Blue Hawaii

"Ecstatic romance... Exotic dances... Exciting music IN THE WORLD'S LUSHEST PARADISE OF SONG!"

1961 1h 42m EN

😐

6.0

MID

★6.0TMDB · 160

MusicComedyRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Just discharged GI Chad Gates returns to Hawaii, where he becomes a tour guide, defying his mother's wishes for him to join the family business.

“Ecstatic romance... Exotic dances... Exciting music IN THE WORLD'S LUSHEST PARADISE OF SONG!”

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Cast

Elvis Presley
Chad Gates
Joan Blackman
Maile Duval
Angela Lansbury
Sarah Lee Gates
Nancy Walters
Abigail Prentice
Roland Winters
Fred Gates
John Archer
Jack Kelman
Howard McNear
Mr. Chapman
Steve Brodie
Tucker Garvey

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Norman Taurog
Writers: Hal Kanter, Allan Weiss
Languages: French, Hungarian, English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.2× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

65 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: French, Hungarian, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Norman Taurog, shot by Charles Lang. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Joseph J. Lilley. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Terry O. Morse shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Elvis Presley and Joan Blackman and Angela Lansbury carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Norman Taurog directs. Charles Lang behind the camera. Joseph J. Lilley scores. Terry O. Morse cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in French, Hungarian, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 4.2× over at the box office.
365 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Dialogue crosses 3 languages: French, Hungarian, English.
5Directed by Norman Taurog, shot by Charles Lang. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Joseph J. Lilley. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Terry O. Morse shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Elvis Presley and Joan Blackman and Angela Lansbury carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Ecstatic romance... Exotic dances... Exciting music IN THE WORLD'S LUSHEST PARADISE OF SONG!".
10IMDB entry: tt0054692 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Charles Lang
Original score: Joseph J. Lilley
Editing: Terry O. Morse
Costume design: Edith Head
Makeup / hair: Nellie Manley
Runtime: 102 min · 1h 42m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $2,000,000
Box office: $8,400,000
Return: 420% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Blue Hawaii (1961)

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Norman Taurog

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2020-11-08
★ 7/10
Elvis goes to Hawaii After a two-year enlistment in the service, Chad Gates (Presley) returns home to Hawaii, but prefers the genuineness of the Polynesians and blazing his own trail to being the heir to his parents’ pineapple plantation. With his half-Caucasian/half-Polynesian girlfriend (Joan Blackman) he tries his hand as a tour guide. Angela Lansbury is on hand as the amusingly snooty mother. “Blue Hawaii” (1961) was the first and easily the best of three Elvis flicks set in Hawaii, followed by “Girls! Girls! Girls!” (1962) and “Paradise, Hawaiian Style” (1966). Actually, it ranks with his better movies, like "Kid Galahad" (1962), “Roustabout” (1964) and “Viva Las Vegas" (1964). Several things make this one work: The magnificent locations, the trivia about Hawaii & Hawaiians, the compelling story, the serious-but-fun vibe and, of course, the music. Speaking of which, this one has more songs than usual. On the downside, the female cast could’ve been better, although winsome Blackman is a’right. Nevertheless, the subplot about Chad (Elvis) being the tour guide of an attractive school teacher (Nancy Walters) and five teenage girls is entertaining, especially the shenanigans with the curmudgeonly lass (Jenny Maxwell). The film runs 1 hour, 42 minutes and was shot in Hawaii and Paramount Studios, California. GRADE: B
CinemaSerf2024-05-25
★ 6/10
I'd been watching this for ages before I realised that it was actually the real life Angela Lansbury (aged 35) playing Elvis's mother - he being 25 years old at the time! A bit of much needed cinematic licence in this otherwise really rather staged romantic comedy that doesn't really do anyone any favours. Having returned from Germany, "Chad" is at a loss as to what to do. He doesn't want to join the family fruit business, preferring to work with girlfriend "Maile" (Joan Blackman) - much to the chagrin of the aforementioned mum. Sorry, mom. "Maile" is a tour guide showing off all the beautiful sights of Hawaii. That's when he encounters the teenage "Ellie" (Jenny Maxwell) who takes a mischievous shine to him, causing no end of havoc between everyone, her teacher "Abigail" (Nancy Walters) and a bout of fisticuffs with just about the entire island! He's undoubtedly a charismatic man to watch but an actor he isn't. His renditions of "Blue Hawaii" and "Can't Help Falling in Love" demonstrate clearly that he can't lip-sync very well either. Lansbury adopts a squeaky accent and looks like she's having some fun, but the rest of it is all too rigid and unnatural looking - I think some of the cyclorama photography was just on a loop and even I know that you have to change chords playing an ukulele. I guess the star's timetable didn't allow Norman Taurog to spend too much time finessing what is just essentially a feel-good film for the star, but this is all pretty standard and unremarkable fayre from everyone.