Double Trouble (1967)

A Masterpiece!

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Elvis Presley plays an alcoholic singer trying to avoid being seduced by underage heiress Annette Day. Ms. Day's uncle is as after her as she is after Elvis. I enjoyed most of the music performed by Elvis in this one. "Long Legged Girl", "City by Night", and "Double Trouble" are good songs; they give the film a nice Swinging Sixties feel. Problem is, you also have to sit through Elvis singing "Old McDonald had a farm…" Mr. Presley's perpetual stated of being "wasted" during this film makes his drunk scenes believable, reminding me of Dudley Moore in "Arthur". I'm not sure how much of this was an act, though. I'm guessing Elvis is supposed to be sober-looking sometimes; if so, there should have been some sort of "intervention" by Presley's family and friends after viewing this film. Leon Askin (from "Hogan's Heroes") leads a fun cast/crew supporting Elvis. If it could have been re-worked as a surreal "Arthur", the movie might have worked. *** Double Trouble (4/5/67) Norman Taurog ~ Elvis Presley, Annette Day, Leon Askin

I do not know if other copies are as bad as mine, but My copy of this move has areas in it that the sound is not in sync with the film, it is very obvious that the film broke multiple times and jumped sprocket even more. I was very unhappy with it, as it really detracted from the quality. I would like to know if others have had this trouble, my copy is a Warner Brothers logo ISBN 0-7907-4555-0, UPC 012569514126. Other than that, I felt that this was a typical Elvis movie, Annette Day is certainly cute, but I have never seen an Elvis movie that did not have beautiful women in it. The thought of the King driving a Volkswagen Bug is hilarious, but having the sync problems is a true shame.

Hear Elvis say "bikkies" (a kick for me, as one who grew up with that contraction of "biscuits," in America known as cookies), see Elvis lay his kenpo down on a bad guy who dies as a result, see Elvis drive a VW bug, witness Elvis smash windows, marvel at Elvis in a mustache and glasses mask, and watch him beat up a beautiful woman! Those are some of the highlights, anyway. In truth, this film is among my very least favorite of Elvis films, even judging by the somewhat unique standards of the '60s travelogue Technicolor musicals that became the standard by 1962. The formula had worn thin by 1965 ("Frankie And Johnnie," "Harum Scarum," "Paradise, Hawaiian Style"), to say the least, and -- other than some bright points in "Spinout" and the entirety of "Easy Come, Easy Go" (like "Double Trouble," shot in 1966...for some reason, I like that crazy film) -- nothing got better, in my opinion, until the formula changed radically with 1968's "Stay Away, Joe" and "Live A Little, Love A Little." The period 1965-1967 was Elvis' nadir, in other words, though the May, 1966 Nashville sessions (that yielded the immaculate "How Great Thou Art" gospel album and a few stellar secular songs, including a definitive take on one of Bob Dylan's songs) and recently-surfaced home recordings from that period show all too well how phenomenal Elvis' talent was at the time, a contrast that would anger and frustrate anyone who cared about his place in American and world culture and history. But we have what we have, and the criminal waste of talent that to a great extent represented Elvis' film career during this time is undeniable but shouldn't necessarily result in us writing off the results out of hand for that reason alone. There are a few moments in this film that are good, and a few when Elvis seems to actually be engaged rather than bored with the whole proceedings and just sleepwalking through it to fulfill contractual obligations. There're some great actors in supporting roles, too, like Leon Askin (General Burkhalter!), Chips Rafferty, John Williams, Norman Rossington (the only actor to appear in films with the Beatles and Elvis), and Michael Murphy. Annette Day is kind of lackluster in the lead female role. Yvonne Romain is much more like it. And the Wiere Brothers have always irritated the hell out of me in this film -- wish they were not in it, because they really stupid things up.The songs are not the greatest even compared to other songs from Elvis movies of this time, but I do like the title track, "Long Legged Girl" (a tasty song, actually, written by Joy Byers, who usually contributed great songs even to otherwise not-so-great movies, such as "Let Yourself Go" in "Speedway"), and the jazzy "City By Night." "Could I Fall In Love" is a nice ballad, a duet of Elvis with Elvis, but the entire June, 1966 session for this movie suffered from sonic problems and I believe it's one that Elvis complained vociferously about. I also believe that Elvis walked out on recording "Old McDonald" before he'd produced an acceptable master take, being totally disgusted by the task, and the master was spliced from what the engineers had captured. Not his greatest recorded moment, anyway. And, darn it, it (and the rest of the soundtrack) was recorded on my second birthday.IMDb mixes up the screen character credits for Chips Rafferty and Norman Rossington but, to be fair, so does the end title sequence in the film. Oops.

Elvis Presley plays pop singer Guy Lambert who is touring England where he becomes involved with Jill Conway (Annette Day), a teenage heiress with a crush on him. It also becomes clear that her uncle Gerald Waverley (John Williams) is trying to kill her in order to get his hands on her money and Lambert must save her life.Often slated because in real life Elvis never toured yet alone visited England, and the film was shot on one of those cheesy but likable MGM sets built in America to stand in for England rather like those used in a Man From UNCLE adventure. Hardly surprising since the art directors are George W. Davis and Merrill Pye who worked on some of those films. Those who have seen One Of Our Spies Is Missing for example will know what I mean. For me, this is one of the King's more enjoyable movies with a reasonable storyline for Presley's usual standards and he sings "Long Legged Woman With The Short Dress On", one of my favourite tunes which is proving VERY hard to find on CD. The film also features Norman Rossington (the only actor to appear with both The Beatles and Elvis) as a hapless diamond smuggler. John Williams is well cast as the smooth and scheming Gerald Waverley. The only downside is the fact that Elvis who is without doubt one of the most important figures in the development of popular music has to sing OLD MACDONALD. But fast forward past that bit and the rest of the film isn't at all bad.