It Happened at the World's Fair
| It Happened at the World's Fair | |
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| Directed by | Norman Taurog |
| Produced by | Ted Richmond |
| Written by | Si Rose Seaman Jacobs |
| Starring | Elvis Presley Joan O'Brien Gary Lockwood Vicky Tiu |
| Music by | Leith Stevens |
| Cinematography | Joseph Ruttenberg |
| Editing by | Fredric Steinkamp |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date(s) | April 3, 1963 |
| Running time | 105 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
It Happened at the World's Fair is a 1963 musical film starring Elvis Presley as a cropdusting pilot.
The motion picture was filmed in Seattle, Washington, site of the Century 21 Exposition, the 1962 World's Fair. The governor of Washington at the time, Albert Rosellini, suggested the setting to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer executives. The film made $2.25 million at the box office.[1]
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[edit] Plot
Pilot Mike Edwards (Elvis Presley) finds himself in a dilemma. His partner and friend Danny (Gary Lockwood, Wild in the Country, 2001: A Space Odyssey) has gambled away the money Mike had set aside to pay their debts. Since they now have no money and a $1,200 debt, the local sheriff takes possession of their plane, Bessie, a cropduster. If they can't come up with the money in twelve days, Bessie will be auctioned off to the highest bidder.
Mike and Danny become reluctant hitchhikers, looking for a lift to anywhere. They are picked up by apple farmer Walter Ling (Kam Tong, Across the Pacific, Soldier of Fortune) and his niece Sue-Lin (Vicky Tiu). They end up in Seattle, Washington, location of the 1962 World's Fair. When the uncle is called away on business, Danny persuades Mike to take Sue-Lin to the World's Fair. It is during a visit to the doctor that Mike falls for Diane Warren (Joan O'Brien, Operation Petticoat), an attractive but stubborn nurse who resists Mike's advances. He pays a boy (Kurt Russell) to kick him in the shin so that he can be treated by her. Mike also courts Dorothy Johnson (Yvonne Craig, Kissin' Cousins, Bat Girl in Batman).
Complications then arise. Walter suddenly disappears, leaving Mike with Sue-Lin. Diane discovers what has happened and wants to inforn the Welfare Board about it. There is a mysterious nightfall plane delivery for Mike and Danny's friend Vince (H.M. Wynant, The Twilight Zone, Frosty in Batman.
[edit] Cast
- Elvis Presley as Mike Edwards, cropduster pilot
- Joan O'Brien as Diane Warren, World's Fair nurse and eventual love interest of Edwards
- Gary Lockwood as Danny Burke, Mike's gambling-addicted business partner
- Vicky Tiu as Sue-Lin, a young girl befriended by Mike
- Yvonne Craig as Dorothy Johnson, a love interest of Mike's
- H. M. Wynant as Vince Bradley, Danny's crooked associate
- Kam Tong as Walter Ling, Sue-Lin's uncle
- Edith Atwater as Miss Steuben
- Guy Raymond as Barney Thatcher
- Dorothy Green as Miss Ettinger
- Red West as Fred (uncredited)
- Joe Esposito as Carnival Man (uncredited)
Kurt Russell had an uncredited speaking role as a boy who Mike Edwards pays 25¢ to kick him, thus giving him a chance to visit Nurse Warren. Russell would go on to play Elvis in the made-for-television film Elvis, provide the voice for Elvis in Forrest Gump, and portray an Elvis impersonator in 3000 Miles to Graceland.
Vicky Tiu, sister of entertainer Ginny Tiu, later grew up to be the first lady of Hawaii when she married Governor Benjamin J. Cayetano.
[edit] Production
The Seattle Center, including the Seattle Center Monorail and the Space Needle, serve as backdrops for several scenes in the film. Security officers pursue Presley and the girl through the fountains at what is now the Pacific Science Center. The hitchhiking scene with Elvis and Gary Lockwood was filmed near Camarillo, California. as were some of the flying scenes. The entire hitchhiking scene to the point where they are both picked up by Kam Tong and Vicky Tiu Cayetano in the truck is easily recognizable as 5th Street near Pleasant Valley Road on the South side of Camarillo.[2]
While The Elvis Encyclopedia believes that the Wilburton Trestle was shown in the movie, further evidence points to a different location.[3] It is actually a trestle over the White River between Enumclaw and Buckley, now demolished. The view in the movie was taken at the intersection of Mud Mountain Road and Highway 410, looking southeasterly.[4] You can see Mount Rainier in the background, which you can't see at this angle from the Wilburton Trestle. The Wilburton Trestle is actually bigger than the White River Trestle, at six sections high. The trestle pictured in the movie is only four sections high at the road crossing.[5]
[edit] Soundtrack
[edit] References
- ^ Adam Victor. The Elvis Encyclopedia. Overlook, 2008.
- ^ Victor 2008.
- ^ Key to the City's profile of Buckley The history blurb on this page was written before the trestle was demolished.
- ^ Google Street View of Mud Mountain Road and Highway 410 You can still see the bend in the road and a guard rail in the same place as in the movie
- ^ White River Journal, January 2002 White River History Museum. Includes a photo of the trestle, but not the part shown in the movie
[edit] Sources
- Guralnick, Peter, and Ernst Jorgensen (1999). Elvis Day by Day: The Definitive Record of His Life and Music. Ballantine. ISBN 0345420896.
- Kirchberg, Connie, and Marc Hendrickx (1999). Elvis Presley, Richard Nixon, and the American Dream. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Company. ISBN 0786407166.
- Lisanti, Tom (2000). Fantasy Femmes of 60's Cinema: Interviews with 20 Actresses from Biker, Beach, and Elvis Movies. McFarland and Company. ISBN 0786408685.
- Marcus, Greil (1980). "Rock Films," The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll, second edition. Random House. ISBN 0394739388.
- Ponce de Leon, Charles L. (2007). Fortunate Son: The Life of Elvis Presley. Macmillan. ISBN 0809016419.
- Presley, Priscilla (1985). Elvis and Me. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. ISBN 0399129847.
- Thomson, David (1998). A Biographical Dictionary of Film (3d ed.). Knopf. ISBN 0679755640.
- Victor, Adam (2008). The Elvis Encyclopedia. Overlook Duckworth. ISBN 1585675989
[edit] External links
- It Happened at the World's Fair at the Internet Movie Database
- It Happened at the World's Fair at AllRovi
- DVD reviews
- Review by Bill Treadway at DVD Verdict, August 12, 2004.
- Review by Mark Zimmer at digitallyOBSESSED!, August 4, 2004.
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