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'Tickle Me' was
Elvis' eighteenth film and was made for Allied Artists.
Thismovie was at one
time tentatively titled 'Rodeo' and then 'Isle of
Paradise'. Eventually, 'Tickle Me' was chosen.
This studio, formed in
1946, was in serious financial difficulty at the time
and was hoping that they would make enough money from
this movie to stay afloat for a while longer. Elvis'
manager,
Colonel Tom Parker agreed to a cut in Elvis's
normal salary of $1,000,000 down to $750,000 plus 50% of
the profits. Also in an effort to save money it was
decided for the first time that a new soundtrack would
not be cut. They would rely on songs previously
recorded. The production did not go out on location for
this film. It was shot on the studio back lot.
Two of the songs they used charted fairly well. '(Such
An) Easy Question' written by Otis Blackwell and
Winfield Scott stayed on the Hot 100 Chart for 8 weeks
and peaked at #11. It hit #1 on the Easy Listening Chart
and stayed there for two weeks. 'I'm Yours' written by
Don Robertson spent 11 weeks on the Hot 100 Chart,
peaking at #11, and it made it to #1 during its
three-week stay on the Easy Listening Chart.
This
was producer Ben Swalb's last film. He had begun his
career filming sports documentaries in the 1930s. Elvis
was very comfortable working with the director Norman
Taurog who would, in total, direct nine of his movies.
The script was written by Edward Bernds and Elwood
Ullman. Mr. Bernds had 95 film credits as a director and
86 as a sound engineer, as well as 52 screenplays
including his 1957 Academy Award nominated "High
Society". He began in radio and quickly moved to
'talkies' in the late 1920s. Elwood Ullman also shared
in that Academy Award nomination for "High Society" and
this Memphis native began writing for films in the
1930s.
Loyal Griggs was the cinematographer on
'Tickle Me' as he had been for 'G.I.
Blues' and 'Girls!
Girls! Girls!' Starting his career in the mid
1920s in the special effects department of Paramount, he
won an Academy Award in 1954 for 'Shane'. He went on to
receive three more Oscar nominations over the years for
his work in the movies 'The Ten Commandments', 'The
Greatest Story Ever Told' and 'In Harm's Way'.
Arthur Lonergan was the art director. He became an
Academy Award nominee in 1967 for his work on the movie
'The Oscar'. The designs of some of the ghost town sets
were inspired by a real historical house in Los Angeles
that had once belonged to Pio Pico, the last governor
when California was under Mexican rule.
The film was set at a
desert guest ranch owned by the character Vera Radford,
who was played by Julie Adams. Ms. Adams early roles
were in 50s westerns. One of her most notable roles was
in the science fiction classic 'The Creature From The
Black Lagoon'. Later in her career, she would become
well known for her recurring roles on TV series such as
'General Hospital', 'Captiol', 'Code Red' and 'Murder
She Wrote'.
 Elvis' leading lady was the British
beauty
Jocelyn
Lane, who traveled Europe as a child and
learned to speak several languages. After studying
ballet in London, she began her career in her teens as a
popular British model then turned her attention to
acting and making films in the 60s. She retired from
acting in the early 1970s and became a princess when she
married a Spanish prince.
Jack Mullaney played
Elvis' side-kick Stanley and can also be seen as a band
mate with Elvis in the movie 'Spinout'.
He was known for his roles as the goofy, accident-prone
nice guy on such shows as 'The Ann Southern Show',
'Ensign O'Toole', 'My Living Doll' and 'It's About
Time'.
Edward Faulkner, who played Brad Bentley,
was a favorite of John Wayne's and worked with him often
in films such as 'McLintock!', 'The Green Berets',
'Hellfighters', 'Chisum' and 'Rio Lobo'.
 The
villains in this film were played by Bill Williams
(Deputy Sheriff), Louie Elias and Robert F. Hoy
(gardeners Henry and Jerry) and John Dennis (chef
Adolph). They were all veteran character actors. Bill
Williams began his 46-year career in 1944 with the movie
'Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo'. Louie Elias is an actor and
stuntman, often working as a stunt coordinator. In
addition to acting since the 1940s, Robert F. Hoy has
been a stunt double for many actors. His latest project
'Big Chuck, Little Chuck' is currently in
post-production. You might recognize John Dennis as the
mail clerk in 'Jailhouse
Rock' with Elvis. Before his death in March
2004, he had a thirty-year acting career in both movies
and television.
Connie Gilchrist played
Hilda the masseuse in Elvis' film 'Tickle Me'. It was
her second to last movie role and one of 77 since 1940
when she was signed with MGM at the age of 39. She had
already been performing on stage for 23 years when she
made her film debut. She might be best remembered for
her TV roles in 'The Adventures of Long John Silver' and
'The Real McCoys'.
In this movie devoted to a
guest ranch where models, actresses and others came to
diet and lose weight, one of the funniest characters was
Estelle Penfield, who was always looking to smuggle
forbidden food. She was aptly played by Merry Anders who
began modeling and acting while still in high school.
She began her acting career in 1951 and might be best
remembered for her recurring roles in the 'Stu Erwin
Show', 'Gunsmoke' and 'Dragnet'.
Grady Sutton and
Dorothy Konrad played Mr. and Mrs. Dabney, who couldn't
quite keep their meal on their plates due to the antics
of Mrs. Penfield. Grady Sutton, a native of Tennessee,
broke into movies in 1924, beginning a 55-year career
that included over 200 movie roles. He specialized in
playing slightly befuddled Southerners.
In a
movie about women one might expect a greater bevy of
beautiful ladies than in most Elvis movies. 'Tickle Me'
had many who worked as uncredited extras. One such
actress was Barbara Werle, who was also in the Elvis
films 'Harum Scarum'
and 'Charro!'.
Academy Award winner Leah Rhodes was the costume
designer. Her award was for her designs in the 1948
movie 'Adventures of Don Juan'. Her wardrober was
Shirlee Strahm, who would go on to costume for 'Funny
Lady', 'The Goodbye Girl', 'Nine To Five', 'Steel
Magnolias' and 'Charlie's Angles' among others. She was
the head costume designer for the 1976 Barbra Streisand
version of 'A Star Is Born'.
Principal
photography began on October 12, 1964 and Elvis was
released from the production on November 24, 1964. The
film previewed in Hollywood on May 13, 1965. After the
premiere in Atlanta on May 28th, it opened nationwide on
July 7, 1965. Although bashed by the critics, it was to
date the third highest grossing film for the Allied
Artists Studio and saved them from bankruptcy for a
while longer. Ever the promoter, Colonel Parker had RCA
purchase from Elvis his customized gold-appointed white
Cadillac limousine and it was sent on a tour of the
country promoting this movie. Other promotional items
included feather pens and packages of 'Tickle Me'
colored feathers.
Elvis received a Golden Laurel
Award for his performance. The Golden Laurels were an
industry award that had no ceremony and names of winners
were published in the Motion Picture Exhibitor Magazine.
 Soundtrack
(It's a)
Long Lonely Highway
(Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman)
It Feels So Right (Fred Wise & Ben Weisman)
(Such An) Easy Question (Otis Blackwell & Winfield Scott)
Dirty Dirty Feeling (Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller)
Put the Blame on Me (Kay Twomey, Fred Wise, & Norman Blagman)
I'm Yours (Don Robertson & Hal Blair)
Night Rider (Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman)
I Feel That I've Known You Forever (Doc Pomus & Alan Jeffries)
Slowly But Surely (Sid Wayne & Ben Weisman)
Directed
Norman Taurog
Writing Credits Edward
Bernds, Elwood Ullman
Producer Ben Schwalb
Music Scored and Conducted by Walter Scharf
Technical Advisor
Colonel Tom Parker
Color by Deluxe - Panavision
Cast Overview:
Elvis Presley .... Lonnie Beale,
Jocelyn
Lanee .... Pamela Meritt,
Julie
Adams .... Vera Radford, Jack Mullaney ....
Stanley Potter, Merry Anders .... Estelle Penfield, Inez
Pedroza .... Ophelia, Allison Hayes .... Mabel, Lilyan
Chauvin .... Ronnie, John Dennis .... Adolph the Chef,
Edward Faulkner .... Brad Bentley, Connie Gilchrist....
Hilda, Angela Greene .... Donna, Barbara Werle ....
Barbara,
Red West
.... Bully in Bar, Bill Williams .... Deputy Sheriff
John Sturdivant.
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