baum/Kaye)
Kismet (Tepper/Bennett)
Shake That Tambourine (Giant/Baum/Kaye)
Hey Little Girl (Joy Byers)
Golden Coins (Giant/Baum/Kaye)
So Close, Yet So Far (From Paradise) (Byers)
Recorded
at:
RCA Studios, 17th Avenue South,
Nashville. February 1965
Musicians: Elvis
Presley (vocals),
Scotty Moore, Grady Martin, Charlie McCoy
(guitars), Henry Strzelecki (bass),
D.J.
Fontana, Ken Buttrey (drums), Floyd Cramer,
(piano),
The Jordinaires
(vocals)
Harum Scarum
(aka Harem Holiday) - MGM 1965
Directed:
Gene Nelson
Writing Credits: Gerald
Drayson Adams
Producer:
Sam Katzman
Musical Score: Fred Karger
Choreography: Earl Barton Metrocolor and
Panavision
Cast Overview:
Elvis Presley .... Johnny Tyronne,
Mary
Ann Mobley .... Princess Shalimar, Fran Jeffries
.... Aishah, Michael Ansara .... Prince Dragna, Jay
Novello .... Zacha, Philip Reed .... King Toranshah,
Theodore Marcuse.... Sinan, Billy Barty .... Baba, Dirk
Harvey .... Makar, Jack Constanzo .... Julna, Larry
Chance .... Captain Herat, Barbara Werle .... Leilah,
Brenda Benet .... Emerald, Gail Gilmore .... Sapphire,
Wilda Taylor .... Amethyst
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