ELVIS: PARADISE: HAWAIIAN STYLE!(1966):
The gentleman below is correct in at least one
respect, the young lady(Donna Butterworth) is
no Haley Mills, Shelly Fabres or Annette, but she
is kinda cute, though her singing leaves a lot to
be desired!
The music is so so, except the little ditty sang by
the Hawaiian natives as Elvis is rowing down the
stream(the very beautiful Pearly Shells!), and
the finale, which is a very awesome production,
one of very few in an Elvis film! The settings are
absolutely beautiful, and the story line is ok!
As usual Elvis is playing a dude looking for his
place in society! One really great addition to
this is the ever great James Shigeta! He adds
a lot to the movie! B-
From another reviewer at Amazon:
Elvis and Hawaii go together like one of
Graceland's peanut-butter -and-banana
sandwiches. To be honest, though, Paradise,
Hawaiian Style finds the King looking puffier
and sleepier than he did in the salad days
of Blue Hawaii. Making matters worse is
the song selection and the prominence of
an allegedly adorable child actor--always a
bad thing in an Elvis picture. Despite all that,
there's something casually likable about
the film: costar James Shigeta is a welcome
performer (he plays the island pilot who
goes into business with flyboy Elvis),
leading lady Susanna Leigh is an
above-average companion, and the
location shooting is a big upgrade over the
cardboard backdrops of many late-career
Presley vehicles. Extended musical sequences
take place at the Polynesian Cultural Center
--nothing wrong with that, but rock & roll
has been left pretty far behind. --Robert Horton