Blue Hawaii - Elvis

Gerald Ross · Post by **Gerald Ross** » 9 May 2005 6:53 am

I watched this movie for the first time last night on the American Movie Channel. I had never seen it before.

Here's what impressed me:

1. Elvis' band, made up of his Hawaiian beach boy musician buddies had a very unique instrumentation. Cheap acoustic guitar, steel drums (pans) and bongo drum. Ocassionly they would use an acoustic guitar played flat with a bar that had the tone of an electric guitar(how did they do that?

). Steel drums???

2. Elvis' "native" Hawaiian girlfriend looked very Italian/French (how and why did they do that?

) Too risque to have Elvis kiss a non-anglo?

3. Elvis' parent's "house boy" was named Ping Pong (why did they do that?

).

4. Elvis' bachelor pad (grass shack) on a deserted Oahu beach would probably sell for $8,000,000 today. He just kinda built it when nobody was looking. There must be a lot of free vacant land on Oahu for anyone to build these things.

5. When Elvis's band played a "Hawaiian" tune at the nightclub it sounded like a Harry Belafonte quasi-Jamaican number. I guess all island music is the same, yeah mon!

6. The band left all the good chords out of the "Hawaiian Wedding Song". Why'd they do that? The chords aren't that hard.

7. Elvis' uke technique. How did he get all those chords without moving his left hand?

8. Elvis' boss at the tourist agency was Floyd The Barber from the Andy Griffith show. He didn't even try to change his character! It was Floyd in an aloha shirt! and he was wearing three huge leis while working at his desk on a Tuesday afternoon.

They should of used Otis the town drunk.

9. Elvis setting the "bad girl" straight by throwing her over his knee and giving her a spanking that she deserved, and secretly wanted on a deserted beach in the moonlight. The next morning at breakfast she was "tamed, satisfied and happy" (I guess women were different in the early 1960's).

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Gerald Ross
'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar'

Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website
Board of Directors Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association
[This message was edited by Gerald Ross on 09 May 2005 at 12:20 PM.]

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 9 May 2005 7:45 am

Gerald, your observations are hysterical.

I think I better look for a new gig....

Andy Barlo · Post by **Andy Barlo** » 9 May 2005 8:50 am

It'just a movie, Gerald

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 9 May 2005 9:02 am

True, but they had to spend the time, effort, & research for costumes, props, and music.

It would have been the same time & expense if they did it right.

Gerald Ross · Post by **Gerald Ross** » 9 May 2005 9:08 am

I know that Andy

.

But it has always ticked me off when movies or TV shows don't do their musical homework.
Example: A movie set in the 1880's and the musicians are using Martin D style guitars.

Another Blue Hawaii thing I forgot to mention:

During the bar-brawl scene... the entire bar was enveloped in a fight, everyone including the musicians, was throwing punches and wrestling . Now really, what would a musician do during a bar fight? Fight? I doubt it, your first inclination is to protect your hands and your instrument and get out of there ASAP (but get paid first).

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Gerald Ross
'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar'

Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website
Board of Directors Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association
[This message was edited by Gerald Ross on 09 May 2005 at 11:14 AM.]

Bob Stone · Post by **Bob Stone** » 9 May 2005 10:09 am

Gerald,

It's an Elvis movie. What did you expect?

Maybe we should write Colonel Parker a letter...

Gerald Ross · Post by **Gerald Ross** » 9 May 2005 10:13 am

I'm just having fun.

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Gerald Ross
'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar'

Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website
Board of Directors Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association

Ray Montee · Post by **Ray Montee** » 9 May 2005 10:21 am

Item #7: Remember? It's not the 'left' hand that makes the music anyway. It's the dynamic picking of the right hand, I've heard tell.
Saw a movie the other day, with Marilyn Monroe, remember, she was the blond with a pretty smile and breathless speach....(?) and after she'd played this beautiful guitar run on an accoustic, round-holed, flat-top, a different camera angle showed absolutely not a single string on the instrument.
Isn't this what they call theatrical license?

seldomfed · Post by **seldomfed** » 9 May 2005 10:23 am

Gerald,

Elvis' bachelor pad (grass shack) on a deserted Oahu beach would probably sell for $8,000,000 today.

that 'shack' was actually the snack shop at Hanauma Bay on Oahu, back in the days when you could just drive down the hill and park for free and snorkle we'd get shave ice and snacks there - now it's a pay-4-use-park and crowded as hell.

chrisk

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Chris Kennison
Ft. Collins, Colorado
"Listen Sooner" www.book-em-danno.com www.seldomfed.com

[This message was edited by seldomfed on 09 May 2005 at 11:24 AM.]

Gerald Ross · Post by **Gerald Ross** » 9 May 2005 10:28 am

Six left handed uke players. Coincedence? or did they actually seek out these southpaws.

Hey... the gal on the far left... isn't that Betty from accounts receivables?

Elvis' "native Hawaiian" girlfriend.

"Bad Girl" pre midnight spanking, or post?

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Gerald Ross
'Northwest Ann Arbor, Michigan's King Of The Hawaiian Steel Guitar'

Gerald's Fingerstyle Guitar Website
Board of Directors Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association
[This message was edited by Gerald Ross on 09 May 2005 at 12:11 PM.]

George Keoki Lake · Post by **George Keoki Lake** » 9 May 2005 10:32 am

Hollywood can be wierd at times....seems I recall a very old Gene Autry movie which had them all around a campfire surrounded by cactus. This steel player, (unknown) had his amp plugged into a cactus which obviously the producers never noticed or cared about.

Keith Cordell · Post by **Keith Cordell** » 9 May 2005 10:50 am

The racist element on those movies has always been a bone in the throat for me, ruins the experience of watching the movies like this. Ping Pong? Dreck.

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Sierra S8, Gibson GA30RVT, Peavey Delta Blues, Regal Dobro heavily modified, Teese RMC2 Wah, Proco Rat, pyrex and bakelite bars

Mike D · Post by **Mike D** » 9 May 2005 11:35 am

This steel player, (unknown) had his amp plugged into a cactus

George, we have those all over the place out here. They have great tone but it's best to have a regular 'inside gig' set-up too, as the cactus/amps are a 'pain' to move around.

I love Elvis movies, stinky as they are.

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Half-assed bottleneck and lap slide player. Full-assed Builder of resonator instruments.

Jon Light · Post by **Jon Light** » 9 May 2005 12:16 pm

I watched a bit of Girls Girls Girls. This is what I learned. The Hawaiian people are happy, simple folks. They are merely waiting for a white guy to tell them what to do. Didn't know this before but now I do. Pretty much everthing I know I owe to Hollywood.

Les Anderson · Post by **Les Anderson** » 9 May 2005 1:00 pm

In the old Roy Rogers and Gene Autry movies, they would be riding along plunkin away on their guitar and singing to whomever; however, in the next scene following the song, their guitars would vanish into ???????? Where in heck did those guys stash those guitars between songs?

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(I am not right all of the time but I sure like to think I am!)

Ian Finlay · Post by **Ian Finlay** » 9 May 2005 1:23 pm

Check the look on the horse's face. You'll work out where that guitar went.... and the origins of the sunburst finish

Ian

Rick Aiello · Post by **Rick Aiello** » 9 May 2005 1:51 pm

I liked Paradise Hawaiian Style better than Blue Hawaii & Girls, Girls, Girls ...

It had a Frypan in it ...

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Aiello's House of Gauss


My wife and I don't think alike. She donates money to the homeless and I donate money to the topless! ... R. Dangerfield

Howard Tate · Post by **Howard Tate** » 9 May 2005 2:11 pm

It tickles me to catch stuff like that in movies. Like some awful movie where they showed a Les Paul and said it was the Strat that Jimmie Hendicks played.

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Howard, 'Les Paul Recording, Zum S12U, Vegas 400, Boss ME-5, Boss DM-3
http://www.Charmedmusic.com

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 9 May 2005 2:22 pm

It's an Elvis movie. What did you expect?

Bob, in some countries, it's a documentry...

Jeff Au Hoy · Post by **Jeff Au Hoy** » 9 May 2005 2:38 pm

I didn't know codpieces were still in style in the 60's.

Todd Weger · Post by **Todd Weger** » 9 May 2005 3:14 pm

I didn't know codpieces were still in style in the 60's.

I think they called 'em mahipieces for these '60s Hawaiian flicks.

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Todd James Weger/RD/RTD
1956 Fender Stringmaster T-8 (C6, A6, B11); 1960 Fender Stringmaster D-8 (C6, B11/A6); Chandler RH-4 Koa semi-hollow lapsteel (open G); Regal resonator (open D or G)

Alan Keach · Post by **Alan Keach** » 9 May 2005 3:41 pm

Gerald,you did not like them using ping-pong but you wished they used "Otis the drunk" get your "politically correct" rap together!!Just havin' fun

HowardR · Post by **HowardR** » 9 May 2005 4:13 pm

I didn't know codpieces were still in style in the 60's.

yes, with the cod still in them too!

Don Kona Woods · Post by **Don Kona Woods** » 9 May 2005 11:03 pm

Gerald,
I happened to see part of this movie last night also. It was the first time that I had seen the film.

The only thing Hawaiian in Blue Hawaii was Hilo Hattie and the less commercial scenery of Hawaii in the early 1960's. Did you notice there were very few high rise buildings in Waikiki and Downtown Honlulu.

I happened to live in Hawaii at the time and saw first hand some of the filming.

I am totally disappointed, and even disgusted, that they had no consideration for the beautiful music of the Islands.

Just think Elvis could have done a nice Tahitian war dance with his swiveling hips--not Hawaiian, but a little more South Pacific island-like.

Aloha,
Don

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 9 May 2005 11:23 pm

6 left handed Uke players.

Gee Elvis wasn't left handed either...

Some nimord flipped the negative, likely to make some promo poster look symetrical for the type layout. Then the kept it that way for the still marketing shot to put in theater doorways.

If we look to Elvis fluff as a cultural record, we are nuts. And surely disapointed.
It is an artifactof it's times for sure.

These were cut the budget to the bone films for teeenagers, and not much more.
If it LOOKED like Hawaii it WAS Hawaii.

The best take off on these genre of film is
Tom Hanks That Thing You Do, with the ONEders.
You see them in Hollywood, on a beach, dressed like sailors and pretending to play.... hysterical.
Fun little film too.

Most of the dancehall or indoor scenes would be done in LA stages anyway.
They would have a 2nd unit shoot some stuff in Hawaii hit and run,
and then most would be done back home cheaper.

Doubt they paid for continuity people or period accuracy checkers.
Knock out another please.