G.I. Blues
- Elvis Presley: Tulsa McLean
- Juliet Prowse: Lili
- Robert Ivers: Cookie
- James Douglas: Rick
- Letícia Román: Tina
- Sigrid Maier: Marla
- Arch Johnson: Sgt McGraw
- Mickey Knox: Jeeter
- John Hudson: Capt.. Hobart
- Kenneth Becker: Mac
- Beach Dickerson: Warren
- Trent Dolan: Mickey
- Carl Crow: Walt
- Ron Starr: Harvey
- Erika Peters: Trudy
- Ludwig slide: puppeteer
Café Europa is an American musical film directed by Norman Taurog from the year 1960. It was the fifth film in which Elvis Presley appeared as an actor and the first after his time in the Army.
Action
The stationed in West Germany tank unit to the young soldier Tulsa are moved to Frankfurt am Main. At the station, the GIs hit the Turk soldier who has just arrived from Frankfurt. He tells of his affairs, but have to admit that he could not land at the beautiful Lili. Up to the front door he could bring them, but does not accompany her apartment. He makes a bet with the philandering Dynamite that he will not make it within seven days to spend with Lili alone one night. Tulsa, who has his boss Sgt McGraw wheedled just several hundred dollars for a scheduled nightclub in the home for his three-man band that is all the money that Dynamite Lili can seduce. Still at the station Dynamite but demoted to Alaska because of its antics and the associated complaints of fathers. His friends persuade Tulsa to take over at Dynamites place the bet, and the necessity to say.
Lili is a dancer in Frankfurt Café Europa. Although they Tulsa opposite is initially repellent, she begins to care for him after he has sung a song in the coffee shop. To avoid another pushy suitor, she leaves hastily café with Tulsa. Tulsa's friend Cookie falls in love, meanwhile, in the Italian waitress Tina. He manages to go with Tina in her apartment. Appear short time later, Tulsa and Lili, who have spent the entire evening together and now want to eat something on the apartment - Lili and Tina share an apartment and go Tulsa and cookie, since the bet only applies if Tulsa is with Lili alone.
Lili arrange to meet up the next day with Tulsa and both go to Assmannshausen where they ride the gondola, take a boat tour and watch a Punch and Judy show. As Tulsa Lili kisses for the first time, he gets a guilty conscience because of the current bet. The next day he goes to Lili in the dressing room and separates from her, since he felt for her more than he stationed as a soldier should. He announces cookie on towards the bet.
A little later he is called to his band mates Rick, who, since he is in Frankfurt, has been searching for his former fiancée Marla. Now he has finally found it. She has an illegitimate child by him and both spontaneously plan to marry in Heidelberg. Tulsa to take care of the little Junior. Although the was introduced to him as a quiet baby, he begins to cry alone with Tulsa after a few minutes. In his distress Tulsa eventually calls Lili, brings junior to her and feeds the baby the whole night with her. He now has inadvertently won the bet.
The next day, Lili should occur with the soldiers at an event. She hears about the bet and believes that Tulsa had only used the baby to get into her apartment, and it would otherwise have not dared. She turns away disappointed from him and calls him a coward. Finally, she learns of Marla that Tulsa really should play babysitter. The Strafversetzung Tulsa by Capt. Hobart, who suspects a seduction of innocent young women by Tulsa can be averted. After performances by Lili and Tulsa with his bandmates Cookie and Rick the couples fall into the arms of Rick and Marla, cookie and Tina and Tulsa and Lili.
Production
Elvis Presley returned to his time as a GI in Germany in March 1960 to the USA. Filming for Café Europe began on April 26, 1960 and ended on 24 June 1960. The film came on 23 November 1960 in the American cinema, and played a $ 4,300,000. In Germany he ran on December 23, 1960.
Most of the scenes of Cafe Europa in the U.S. economy; Outdoor scenes, among others, at the train station in Frankfurt am Main and at the military training area in Bavaria Wild spots were filmed in the absence Presley and later cut into the film.
Elvis Presley, which is synchronized to the German version of Rainer Brandt, sings in the movie the songs:
- What's She Really Like ( Sid Wayne / Abner Silver )
- G.I. Blues ( Sid Tepper / Roy C. Bennett )
- Doin 'The Best I Can ( Doc Pomus / Mort Shuman )
- Blue Suede Shoes (Carl Perkins ) - to hear a jukebox song
- Frankfort Special ( Sid Wayne / Sherman Edwards)
- Shoppin 'Around ( Sid Tepper / Roy C. Bennett / Aaron Schroeder )
- Tonight Is So Right For Love ( Sid Wayne / Abner Silver )
- Wooden Heart ( Bert Kaempfert / Kay Twomey / Fred Wise / Ben Weisman )
- Pocketful Of Rainbows ( Fred Wise / Ben Weisman )
- Big Boots ( Sid Wayne / Sherman Edwards)
- Didja Ever ( Sid Wayne / Sherman Edwards)
The film led in Germany to a large demand for the title Wooden Heart Elvis Presley's cover version of the folk song because i must, i must because for Städtele addition. Within a few weeks, around 400,000 records were sold in Germany. However, the Bayerische Rundfunk and the West Berlin radio boycotted the Presley version. The reason the " conscious [ ... ] Verschnulzung German Folk Songs" was given and the claim of the sender to want folk music to care only "serious".
Criticism
The mirror criticized the film as clichéd:
"Elvis Presley [ ... ] posing for the first time internalized in this postcard film; he roars no more ecstatic, but whimpers in GI uniform homey Must I then and Tales from the Vienna Woods. The act by which the ten Blubber numbers of NATO troops were garnished, is full of pathetic clichés: Frolleins, puppet theater and pumpernickel paint a picture German, comfort ', as American Images leaves try hoodwink their readers persevere. "
The filmdienst was: "Who knows Presley from earlier films, is somewhat surprised to find there a much more sympathetic edition of the singing ' eel '. I hope he takes the opportunity to get into another fairway. That rock and roll is as good as dead, proves this film. "
The from filmdienst 1990 edited encyclopedia of the International film criticized that, " wants to film story believe [ ... ] American soldiers at the time of their training to do otherwise [ have ] to bewitch as German girls and staid Weinschänken Remmidemmi to making. [ ... ] Rockin be very cautious; for Elvis tries to waltzes, lullabies and songs of the German people. "
Cinema wrote that the film Presley's " time as GI romanticized " and called Café Europa " a routine tearjerker with a short haircut. Conclusion: Without Rock'n'Roll he becomes the king of lard ".
For Time Out London, the film was colorless ( "bland ") and the first in a series of threads, routinely wacky musical comedies with Elvis Presley in the starring role.
Awards
Café Europe's soundtrack was nominated in 1961 in the category "Best Soundtrack Album or Recording of Original Cast from a Motion Picture or Television " for a Grammy. The film received a nomination for the 1961 WGA Award in the category " Best Written American Musical ", losing to call - come into the house (OT: Bells Are Ringing ). The Laurel Awards Café Europe lost in the category " Best Musical" against Pepe - What can the world already cost (OT: Pepe ).