ELVIS MONTH Day 12 It Happened At The World’s Fair (1963)

Year:  1963

Age: 28

Movie: 12th

Mike and Danny fly a crop duster and thanks to Danny (not Elvis) they loose the plane, not that they can’t find it, a bad bet lost the plane for them.  So they start making their way to Seattle, hitching a ride with a lovely man and his neice played by Vicky Tiu (Vicky is the sister of the little Chinese girls that appeared in Girls! Girls! Girls!) and she is just as adorable as her sisters.  Later in life Vicky married the 5th governor of Hawaii.

This movie is quite famous for featuring a very young Kurt Russell, you can’t miss him at all.  He looks almost the same as he does not, just a little shorter.  He is the kid that Elvis pays to kick him in the shins, and he really does, and it looks like it hurt too.  Later in life Kurt played Elvis in Elvis the movie, which I remember seeing at the movies, when I was 8,  with my Mum, presumably after I begged her to take me.  Then he played an Elvis impersonator in the seriously great movie 3000 Miles To Graceland.  In the movie Mike offers Kurt a quarter to kick him and Kurt didn’t want to kick The King, so Elvis paid him $5 to do the scene, then Kurt did the scene…money talks I suppose.  Kurt only had a few minutes screen time.

The first song is Beyond The Bend, sung in a plane with very limited wind in their hair.  Crop dusting and girls, just goes hand in hand,  ah the 60’s you can practically fly on the road to pick up a few girls…or is it only Elvis that can do that?  They finish crop dusting and get paid stows the money in the plane and his mate goes and steals it for gambling purposes.

Meanwhile let the seduction begin, beginning with Bat Girl (or is that one word?) Yvonne Craig.  (You’ll see more of her in Kissin Cousins)Man she fills out a dress well.  During said seduction, Mom and Dad arrive home and Mike gets comically chased with a shot gun.  From one crappy situation to another.  His buddy now owes $1100.  “Fight Scene!”  Sherriff impounds the plane due to owed debts and they hit the road Jack…

Take Me To The Fair, as sung to Sue-Lin.  She is lovely, have I said that yet.  With her little white gloves on…nawww. And so they arrive at the fair, The World’s Fair Seattle, where Mike gets volounteered to take Sue-Lin to the fair.  So much great footage of the World’s Fair.  The dream car is dreamy and completly impractical for the future.

And there’s the Army reference, so Mike did 3 years in the Army in case you were wondering.  Sue-Lin is feeling sick so off they go to the nurses station and he meets Nurse Diane Warren, and he falls for her, but has to leave as Sue-Lin is all better.  At the end of their very long day they take a monorail ride and we get “They Remind Me Too Much Of You” such a beautiful ballad.

Mike and Danny are staying at Century 21 Estates (for 2 weeks), which looks like a mobile home caravan park.  Elvis sings Broken Heart For Sale, with a heap of men from the Estates.  Next scene at the Fair involves Kurt Russell and Diane feels so bad about not beleiving Mike was injured that she pedals him around the Fair on or in a three wheel bike…on a set, Alot of the patrons of the Fair look at the camera that filmed the scene live.  Up to the restaurant at the Space Needle (I’ve been there!) and sing randomly at the dinner table, as you do…I’m Falling In Love Tonight.

Poor little Sue-Lin can not find her uncle so she finds Mike and she stays at his place until they find her uncle.  So cute when she says “you’re the only friend I have in Seattle”.  He sings her to sleep with Cotton Candy Land.  They still can’t find her uncle and Mike and Danny have an argument outside of the trailer.  Notice the great retro colour of the trailers and their awnings, God I love the 60’s colours.  Sue-Lin fakes being sick so Mike can call Diane, she is still so cute…Sue-Lin that is.  It’s Mikes opportunity to make Diane fall in love with him, by singing A World Of Our Own.

I really have to say that Mike could really do without friends like Danny, what an arse.  The next song Mike sings to Sue-Lin is How Would You Like To Be, I used to love this song when I was a little kid, it’s lots of fun, and the break towards the end where Sue-Lin does the twist and then waltzes is so much fun for a kid to watch, cause you pretend you are there.  Child welfare show up to take Sue-Lin away, so they can look after Sue-Lin…except…the child welfare lady drives away with Sue-Lin in the front seat practically standing up waving goodbye to Mike and with no seat belt…so we’ll look after you Sue-Lin except on the way to the child welfare home…or at all, because Sue-Lin runs away and Mike finds her in the dream car at the Fair.  Oh LOL when the run out of the pavillion Mike puts her on the ground and runs like a monkey, really funny.  I think we could have re shot that one eh?

Get to the airport fight off a gun whilding bad guy and we get A Happy Ending.

Co Stars Alive?  Joan O’Brien YEP

                                Gary Lockwood  YEP

                                Vicky  Tiu  YEP

My Favourite Song:  They Remind Me Too Much Of You

Most Popular Song:   One Broken Heart For Sale

Stay tuned for Day 13 of ELVIS MONTH