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On November 6, 1960, Elvis flew to California to
begin working on pre-production
for his seventh feature film
'Wild In The Country'. The 20th Century Fox film
finished principal photography in January 1961 and premiered in
Memphis on June 15, 1961. Elvis did not attend the premiere.
The screenplay was written by Clifford
Odets, based on the novel 'The Lost Country', by J. R.
Salamanca. In the book, Elvis' character Glenn was an
artist, and the character of Irene Sperry was a teacher.
In the film, Glenn is a troubled youth and would-be
writer and Irene is court-appointed to give him
psychological counseling.
In 'Wild In The Country' Elvis plays
the young rebel Glenn Tyler. After a fight with his
drunk brother, who is badly injured, his father rejects
him. Glenn is put under care of his uncle by a court.
Because of a love-affair and other circumstances he gets
into trouble in the little town again, until the people
find out he is innocent. Glenn moves and goes to college
elsewhere, finally he achieves little success as a
writer.
After a scandal results from false
rumor of an affair between her and Glenn, Irene Sperry,
played by
Hope Lange,
attempts suicide. In the original ending she succeeds.
Preview audiences did not like this ending, so on Monday
February 6, 1961, Elvis was called back to Hollywood to
re-shoot the ending of the movie with Irene surviving.
Originally, the dramatic movie was not going to be a
musical, but eventually Elvis' character's singing was
written into the story. Elvis recorded six songs for the
movie, which included the title song 'Wild In The
Country', 'I Slipped, I Stumbled, I Fell', 'In My Way',
'Husky Dusky Day', 'Lonely Man' and 'Forget Me Never'.
The last two were cut from the movie.
 Hope
Lange played Elvis' court appointed counselor, Irene Sperry.
Hope Lange, born Nov. 23, 1933, was only 13 months older than Elvis
in real life, but was cast in this more mature role as counselor and
mentor. Already a twelve-year veteran of Broadway, Lange made her
movie debut in the film 'Bus Stop' with Marilyn Monroe and Don
Murray. (In 1956, Murray became Lange's first husband.) She went on
to star in films such as 'The Young Lions', 'In Love and War' and
'Peyton Place', for which she was nominated for both a Golden Globe
Award and an Academy Award. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for
the TV production 'That Certain Summer'. Lange won two Emmy Awards
in 1969 and 1970 for her leading role in the TV series 'The Ghost &
Mrs. Muir'. Her most recent role was in the 1998 production 'Before
He Wakes'.
Tuesday Weld played Elvis' cousin
Noreen. Born Susan Ker Weld, she became a child model and the family
breadwinner shortly after her father's death when she was three
years old. Her turmoil-filled youth was fueled by her on-screen
persona as a teenage sex kitten. She appeared in such films as
'Return To Peyton Place', 'Bachelor Flat', 'I'll Take Sweden', and
'Pretty Poison'. She starred as Thalia in the TV series 'The Many
Loves of Dobie Gillis'. Weld won a Golden Globe Award in 1960 as
'Most Promising Female Newcomer'. She was nominated for a second
Golden Globe for her performance in the 1972 film 'Play It As It
Lays'. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her supporting
role in the 1977 film 'Looking For Mr. Goodbar'. In the 1988 film
'Heartbreak Hotel' (set in 1972), Weld plays an Elvis fan whose
unhappy life prompts her son to kidnap Elvis Presley and bring him
to her to cheer her up.
Millie Perkins played Elvis' girlfriend
Betty Lee in 'Wild In The Country'. Her other films include the lead
role in the 1959 film 'The Diary of Anne Frank' and the 1964 'Ensign
Pulver'. She has performed in a number of TV roles that include such
series as 'Wagon Train', 'Knots Landing', 'Murder She Wrote'
(starring
Angela Lansbury, who played Elvis' character's mother in 'Blue
Hawaii'), 'Thirty something', and 'Touched By An Angel'. In
an ironic twist of fate, Perkins played the role of Elvis' mother
Gladys Presley in the 1990 television series 'Elvis'. One of her
more recent roles is a recurring character on the Lifetime
Television series 'Any Day Now'. Reflecting upon working with Elvis
in 'Wild in the Country', Perkins said she thought Elvis 'was
drifting' during the filming, that he was always surrounded by his
entourage, that he was embarrassed by the way the script would have
him lead into a song. She quoted him as saying 'God, this is so
embarrassing. Nobody would ever do this in real life. Why are they
making me do this?" She also said, "He never used his star power -
never. Maybe he should have'.
Rafer Johnson, who was the 1960
Olympic decathlon champion, played Davis in 'Wild In The Country'.
He had a number of roles in films and TV, including two 'Tarzan'
films, 'The Sins of Rachel Cade', 'Roots: The Next Generations',
'Mission Impossible', and 'The Six Million Dollar Man'. He might be
best known for working with Roosevelt Grier in 1968 to disarm Sirhan
Sirhan, the assassin who shot and killed Robert F. Kennedy. Johnson
was an Olympic torch bearer in the 1984 and 1996 Olympics and was
inducted into the Sport in Society Hall of Fame in 1999.
Exterior shots for 'Wild
In The Country' were filmed in the Napa Valley of
California wine country.
It was during the
filming of this movie that Elvis' manager
Colonel Tom Parker first read a newspaper
article on the floundering attempts to raise funds to
build the USS Arizona Memorial in Hawaii. Parker and
Elvis both had a great love for the islands and for
America as a whole. He and Elvis came up with the idea
of Elvis doing a benefit concert there in March of 1961
- a concert that raised over $62,000, the single largest
donation to the cause. More importantly, it brought the
kind of public and press attention needed to re-energize
the project, which had long been planned as a memorial
to the lives lost aboard the U.S.S. Arizona in the
attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Elvis
performed the benefit concert on March 25, 1961 while in
Hawaii for the production of his film 'Blue Hawaii'. The
memorial was completed and opened to the public in 1962.
It was during the filming of 'Wild in the Country' that
Elvis celebrated his 26th birthday on the set. The cast
and crew gave him a plaque which read 'Happy Birthday,
King Karate'. Elvis had come back from his service in
the US Army with an intense interest in the martial
arts. He'd earned his first degree black belt in July of
1960 and would go on to receive two eighth degree black
belts in two different forms of martial arts.
The title song 'Wild In
The Country' peaked on the US charts at #26, while it
reached #4 on the British charts. While the American
reviews were lukewarm, David Cardwell of Britain's 'New
Musical Express' wrote 'Wild in the Country' is Elvis's
best so far!...There is only one way to describe
Presley's performance - superb!"
John Ireland
played Phil Macy. A Canadian born swimming star, Ireland
often played heavies in the 132 movies and 42 TV roles
he had. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his
supporting role in the 1949 'All The King's Men'.
Gary Lockwood played Cliff Macy and in 1963 co-starred
with Elvis again in 'It
Happened At The World's Fair'. Lockwood had
roles in such films as 'Splendor In the Grass', "Stand
Up And Be Counted" and '2001: A Space Odyssey', as well
as numerous guest appearances on TV series.
Jason Robards, Sr., Pat Buttram, William Mims and
Raymond Greenleaf - all well known character actors -
had parts in 'Wild In The Country'. Robards (father to
famous actor Jason, Jr.) had parts in 189 movies and 9
TV series, 'Wild In The Country' was his last film.
While Buttram was well known for his roles in westerns
with Gene Autry and his role as Mr. Haney in the TV
series 'Green Acres', he was also a voice artist in a
number of Disney animated movies such as 'The
Aristocats', 'Robin Hood', 'The Rescuers', 'The Fox and
The Hound', 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit', and 'A Goofy
Movie'. In 1982, he founded the Golden Boot Award to
honor actors, directors, stunt people and others in the
industry who had made significant contributions to the
Western film genre. Proceeds from the annual event are
donated to the Motion Picture Health and Welfare Fund.
(Not to be confused with the Golden Boot Awards given by
RCA to Elvis and their artists for hit country songs.)
Buttram also appeared in the 1964 Elvis film 'Roustabout'.
Christina Crawford, adopted daughter of Joan Crawford,
had her film debut in 'Wild In The Country'. She played
Cliff Macy's date Monica.
Red West, Elvis' high
school friend and member of his entourage, had his first
speaking part in 'Wild In The Country' as Hank Tyler. He
would go on to become a well-known character actor and
stunt man.
Rudd Weatherwax, dog trainer for films
such as 'Lassie Come Home', 'Hondo', and 'Old Yeller',
owned Rosy the Irish Setter, used as Hope Lange's
character's dog in 'Wild In The Country'. It was Rosy's
screen debut.
One of the girls Elvis was dating
during this production was a wardrobe girl, Nancy Sharp.
He had met her while filming 'Flaming
Star'.
Producer Jerry Wald had enjoyed a
successful career that included producing films such as
'Mildred Pierce', 'Johnny Belinda', 'Flamingo Road',
'Peyton Place', 'The Long Hot Summer', and 'Sons and
Lovers'. He received several Academy Award nominations
over the years and received the Academy's Irving G.
Thalberg Award in 1949 for 'Johnny Belinda'. Wald died
of a heart attack in 1962 at age 51.
'Wild in the
Country' director Philip Dunne was likely better known
for his screenplay writing. He received Academy Award
nominations for his writing in the movies 'How Green Way
My Valley' and 'David and Bathsheba'. He was nominated
for a Golden Globe Award for the screenplay 'The Agony
and the Ecstasy'.
'Wild in the Country'
cinematographer William C. Mellor won Academy Awards for
his work in 'A Place In The Sun' (1952) and again in
1960 for 'The Diary of Anne Frank' (1960). He was
nominated for both 'Peyton Place' in 1960 and 'The
Greatest Story Ever Told' in 1966. Mellor died of a
heart attack during the production of the latter in 1963
at the age of 60.
 Soundtrack
Wild In The Country
I Slipped, I Stumbled, I Fell
Lonely Man
In My Way
Forget Me Never
Recorded at
Radio Recorders Studios, 7000, Santa Monica Boulevard,
Hollywood. November 1960.
Musicians:
Elvis Presley (vocals),
Scotty
Moore, Tiny Timbrell (guitars), Myer Rubin
(bass), Bernie Mattinson (drums), Dudley Brookes
(piano), The
Jordanaires (vocals).
The song "Husky Dusky
Day", sung in the movie by Elvis and Hope Lange, was
unreleased for years and appeared on an official record
only in the 1990s.
The songs "Lonely man" and
"Forget Me Never" where recorded by Elvis for the movie,
but were not used.
Wild In The Country - 20th Century Fox 1961
Producer
Jerry Wald
Directer Phillip Dunne
Screenplay
Clifford Odets based on a novel by J.R. Salamanca
Music by
Kenyon Hopkins
Associate Producer Peter Nelson
Assistant Director Joseph El Rickards
Hair styles
Helen Turpin
Orchestration Edward B Powell
Color by
Deluxe
Cast Overview:
Elvis Presley .... Glenn Tyler,
Hope
Lange .... Irene Sperry,
Tuesday Weld .... Noreen,
>
Millie Perkins .... Betty Lee Parsons, Rafer
Johnson .... Davis, John Ireland .... Phil Macy, Gary
Lockwood .... Cliff Macy, William Mims .... Uncle Rolfe,
Raymond Greenleaf.... Dr. Underwood, Christina
Crawford.... Monica George, Robin Raymond .... Flossie,
Phil Macy's Secretary, Pat Buttram .... Mr. Longstreet,
Ruby Goodwin .... Sarah, Irene's Maid, Alan Napier ....
Professor Joe B. Larson,
Red West
.... Hank Tyler
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