Roustabout (film)

Roustabout
Directed by	John Rich Michael D. Moore (Ass't)
Written by	Allan Weiss (story) Anthony Lawrence & Allan Weiss
Produced by	Hal B. Wallis
Starring	Elvis Presley Barbara Stanwyck Joan Freeman
Cinematography	Lucien Ballard
Edited by	Hal Pereira & Walter H. Tyler
Music by	Joseph J. Lilley
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release dates	November 11, 1964
Running time	101 min.
Language	English

Roustabout is a 1964 musical movie starring Elvis Presley, Barbara Stanwyck and Joan Freeman in a story set in a traveling carnival.

Plot

Charlie Rodgers (Elvis Presley) is a coffee house singer who has just been fired after a scuffle with some arrogant college kids. After he is bailed out, he begins to roam the country for another singing gig. On the road, he spots a pretty girl, Cathy Lean (Joan Freeman) and tries to catch her attention. Her father, Joe Lean (Leif Erickson), gets angry and runs him off the road, destroying Charlie's motorcycle and guitar. Maggie Morgan (Barbara Stanwyck), Joe and Cathy's boss, offers him a job as a roustabout in her struggling, traveling carnival to help pay for repairing his bike and guitar.

Maggie notices Charlie's talent for singing, and makes him the feature attraction of the carnival. Soon, crowds start flocking in to listen to him, which brings him to the attention of rival carnival owner Harry Carver (Pat Buttram), who wants him for his own, much more successful show.

Cast

• Elvis Presley as Charlie Rogers
• Barbara Stanwyck as Maggie Morgan
• Joan Freeman as Cathy Lean
• Leif Erickson as Joe Lean
• Sue Ane Langdon as Madame Mijanou
• Pat Buttram as Harry Carver
• Jack Albertson as Lou
• Teri Garr as Carny Dancer (uncredited)
• Raquel Welch as College Girl in Club (uncredited)

Award nominations

• Writers Guild of America Award for Best Written American Musical - (Anthony Lawrence & Allan Weiss)

Soundtrack

Untitled

The soundtrack songs were recorded between March and May of 1964 at Radio Recorders Studios in Hollywood, California. The album was released in October of 1964 with the same title as the motion picture. It went to No.1 on the Billboard album charts.

Recording musicians

• Elvis Presley (vocals)
• The Jordanaires (background vocals)
• Scotty Moore, Billy Strange, Barney Kessel, Tiny Timbrell (guitar)
• Bob Moore (bass)
• D.J. Fontana, Buddy Harman, Hal Blaine (drums)
• Floyd Cramer (piano)
• Boots Randolph (sax )

Tracks (songwriter)

Side 1:

1. Roustabout - (Bill Grant, Bernie Baum, Florence Kaye)
2. Little Egypt - (Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller)
3. Poison Ivy League - (Bill Grant, Bernie Baum, Florence Kaye)
4. Hard Knocks - (Joe Byers)
5. It's A Wonderful World - (Sid Tepper & Roy C. Bennett)
6. Big Love Big Heartache - (Dolores Fuller, Lee Morris, Sonny Hendrix)

Side 2:

1. One Track Heart - (Bill Grant, Bernie Baum, Florence Kaye)
2. It's Carnival Time - (Ben Weisman & Sid Wayne)
3. Carny Town - (Fred Wise & Randy Starr)
4. There's A Brand New Day On The Horizon - (Joe Byers)
5. Wheels On My Heels - (Sid Tepper & Roy C. Bennett)

An additional song, "I'm a Roustabout" (a different song than the title track) was recorded for the film but not used. Believed lost for many years, the recording surfaced in the early 2000s and was released by RCA in the 2003 compilation 2nd to None.[1]

See also

• List of Elvis Presley films
• Elvis Presley discography

External links

• Roustabout at IMDb

Movie reviews

• Review by MaryAnn Johanson at Apollo Movie Guide.

DVD Reviews

• Review of the movie collection "Lights! Camera! Elvis! Collection (King Creole, Blue Hawaii, G.I. Blues, Fun in Acapulco, Roustabout, Girls! Girls! Girls!, Paradise, Hawaiian Style, Easy Come, Easy Go) by Paul Mavis at DVD Talk, August 6, 2007.

• Review by Fusion3600 at DVD Authority.