5/5 Dvd's are much enjoyed!
  by Michelle C. Cranford
I ordered these for my seven year old son who is a huge Elvis fan and we have definitely gotten our money's worth.

4/5 "Hey, kid, how would you like to kick me in the shin?"
  by H. Bala (Carson - hey, we have an IKEA store! - CA USA)
Never expecting too much from an Elvis Presley movie occasionally pays off. And sometimes all it takes to elevate a Presley flick is a switching up of venue or premise. Cases in point: the N'Awleans-set KING CREOLE, the straight-up westerns FLAMING STAR and CHARRO!, and the ghetto doctor drama CHANGE OF HABIT, which co-stars Mary Tyler Moore as a nun. And for some reason I find FOLLOW THAT DREAM to be a surprisingly engaging film. IT HAPPENED AT THE WORLD'S FAIR happens to also fall on my list of preferred Elvis Presley screenings.

In his film career, Elvis longed to branch out to more demanding roles and be perceived as a serious actor. But he seldom landed those dramatic parts. IT HAPPENED AT THE WORLD'S FAIR is regarded as one of his formulaic musical comedy romps, but it presents its own easy-going charm. The character in this film may not have been that challenging for Elvis to play, but I think this is one of the most likeable parts he's ever taken on.

There are several cool things about the picture. First, the story is set in the backdrop of the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. Director Norman Taurog actually shot the film on location, lending it an authenticity and a sort of fun, wide-eyed wonder feel. Sights like the Space Needle, the monorail, and the Dream Car exhibit are featured, and, let's not forget, most of the story takes place in a friggin' fair! Granted, there's probably a bit of imprinting that went down when I first saw this movie when I was a kid, because nowadays those sights don't come off near as neat. But I still like the atmosphere.

Freelance charter pilots Mike Edwards (Presley) and his chum Danny (Gary Lockwood) lose their crop-duster plane due to Danny's gambling debts, and they hitchhike to the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. It's a skimpy story, bolstered by ten songs. The core of the plot has Mike taking in an abandoned seven-year-old girl and falling for an attractive but standoffish nurse (Joan O'Brien). And, somewhere along the way, a criminal element is introduced to spice things up, giving a reason for Elvis to engage in manly scuffle, the second one in this film. I'll say this for the King, he really throws himself into his fight scenes. It all ends with Elvis submitting his application to NASA (I kid you not!) and singing "Happy Ending."

Presley is fairly effortless in this one, his role well within the comforts of the cinematic niche he'd fallen into. He again does that thing where he's simultaneously a relentless skirt chaser and a good guy at heart. There are ten songs, most of which are bland. The ones I do like are the suggestive "Relax" (he croons to Yvonne Craig), the mild rocker "One Broken Heart for Sale," and the bouncy bedtime lullaby "Cotton Candy Land."

Elvis is particularly terrific and sweet when he's sharing screen time with young scene-stealer Vicky Tiu, who I think is the film's secret weapon. Vicky Tiu plays the waif Sue-Lin, and she brings a certain irrepressible energy and oodles of cuteness. For triviaheads out there, there's a sexy pre-Batgirl Yvonne Craig canoodling with Elvis, a pre-2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY Gary Lockwood as the gambling addicted pal, and, last but not least, there is Kurt Russell's uncredited film debut (he's the kid who kicks Elvis in the shin - twice!).

3.5 out of 5 stars for IT HAPPENED AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. I like this movie enough that I choose to overlook the fact that Uncle Walter leaves his seven-year-old niece Sue-Lin in the care of a stranger he'd only met that same day. But then maybe he was aware that he was in an Elvis Presley vehicle, where all is sunshine, romance, and song. Ah-huh-huh!

3/5 Elvis at the Space Needle
  by Scott Rivers (Los Angeles, CA USA)
One of Elvis Presley's better musicals, "It Happened at the World's Fair" benefits from its Seattle locations, some decent songs (notably "One Broken Heart for Sale" and "They Remind Me Too Much of You") and a terrific fight scene. Elvis delivers a good-natured performance in this entertaining travelogue. Directed by Hollywood veteran Norman Taurog, the 1963 production was Presley's first post-Army assignment for MGM - followed by the dazzling "Viva Las Vegas."

5/5 dvd review
  by green lady (bakersfield, ca. usa)
the movie played great. it was wonderful to watch if only to see and hear elvis presley.

3/5 Good sampling of Elvis' strengths and weaknesses
  by Brian Camp (Bronx, NY)
This set contains six movies Elvis Presley made at MGM from 1957-1968, during the waning days of the Hollywood studio system. There are two bonafide Elvis classics, three light-and-fluffy romantic comedies with music, and one overly silly attempt to cast Elvis in a swashbuckling mode. VIVA LAS VEGAS (1964), easily the best of the bunch, is one of very few Elvis movies that can be considered a genuine full-fledged movie musical and was directed by old MGM studio hand George Sidney (ANCHORS AWEIGH, SHOW BOAT) and written by veteran author Sally Benson (MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS). The choreographer was an innovative newcomer, David Winters, best known for playing A-rab in both the stage and screen versions of WEST SIDE STORY. Ann-Margret is Elvis' co-star and she gets some songs and a dance number of her own and some charming duets with Elvis. Which begs the question of why Elvis didn't work more often with formidable female musical stars of the caliber of Ann-Margret, who clearly brings out the best in Elvis. He works with Nancy Sinatra in one of the light-and-fluffy ones in this set, SPEEDWAY (1968), but Nancy gets only one song of her own, "Your Groovy Self," written for her by Lee Hazlewood, and has very little musical interaction with Elvis, which seems like a wasted opportunity.

SPINOUT (1966) is one of the light-and-fluffy ones, but I found it to be the most outright entertaining of the set, largely because it has a funny script (co-written by Theodore J. Flicker, writer-director of the 1967 cult hit, THE PRESIDENT'S ANALYST) and a top-drawer cast, including three beautiful and delightful leading ladies, each of whom represents a very different character type attracted to Elvis. There's Deborah Walley, the tomboyish drummer in Elvis' band; Shelley Fabares, the spoiled rich girl and auto heiress; and Diane McBain, a sexually aggressive best-selling author seeking the perfect American male. There's a racing subplot, but it takes a back seat to the music, comedy and clever romantic rivalry.

IT HAPPENED AT THE WORLD'S FAIR (1963) is light and fluffy too, but not as well-written as SPINOUT. It has its enjoyable moments, though, including Elvis' attachment to a cute little Chinese girl (Vicky Tiu) and their day trip to the Seattle World's Fair, as well as a nice man-of-the-people scene where Elvis, staying at a bungalow court filled with middle-aged and senior citizen residents, picks up his guitar and strolls the area, singing to his neighbors. HARUM SCARUM (1965), on the other hand, is just a tired attempt to insert the star into a modern day Arabian Nights swashbuckler filled with stock Hollywood sets and stereotyped Arab characters left over from the whole Thief-of-Bagdad/Ali Baba bag of clichés. Elvis would certainly have made a great action star, but needed a better movie than this to prove it.

JAILHOUSE ROCK (1957), generally thought of as one of Elvis' best movies and certainly containing one of his most striking performances, turned out to be much more problematic for me. While Elvis is quite charismatic as a difficult and volatile young man on the rocky road to success, he's stuck with an old-line MGM writer-director team who completely miss his rhythms. There needed to be a new way to film and capture Elvis but they drag him down with a product shaped to conform to the standard studio assembly-line model, with little acknowledgment of the subversive undertone that Elvis brought to American pop culture. Given all the new directors entering Hollywood at that time (e.g. Arthur Penn, John Frankenheimer, Sidney Lumet), it's a shame no one saw what an opportunity this was to create something a little fresher and bolder.