Stay Away, Joe - Elvis (Import)

Elvis goes West… and the West goes wild.

Cast: Elvis Presley, Burgess Meredith, Joan Blondell,

Directed By: Peter Tewksbury

Elvis Presley and Joan Blondell star in this story of a young man who's part of Native American tribe and who wants to help his tribe ... but whose efforts always seem to backfire. His idea abouit raising cattle on the reservation is a good one, but not all his friends and family agree with him. The film is based on a novel by Dan Cushman.

Elvis plays a half breed named Joe Lightclould who is always getting himself in trouble. Strong supporting cast, with the late Burgess Merideth who was one of many. There’s a lot of wrestling, fighting, and wild partying. You as a viewer can be part of it too. You will get a kick out of all the hilarity, the slapstick, and the ongoing 'horsing' around between Joe and his crazy friends (even a few of Elvis' real-life friends have parts in this film.)

The music was a big improvement over what he had been doing lately. Elvis was now a married man and that probably is what gave him a bit of overdrive to do more. This film and its soundtrack were made much after the film was shot, the first of Elvis' last five films in the 1960s where musical numbers were kept to a minimum,but this had a tracklist of 20 songs. The recording session took place at RCA Studio B in in Nashville, Tennessee, on 1 st October, 1967, while the film was released in early 1968.

As for the movie itself, it was Elvis’ worst. However, the songs and soundtrack is a must have for Elvis fans. Songs and outakes Stay Away, Stay Away Joe, All I needed was the Rain, Going Home, are worth tuning into.

Rating: ****

Reviewed by Verus Ferreira