The Good

You can never have enough Elvis.

The Bad

No real extras except for some still photos.

Elvis: The Hollywood Collection gives fans more Elvis than they can shake a stick at. Featuring 6 films that have America’s Hero in many roles and singing up a storm, there is bound to be something for everyone in this set. The films that make up this collection are:

  • Kissin’ Cousins

  • Charro

  • Live A Little, Love A Little

  • Stay Away, Joe

  • Tickle Me

  • Girl Happy

Elvis plays dual roles in Kissin’ Cousins which finds him playing a country bumpkin named Josh who doesn’t like a slick air force officer (Elvis) on a mission from the government. Charro features Elvis as a cowboy trying to clear his name when somebody lays a crime on him. Live A Little, Love A Little is fun film that has Elvis working two jobs as a photographer. While some might want more plot than that, this is an Elvis vehicle so we’ll take what we can get. Elvis is an Indian in Stay Away, Joe which finds him playing a humble rodeo rider who comes home to help his tribe. Tickle Me keeps things light when Elvis takes up a job at a ranch that is actually a spa for some high society types. Lastly, Girl Happy has Elvis taking Spring Break a little too seriously when he’s asked to look after the bosses daughter.

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It would be wrong to try and make too much of any of these movies. Elvis was certainly a capable performer and in Elvis: The Hollywood Collection we are treated to some variances of that character but for the most part he will always be Elvis.

Features

Still Photos

They have provided actual still photos and some images of these movie’s one sheets for each DVD. These photos seem like they were little more than promotional materials for the movies in question, however I think that fans are going to love them. Whether it’s a shot of Elvis with an animal, another actor, or just a one sheet from the film, I was impressed that they offered this kind of material for each and every film. The pictures are mostly in black and white but there are some color ones to be seen, and, best of all is the fact that the quality of the pictures is collector worthy.

Video

Widescreen Version. Presented in a “Letterbox” widescreen format preserving the “scope” aspect ratio of its original theatrical exhibition. Enhanced for widescreen TVs. All the movies in this set were in color and from what I saw they looked pretty darn solid. Warner Bros. has done a really nice job with the compression and they also get kudos for cutting some song numbers back into these movies. Everything about this collection seems to play like a tiny piece of history, as if it’s creators know that the person it is showcasing was special and as such they want us to know this.

Audio

Dolby Digital. English - Mono. Warner Bros. should also get credit for making the audio on these releases sound so good. It isn’t as if something amazing has been done to these movies, but I am impressed that for being so old they could be made to sound as solid as they do. Also, since Elvis does so a fair amount of singing, it’s nice to be able to hear the songs and know that they were given the right amount of tender loving care in regards to their compression.

Package

The packaging employed here is of the slipcase variety. The front cover features a bluish/gray shot of Elvis looking as cool as ever. The back cover gives us tiny pictures of all the movies, along with tiny descriptions. The underside of this slipcase also gives us technical specs. Each DVD is housed in a regular sized, amaray case (why didn’t they just put them in slip ones to save space?), and they offer up more information for each title. All in all, I like the way this set is packaged I just think that Warner Bros. needs to be more consistent in regards to their use of amaray and/or slim covers.

Final Word

Eddie Murphy once said that Elvis couldn’t act and that that’s why they had him sing as much they did. Well, I don’t think that anyone is ever going to confuse the man with Laurence Olivier, but it does take talent to have the presence that he had both on stage and on screen. Also, he did make a decent amount of movies so he obviously was highly bankable. I think out of all the films in this collection the one that really grabbed me was Charro. Knowing that it was from someone who created Gunsmoke, I knew that I wasn’t going to be treated to something that was run of the mill. Also, the western environment seems like a place that Elvis felt very comfortable. While he may have put off the whole bad boy, Elvis the Pelvis bit as a stage performer, this guy actually seemed to have more conservative leanings than others might previously have thought. Also, he brings a certain strength the main character of Jess Wade, and Elvis really plays the bad guy trying to be good quite well.

Elvis: The Hollywood Collection is a strong set of films that goes out of it’s way to give consumers a fair amount of bang for their buck.

Charro! was released March 13, 1969.