Elvis Meets Odets: Wild In The Country

Hot damn I love Elvis Presley.

Yes, yes, I know. Everyone loves Elvis--and especially today, the 30th anniversary of Presley's death. But in an age when hype often supersedes talent or charisma, loving the astoundingly magnetic Elvis makes sense.

Truly, if someone claims to not like Elvis, not even one song, one performance, one moment of Elvis-ness, I can only think they're big, fat liars who yammer on and on about how they'd rather listen to The Beatles ("they wrote their own music!"). Well, that's great. But one can like both the Beatles and Elvis--it's entirely possible. After all, the Beatles loved Elvis. So did Bob Dylan. Ditto for the late "Rumble" rocker Link Wray who I watched perform a heart wrenching version of Elvis's "I'm Free" years ago in some Portland shit-hole. Witnessing one of my idols bring down the house with another idol's song rates as one of the biggest highlights of my life.

So again, in terms of Elvis, if you don't love this:

....you're probably dead or stupid or just a contrary pain in the ass.

With my never-ending Elvis worship, it's no surprise I've watched all of the King's movies. They vary in quality, of course, and his performances range in effectiveness (King Creole directed by Michael Curtiz, Flaming Star directed by Don Siegel, Blue Hawaii directed by Norman Taurog are some terrific stand-outs), but whether it be Spinout or Change of Habit or It Happened at the World's Fair, I always find enjoyment and substance and artistry in them. But one Elvis picture that's not discussed enough is his highly underrated Wild in the Country.

Still considered another of the King's so-so efforts, Wild in the Country is much more complex an achievement than given credit for. Notable for its screenplay (from J.R. Salamanca's novel, who also penned the novel Lilith) written by the serious and sometimes brilliant theater and film writer Clifford Odets (The Big Knife, and my favorite, the genius Sweet Smell of Success) -- the film may look to some snobbier cineastes as something of a sell-out for Odets. And perhaps it was--but the picture remains intriguing nonetheless.

Soapy, dramatic entertainment with a capital D a la Peyton Place or a slicked up Tennessee Williams wanna-be effort, Wild in the Country is also convoluted, strange, and deliciously racy with themes that seem adult even for 1961. Especially 1961 Elvis. Another "serious" turn for Presley (which he could always handle and I wish he'd done more of), Wild in the Country nicely casts the singer in a role we like seeing him in -- as a juvenile delinquent. It also features the beautiful and beguiling talent of Tuesday Weld as a lush who's a little too young for her world-weary ways (Weld wasn't even out of her teens when she made this film).

Directed by Philip Dunne, Presley plays Glen Tyler, a troubled country boy who's sent to live with his shady uncle. Because of his hell-raisin' ways, he's assigned a psychiatrist, the very pretty Irene Sperry (Hope Lange, who co-starred in Peyton Place)--and she's not like any shrink you'd be likely to meet. She sees a strong literary talent in this hunk of dysfunction and finds herself (of course) falling for him, to the ire of her suitor and the gossip-mongers of the town. Irene wants Glen to go to college, but Glen other problems to contend with. Chiefly, two other Elvis craving gals: his sexy cousin Noreen (Weld) who wants him to stick to his hard living ways, and the oh-so-boring Betty Lee (Millie Perkins), his square childhood sweetheart.

Four songs are sung, along with a lot of fighting, scandal, attempted suicide, and even murder, leading to a rather ridiculous though weirdly engaging courtroom scene. Elvis, extraordinarily sexy here and often poignant in his moments with Lange, does right by Dunne's colorful, campy and juicy direction and he spews Odets dialogue with surprising ease. It's frustrating because you see how much more Elvis could achieve as an actor while still being well, hot as sin. And for me, next to Jailhouse Rock and Viva Las Vegas, this is one of Elvis's hottest movies.

Well, wait a second. Wild in the Country was one of Elvis's hottest narrative movies. If we count his '68 Comback Special as a movie (it was televised but it really should be released on the big screen) and his 1970 concert picture, Elvis: That's the Way It Is, then I'll have to re-think which of the King's performances makes me (as Baby Doll's Carroll Baker would say) the most "fuzzy and buzzy."

That's a hard decision. But one thing I do know--a little "Polk Salad Annie" gets me every time.

Read more Kim Morgan at Sunset Gun.