The Trouble With Girls (1969)

The Trouble With Girls is an oddball film in the Elvis cannon. Even though the king of rock and roll is billed above the title and this was advertised as an Elvis movie, Elvis is not the star here, but a part of a larger ensemble cast. While this can make the movie disappointing to Elvis fans, it is a fine film on its own merits.

In 1927 a manager of Chautauqua show struggles to keep his show successful after the head of the children's pageant (Marlyn Mason) gives a young girl (Anissa Jones) the lead, when the manger promised to give it to the mayor's daughter. Things get even tougher for the show when a man winds up dead. Meanwhile the mother (Sheree North) of the girl who was given the part is struggling to get by in a town where she is treated very poorly. She feels that this children's pageant might be a turning part in her family's life but sadly it doesn't seem to be turning out that way.

While there may be a lot going on in this movie, very little of it happens quickly. First and foremost this is a film about its 1927 small town setting and takes its time to make you feel more involved in the time and place. This is very effective and gives the film a nice leisurely and charming feel. This is not always the small town Americana one might except from a movie like this as it isn't afraid to look a the darker side of the town. This not keeps the movie from being overly simplistic but also brings some moments of quite intelligent social commentary.

On the downside, even at only 99 minutes, the film can feel overlong and drags at times. There where simply some scenes that should have been on the cutting room floor. The camera in this movie seems restless. While I appreciate that this movie trying to do something different with its cinematography, the camera seems to be doing whatever it wants. This can become distracting especially during the more serious scenes.

While Elvis is far from the star here, he really gets to shine in his musical numbers. I have always been an unabashed fan of Elvis' gospel music and he gets to perform one of his great renditions of a gospel classic here. The song he gets to perform here is Swing Down Sweet Chariot. He had recorded this song in 1960 and it remains one of my favorite of his recordings. This movie version is just as great. It is high energy, fun, soulful and moving. If anybody asked me why I am an Elvis Presley fan, I can hardly think of a better example of why then his performance of this classic song in this film. Clean Up Your Own Backyard was the single from this movie and there is no wonder why. The song was written by the team of Mac Davis and Billy Strange (the same team that wrote the Elvis hits A Little Less Conversation and Memories).  It has biting social commentary in its lyrics that will always ring just as true as they did in 1969. Elvis sings the song to perfection and the music is undeniably catchy. True for a film that takes place in 1927, this song musically sounds very much of the 1960's, but it is an Elvis movie and most of us fans won't mind.  While this film may not have the greatest reputation, some consider this song to be one of his best movie songs and it is not hard to see why.

This may not be King Creole (1958), Jailhouse Rock (1957) or Flaming Star (1960), but there is still plenty to enjoy.

Note: This film features Nicole Jaffe in the cast and was released the same year Scooby-Doo! first appeared on TV screens. That show provided Jaffee with her most famous role as the voice of Velma.  

-Michael J. Ruhland