Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

Noutions Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Bergorks If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Brainsbell The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

Spikeopath Kid Galahad is directed by Phil Karlson and written by Francis Wallace and William Fay. It stars Elvis Presley, Gig Young, Lola Albright, Joan Blackman and Charles Bronson. Music is by Jeff Alexander and cinematography by Burnett Guffey.Out of the Amy, Walter Gulick (Presley) heads to his home town of Cream Valley looking for work as a mechanic. Unable to find employment in that field, Walter stumbles upon Willy Grogan's (Young) boxing operation and accepts an offer to spar with one of the fighters for five dollars. Though raw and taking far too many punches, Walter shows himself to have some skill and a knock out punch that flaws the local fighter. This catches the eye of Willy who spies a chance to get himself out of the debt he is in. With romance also in the air, in the form of Willy's sister Rose (Blackman), Cream Valley is about to become a hive of activity; both good and bad!A musical remake of the 1937 film that starred Edward G. Robinson, Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart, Karlson's Kid Galahad is what it is, a star vehicle for Presley to sing some tunes, fight some guys and win the heart of some dusky beauty. However, in the context of Presley's 60s movie output this is a good one. It has a strong support cast, a more than capable director and a superb cinematographer bringing out the beauty of Idyllwild, California. The King is not in the best of shape, the songs are disposable (with the exception of I Got Lucky) and the finale has a gigantic loose end that annoys greatly. But the songs don't dominate the story, Presley is playing a normal and decent guy and there's a genuine feeling of warmth about the whole thing (though Bronson and Presley didn't see eye to eye apparently).Safe, enjoyable and looking terrific visually, Kid Galahad is a more than adequate time waster for Presley film seekers. 7/10

blanche-2 Elvis Presley is a mechanic turned fighter in "Kid Galahad," a 1962 film with Presley playing the role originally essayed by Wayne Morris in the '30s. He has strong support from Gig Young, Lola Albright, Joan Blackman and Charles Bronson.Elvis plays an ex-GI named Walter Grogan, who is taken on as a fighter by a man (Gig Young) who runs a resort but owes money to mobsters due to gambling debts. What he doesn't count on is the Kid falling for his sister (Joan Blackman, Bette Davis in the original).This is early Elvis, when the production values were high and the songs fresh. Later on, Colonel Parker would tighten up on the budgets, since the cheaper he could get the films made, the more money he made for himself and Elvis. And Elvis' parents had naively signed a contract giving Parker 50%. I think Elvis would have been happier with better movies, such as "King Creole," and less money."Kid Galahad" is quite good, though, with fine music and a relaxed performance by Elvis, who looks great. He doesn't have the jet black hair and while he's not as thin as he would eventually get from using amphetamines, he's still in great shape.It became more and more difficult for Elvis to be Elvis, but here, he's a boyish, mellow guy who seemed to be enjoying what he was doing. Unfortunately, he didn't stay that way.

rpm1950-1 A very different Elvis movie. Only a very few, but quite good songs can be found in this one. Elvis as a recently discharged G.I. is looking for work, but ends up as a fighter after taking a job as a sparring partner for an up and coming fighter. This movie has a lot of heart and features a number of great actors including Charles Bronson and Oscar winner Gig Young. It also features Joan Blackman, Elvis' co-star in BLUE HAWAII. She is totally gorgeous and very sexy in this movie. A very earthy movie for its times, especially for Elvis. I have seen it plenty of times over the years but always remember sitting in my local theater in 1962 with some of my buddies watching it on a summer afternoon. At that time, it was only the second Elvis movie I had ever seen. A very good movie. Watch it whether you are an Elvis fan or not. Elvis shows some real acting chops in this one.

vchimpanzee At the start, Walter is fresh from the army and hitchhiking on the back of a moving van (not something anyone should attempt in real life, but it looks good here). And he's singing! Walter arrives in the small scenic New York community of Cream Valley, where he was born. After his parents died he was raised by an aunt in Kentucky (which explains the accent). In the army he worked in the motor pool, and he loves restoring cars, so he hopes to get a job as a mechanic.Unfortunately, the only job available is sparring partner for one of several boxers training in the community. At least Walter boxed in the army. He isn't that good, until ...Willy runs Grogan's Gaelic Gardens, which is trying to compete with Lieberman's Shangri-La as a tourist attraction. But Willy has a gambling problem, and Otto and his goons constantly remind him he needs to pay up. Dolly, who used to sing at Lieberman's, is Willy's impatient fiancée, and she helps take care of the place. And Rose is Willy's younger sister and business partner. The minute Walter sees Rose, we all know what's going to happen with them. Of course, Willy turns out to be quite overprotective.Walter's boxing talent just may turn out to be the solution for Willy's problems. The usual formula for movies like this applies, though, and it won't be that easy.I haven't seen but a few Elvis Presley movies. But I didn't know what I was missing. Even Elvis admitted (as portrayed on TV by Jonathan Rhys Meyers) that his movies were fluff, but this one was just a little more.Elvis gives us his usual impeccably polite all-American boy, and shows his singing talent in a few scenes (though this is not what I would call a musical). He is also good at looking tough in the boxing ring, and he really seems to be able to take a punch or two or three. But in the scenes where he loses his temper (because women shouldn't be treated that way), it becomes clear Elvis was hired for his popularity, not his acting ability.What makes this film more than ordinary is the talent surrounding the King. Lola Albright as Dolly, Robert Emhardt as Maynard, and David Lewis as Otto in particular. I wasn't that impressed with Gig Young as Willy, but he was easy to like.And I have to single out Charles Bronson as boxing trainer Lew. When he was in pain in one scene, it was truly disturbing. And that's what put this movie over the top and made it more than just the usual.Ed Asner (from the Manhattan district attorney's office) had a bald spot even way back then! I've liked him for years. I didn't see much from him here to be impressed with, though.I did like the music, and the classic cars, which of course were brand new or only a few years old. Walter himself liked the vintage car he restored better than I did.I would call this good, clean family fun, but of course Elvis does get beat up a lot and he does bleed. And there is some violence even outside the boxing ring. But in the early 60s, violence wasn't as big a concern as it is today.If you like Elvis, this is certainly one to watch.