The Fastest Guitar Alive (1967)

Why so much hype?

To me, this movie is perfection.

Sadly Over-hyped

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Man, it pains me but this is a bad Elvis movie, even by the Colonel's standards, it's the whole single premise of the story, of the fastest guitar alive. No it's not a spoiler it's in the movie title.The music is so so but still, it's worth a watch to see a young Roy Orbison, that wonderful unappreciated voice is there. RIP County boy........ The world misses that three-octave glass-shattering falsetto range.Mercy.....

Roy Orbison and Sammy Jackson are both spies for the Confederacy who are planning on robbing a gold shipment. They pose as patent medicine salesmen and Roy also doubles as a dance hall singer.This was the film that single-handedly killed Roy Orbison's acting career. It's hard to believe now, but in the 60s he was a VERY hot commodity and the Beatles were at one time HIS opening act! This movie was an attempt to make him like the new Elvis in movies, though his ability to play a romantic lead or show any emotion was nil. Perhaps given time he might have been a decent actor, but here he just isn't given much to work with and he just seems like a fish out of water.So what's wrong with the film? Much of the problem were the songs. While most of Roy's songs were actually very enjoyable (despite having the sound of an electric guitar and orchestra in the Old West), a few of the song in the film were just awful. The "Goodtime Party" song was just awful and the music and clapping were way out of sync. In addition, there was a song by the dance hall girls without Roy near the beginning of the film that had me pondering suicide--it was THAT bad and the lyrics were wretched. The title alone of the song pretty much says it all--"Snuggle Huggle" and it was the only song in the film Roy didn't write or co-write.As for the writing, it was generally fair to poor except when it came to the "kooky Indians". These supposed Indians were terribly unfunny and were less believable as Indians than when Mel Brooks played one in BLAZING SADDLES (and his was intended to be bad).Overall, this is a very limp film only of interest to bad film freaks and the curious.

Yes, the movie "The Fastest Guitar Alive" was terrible and Roy Orbison was not an actor. But just like anything else, you must practice to be good at whatever you choose to do. Elvis at first, was not good, but he got better, but then the roles got worse.Roy should have studied first before going before the camera.Granted, he would not have been a matinée idol, but who knows what could have happened if he would have continued with acting.Most big name actors started out in bad movies and acted badly, but as time went on, they learned their craft and some went on to win Oscars.One of the first roles that Clint Eastwood had was a lab assistant in "The Revenge Of The Creature", and you know what happened in his career.One of the biggest problems with "The Fastest Guitar Alive" is that it should not have been trying to be a musical.It just didn't work and the movie seemed to have too many things going on. But don't blame the actors for a bad script, they just made the mistake of being in the movie.And don't be too hard on Roy. He was new to movie making and didn't have anyone to guide him. He gave it a shot and we have to give him credit for that.

I am actually old enough to remember when this film was new. The best thing about it was the original poster art by the great Frank Frazetta which appears on the soundtrack album but does not, for inexplicable reasons, appear on the VHS box. The gimmick of a guitar that doubles as a shotgun (not a spoiler since it appears in the poster art and the original trailers for this turkey) is all it has going for it. Even the songs sung by Roy don't make the cut. I think this was financed by confederate money as it has about as much value. As a curio and a time capsule piece, it's kind of a hoot but one viewing is all anyone should take. Any more, they might want to gouge their eyes out, but don't do that. Save that for maybe "The Man With The X-Ray Eyes." Roy Oribison can't act and I don't think they had pompadours that big in 1860 ANYTHING. It might make them too much of a target for Union soldiers.