 Elvis' 22nd film was
'Spinout' (MGM in1966), the tale of a race car
driver/entertainer who is chased by three different
women, all with marriage on their mind. Elvis Presley
plays Mike McCoy, the leader of a small time combo on
the road. Millionaire Howard Foxhugh played by Carl Betz
wants McCoy to sing solo for his daughter's birthday.
Daughter Cynthia is aptly played by
Shelley Fabares. Entering the plot further,
Foxhugh wants the singer to drive his new race car in an
up and coming race.
This film began
with the working title of 'Never Say Yes'. In January
1966 producer Joe Pasternak asked Elvis' manager
Tom
Parker if he had any suggestions for a better
title. Parker came up with 'Jim Dandy' and 'Clambake'.
Other titles considered were 'Never Say No','Never Say
Yes' and 'After Midnight'. In Britain it was finally
released as 'California Holiday', while in the U.S. they
ended up using 'Spinout' and saving 'Clambake'
to use for a later film.
On January 30, 1966
Elvis and his entourage left Memphis in his Dodge motor
home and headed to California. Soon after arriving Elvis
gifted his new toy, a Sony video camera and recorder, to
director Norman Taurog. Personal video equipment was new
on the market and relatively hard to come by.
 Elvis reported for film pre-production on February
11, 1966 and for soundtrack recording on the 16th. Famed
vehicle customizer George Barris was almost finished
customizing Elvis' new bus. A bit impatient to try it
out, Elvis took it on a trial spin to Las Vegas that
weekend.
Principal photography for 'Spinout'
began on February 21, 1966. During the shooting of this
film Elvis told a reporter that he wanted to do another
gospel album. He had in fact been working on new music
at home with entourage members Charlie Hodge and Red
West. His latest inspiration had come from folk singers
Peter, Paul and Mary and Odetta singing songs written by
Bob Dylan. He also told the reporter that he would
always keep Graceland because of the memory of his late
mother.
Principal photography finished on April
8, 1966 and Elvis drove his new bus home to Memphis. The
movie opened on November 23, 1966. Theaters sponsored
'The Perfect American Male Essay Contest' as a way to
promote the movie. It was a play on the character Diana
St. Clair's book and the best essays won Elvis records
as prizes. Radio stations received promos of the
'Spinout' single and prerecorded open-ended interviews
with
Shelley Fabares,
Deborah Walley and Dian McBain. The film was the
57th highest grossing film for the year. Elvis was the
tenth highest paid actor in 1966.
 Shelly Fabares Shelley Fabares was one of
Elvis's favorite leading ladies. This film marked the
second of three movies that they made together. She went
on to receive two Emmy Award nominations for her
long-time role on the TV series 'Coach'. 'Spinout'
reunited Ms. Fabares with two of her previous co-stars
from the popular TV series 'The Donna Reed Show' - Carl
Betz and Jimmy Hawkins.
Carl Betz had played
Fabares's character's father Dr. Alex Stone on 'The
Donna Reed Show' and in this film he played her
character's father Howard Foxhugh. Betz, a graduate of
Carnegie Tech. (today known Carnegie Mellon), played in
the 1938 Sugar Bowl football game and made his acting
debut on stage. He received an Emmy Award in 1969 for
his TV series 'Judd For The Defense'.
Jimmy
Hawkins, who played Larry in 'Spinout' and had played
Doc in Elvis' movie 'Girl
Happy', was also a co-star of Fabares's on 'The
Donna Reed Show'. He began acting as a child and had the
role of Tagg Oakley on the 'Annie Oakley' TV series. He
might be best known as Tommy Bailey in the film 'It's A
Wonderful Life'.
Location shooting for 'Spinout'
took place at the Los Angles Dodgers Baseball Stadium as
well as Ascot Motor Car Racing Ground. Over 200 extras
were used for the Sante Fe Road Race scene. Elvis'
character drove a classic 1929 Duesenberg to tow his
race car around.
There were, as usual for
an Elvis movie, a number of lovely actresses who had bit
parts in this film. Among them was a very young Rita
Wilson, who would go on to be a movie star and a film
producer. She is married to actor Tom Hanks.
Diane McBain, who
played author Diana St. Clair, started her career as a
teenage model. She has played in a number of TV series
including 'Surfside Six' and today continues to perform
on television and in films.
 Deborah Walley The late
Deborah Walley portrayed drummer
Les. She was the daughter of Ice Capades skating stars
and started her career skating with her parents at the
age of three. Known for her perky roles as Gidget and
other beach movie characters, in the 1970s she moved to
Arizona to raise her family. There she founded
children's theater companies and promoted the arts in
inner-city schools and among the local Native Americans.
She became an author writing stories and scripts about
the Native American culture.
Will
Hutchins, best known for his
lead role as Tom 'Surgarfoot' Brewster on television in
the late 1950s, played Lt. Tracy Richards in 'Spinout'
and worked again with Elvis in the 1967 film 'Clambake'.
He was at one time married to comedian Carol Burnett's
younger sister Chris. For a while in the 1970s. Hutchins
was a professional clown and circus ringmaster.
Jack Mullaney, often cast as the goofy sidekick,
played musician Curly in 'Spinout'. He had played
Elvis's buddy in the movie 'Tickle
Me'.
 Milton Berle's nephew Warren Berlinger
played Phillip Short. His career as a character actor
began in 1956 with the film 'Teenager Rebel' and
continues working today.
Cecil Kellaway, who
played Bernard Ranley in 'Spinout', was known for his
many character roles, two of which garnered him Academy
Award nominations. One was for his role as a leprechaun
in the 1948 film 'The Luck of the Irish' and the other
was for his part as the monsignor in the 1967 film
'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner'.
Una Merkel, who
played Violet Ranley, was a veteran character actor who
began her career as a stand-in for Lillian Gish in the
1920s. She was nominated for an Academy Award in 1962
for the film 'Summer and Smoke' and she won a Tony Award
in 1956 for the Broadway show 'The Ponder Heart'.
'Spinout' was her last film.
Dodie Marshall had a role in 'Spinout' as Susan and went
on to be Elvis' leading lady in the film 'Easy
Come, Easy Go'.
The story was written by
Theodore J. Flicker and George Kirgo.
Theodore
J. Flicker was a director for TV series such as 'The
Andy Griffith Show', 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E.' and 'I
Dream of Jeannie' when he also began to write scripts.
He went on to be nominated for Best Written American
Screenplay by the Writer's Guild for the 1968 work 'The
President's Analyst'.
Co-writer George Kirgo was
a TV writer who was president of the Writer's Guild from
1987 to 1991.
'Spinout' was produced by Joe
Pasternak, who had also produced Elvis' film 'Girl
Happy'. His credits include four Academy Award
nominations and ten Golden Laurel Awards.
The
associate producer was Hank Moonjean, who had been an
assistant director on the Elvis film 'Jailhouse
Rock'. He went on to receive a 1989 Oscar
nomination for Best Picture for producing 'Dangerous
Liaisons'.
The director was Norman Taurog, who
was one of Elvis' favorites to work with.
Choreographer Jack Baker had worked with Elvis on 'It
Happened At The World's Fair' and later worked
with him on 'Live
A Little, Love A Little'.
 Soundtrack
Stop Look
And Listen
Adam And Evil
All That I Am
Never Say Yes
Am I Ready
Beach Shack
Spinout Smorgasboard
I'll Be Back
Directed
Norman Taurog
Writing Credits Theodore J.
Flicker, George Kirgo
Producer Joe
Pasaternak
Cast Overview:
Elvis Presley .... Mike McCoy,
Shelley Fabares .... Cynthia Foxhugh, Diane
McBain .... Diana St. Clair, Dodie Marshall .... Susan,
Deborah Walley .... Les, Jack Mullaney ....
Curly, Will Hutchins .... Lt. Tracy Richards, Warren
Berlinger.... Philip Short, Jimmy Hawkins .... Larry,
Carl Betz .... Howard Foxhugh, Cecil Kellaway ....
Bernard Ranley, Una Merkel .... Violet Ranley, Frederick
Worlock.... Blodgett, Dave Barry .... Harry.
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