zardoz-13 Director John Rich's musical melodrama "Roustabout" qualifies as a standard-issue Elvis opus. Elvis and love interest Joan Freeman never generate sparks in their on-screen relationship and this shortage of chemistry isn't good for the action. When the leading man and the leading lady lack chemistry, the movie can do little to save itself from the doldrums. The most suspenseful thing in "Roustabout" occurs with Elvis mounts a motorcycle and rides in circles in a gigantic barrel. We don't even actually see Elvis riding inside the barrel in this Hall B. Wallis' production. We see him climb on the bike, but we don't see him ride the barrel. Elvis appears in a number of long shots where he straddles a bike, but a stunt man substitutes for him during a wreck that has the character smashing through a white wooden fence. Meanwhile, Elvis has a tougher time with Leif Erickson as a pugnacious father who doesn't want him hanging out with his daughter. The bad blood between these two characters doesn't change until the last minute. Barbara Stanwyck seems to be in charge of the carnival that she runs. She has a couple of scenes with the King of Rock'n Rock, but she spends most of her time lecturing him. Actually, Elvis plays a louse. He hits the road after a rather one-sided bar fracas where he drops three irate college students with his karate chops. It seems that they sought to assault him for warbling anti-college lyrics. Our hero gets back on his bike after a girl who worked in the bar with him pays his bail. As Charlie Rogers, Elvis tells her that bailing him out doesn't mean the same thing as buying him and he leaves her standing. As he heads for the west coast for a better job, he spots Joan riding in a jeep with her parents. Naturally, the father --Leif Erickson—is not amused by Elvis's flirtatious behavior and runs him off the road. Elvis loses control of his bike and his guitar is damaged. He sticks around with Stanwyck and helps out as a roustabout for her carnival until she can have both his bike and guitar repaired. Of course, the girl wins in the end after Elvis has proved that he can draw big crowds at the carnival.

brackenhe I know Elvis Presley made better films after this (at least in my mind) but this must have been the beginning of the end of his movie career. The only reason I give this 4 out of 10 is because there is makings of a decent movie here. But the writing is so bad, and Elvis is made to sing a bunch of ridiculous songs (except Little Egypt.) This movie makes me hate Colonel Parker more than I already hate him. There is a story here about a young man who ends up working in a carnival and falling for a girl (basis for all EP movies.) But with a supporting cast such as this, it should have been better. It had Barbara Stanwyck in it for goodness sake, not to mention several veteran character actors. I think by this point Elvis didn't care anymore because why would he make such schlock. He must have been forced into it because he needed the money to keep up the Colonel and his ever growing entourage. He deserved better than this.

MARIO GAUCI Once again, this is an above-average Elvis Presley star vehicle but which, at the end of the day, offers nothing really new; still, I feel that the star’s own performance here is near the best that I’ve seen him give as he is well up to the challenge of playing a relatively complex character: alternately selfish, cocky, rebellious but, eventually, compassionate and even shrewd.Presley, however, is let down by the plot which, as I said, is not only formulaic and, therefore, entirely predictable but rather sentimental as well, what with Barbara Stanwyck’s carny show forever on the brink of foreclosure; one other definite thorn in the film’s side is the one-dimensional nature of Leif Erickon’s grumpy characterization. On the other hand, Stanwyck’s participation adds undeniable distinction to the film (her role had previously been offered to Mae West!) and lovely Joan Freeman projects the right mix of independence and vulnerability as the heroine.At least, the vivid carnival setting does provide plenty of opportunity for color, action, thrills, romance, comedy (courtesy of Sue Ane Langdon as a flirtatious fortune-teller) and, of course, songs which are not too bad – “Poison Ivy League”, “One Track Heart” and, especially, the Jerry Leiber-Mike Stoller penned “Little Egypt” – though, again, Elvis has certainly sung better ones in his Fifties heyday.For the record, an uncredited Raquel Welch can be glimpsed among the college kids in the film’s very first sequence and, unless they didn’t hit it off here, it seems rather strange now that they were never paired together when she became a star in her own right a couple of years later!

wgk27 I just watched one of my Christmas presents, the ROUSTABOUT DVD and was sad to observe that they "cut" parts of it out from the regular movie and video......The Tea Room scene where Raquel Welch appears after the fight scene, her part was cut! Plus the Red West bit-part was cut.And on the DVD box it mentions Raquel Welch's "girls in shower" scene as her debut which is a GOOF. That's not her. Her debut was in the first scenes in the movie which was cut from the DVD version. Why Paramount, oh why?Bill Kaval 12-29-03