Follow That Dream (1962)
When the Kwimper family car runs out of fuel on a new Florida highway and an officious state supervisor tries to run them off, Pop Kwimper digs in his heels and decides to do a little homesteading. He and his son Toby and their 'adopted' children—Holly, Ariadne, and the twins—start their own little community along a strip of the roadside.
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As Good As It Gets
Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast
A story that's too fascinating to pass by...
what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.
This was more a comedy than a musical, and definitely a better movie than his immediate previous movie "Blue Hawaii"! It's the first time I've seen this movie (honest), more than 50 years after it came out, but it was worth the wait. Even though it wasn't a serious movie Elvis did some good acting. The plot was pleasant and fun, with some good laughs at times. Watching this movie will get you thinking of Sheriff Andy Taylor and Mayberry, assuming you know who that was. It's a much easier movie to watch (and enjoy) than his prior musicals were.
This movie is in my top ten of all time. It is a pure romp! Even though you have the "bad guys" from the government to add some drama, and the fact that Elvis character "Toby" and his family are all government freeloaders, this is essentially just a feel good movie.You can read the plot from the other reviews, but it is essentially about homesteaders coming to Florida with a composite "family" and trying to make their way. This is Elvis at his best--as he was meant to be in movies--singing and romancing his way through, with a back woods innocence that Max Baer would later use as Jethro Bodine on "The Beverly Hillbillies".Enjoy this film. It is a delight!
Holy smokes, as far as Elvis movies goes this one is a hum dinger!!! Elvis, very uncharacteristically plays a laid back dumbo, backwoods buffoon who naively sails along in life while feasting on the public welfare trough. Elvis and his homemade family of unadopted brethren scoot along a highway in Florida and set up a camp in the middle of nowhere.....along the way an very obnoxious social dept leader tries to get Elvis and his homemade family to vacate the area..... This film has Elvis battling the state welfare establishment while setting up a very lucrative over the pier fishing business, either legally or illegally - you make the choice. Some hilarious scenes with Elvis unintentionally trying to make amends and friends with some local gangsters and their hoods......Elvis seems so naive and goofy the gangsters are in disbelief. The gangsters are very hilariously tricked by Elvis into running off and away from Elvis's encampment. Great job by the character actor Arthur O'connell as Elvis dad.....he is about as goofy and aloof as Elvis in the film with some hilarious commentary. The scene in the bank where Elvis and his girlfriend (Anne Helm) attempt to borrow money is downright hilarious. All in all this is one of the Pelvis's best films....very lighthearted and you will find yourself laughing on more than one occasion in this movie. Film fans will like it since the state establishment is defeated and the little guys win with their day in court. All in all this and "Kid Galahad" two of Elvis's best overall films.
"Moonspinner" (previous reviewer) must have had his/her head in a spin. First of all, I'm an Elvis fan, so I'm biased; and I acknowledge that about 10 of his 31 films were pretty poor. But for people to imply that Follow That Dream was one of them is ridiculous.Elvis' performance in this film is not simply good - it's outstanding. He plays an "idiot savant" type of role, and plays it to perfection. His speaking voice, his body language, his timing : they're all spot on for this characterisation.The fact that the film lasts for 1 Hr 45 min proves that some integrity went into its making, in order to get the whole story across; and make no mistake, it's a good story with a number of good episodes. OK, we're all so sophisticated and know-it-all these days, and can say the story is unbelievable, but it is set the best part of 50 years ago.Again, contrary to some other comments, the location filming is beautifully done and in the few instances where they have done back-projections, it is not at all obvious.It's easy to pick fault with any film, if you set your mind on it, but my only criticisms of Follow That Dream are (i) that Joanna Moore's diction is very poor and difficult to follow and (ii) that the recording studio echo on the song Follow That Dream does not fit the simplicity of the scene where it's sung - yet it still has a charm to it.Elvis's performance in this film deserved/deserves some wider recognition. There's no question that he was a competent actor. Contrast his role here, as Toby Kwimper, against the dramatic role as Pacer Burton in the superb Flaming Star, only a year earlier, and you can only express admiration.One final word of praise for Anne Helm, who plays her part as Holly to perfection.