Boobirt Stylish but barely mediocre overall

RyothChatty ridiculous rating

Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

Janis One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

bkoganbing Screen legend Barbara Stanwyck became probably the biggest name ever to appear in an Elvis Presley movie in Roustabout. Barbara plays the owner of a carnival who takes in Presley after the King has been fired from a gig at a club. Of course she owes him after her right hand man Leif Erickson runs Elvis off the road and damages his motorcycle and guitar.After a while what's keeping him around is pretty young Joan Freeman who is Erickson's daughter. And Presley's drawing in some big bucks and may just pull the carnival out of the red, the red being the mortgage that banker Dabbs Greer has on Stanwyck's show. That is if rival carnival owner Pat Buttram doesn't lure him away or fortune teller Sue Ane Langdon doesn't lure him with her own special lure.I think Roustabout ranks as one of Presley's best feature films. He was starting to lose his allure to the fans of the Beatles and soon enough his pictures would become a rote formula. But as the young man with a chip on his shoulder who becomes a Roustabout at the Stanwyck carnival Elvis is at his very best.For Stanwyck she saw this as a way of getting her name across to younger movie audiences. But after one more film she would abandon the big screen for the small one and did all her remaining work on television.The title song and a song called Poison Ivy are the best for Elvis in the 11 numbers from the score. I didn't know Elvis went in for satire but the song is a really acid number against privileged college frat boys, I really loved it. It's also what gets him canned from that club gig.Fans of both legends should be pleased with Roustabout.

brackenhe I know Elvis Presley made better films after this (at least in my mind) but this must have been the beginning of the end of his movie career. The only reason I give this 4 out of 10 is because there is makings of a decent movie here. But the writing is so bad, and Elvis is made to sing a bunch of ridiculous songs (except Little Egypt.) This movie makes me hate Colonel Parker more than I already hate him. There is a story here about a young man who ends up working in a carnival and falling for a girl (basis for all EP movies.) But with a supporting cast such as this, it should have been better. It had Barbara Stanwyck in it for goodness sake, not to mention several veteran character actors. I think by this point Elvis didn't care anymore because why would he make such schlock. He must have been forced into it because he needed the money to keep up the Colonel and his ever growing entourage. He deserved better than this.

hxjx1369 An amazingly banal soundtrack,this tale of love, strife & life on the road has "The Pelvis" as his most unlovable character of all his classic Saturday afternoon time-killers. If that weren't enough right there, it's also probably the best sugar-coating Hollywood could ever do about the life of a "carny"-type.Features Our Hero jauntily (and experienced riders would say, uneasily) motoring about the land on his might Honda 350 Dream, his gee-tar strapped on the back of his leather jacket. I think it's the same one he wore a few years later in his TV special, but I could be wrong about that. At least he's clothed, unlike that time Jerry Lee Lewis & he took a late-night Memphis MC ride Au natural! Come on...I love Elvis, but when you see stuff like this, you know he wasn't too serious about winning any Academy Awards. The songs are strictly for those that like Elvis prior to his larger "Hunka Hunka Burnin' Love" period that most of his imitators emulate. They're short, too, and easy to learn for those family singalongs . I've found the soundtrack to be a lifesaver on those long, hard rides across the land on MY Honda. No, folks...this is a somewhat lean, and pretty mean (especially to his love interest) Presley. Similar to "Speedway", except no singing female co-star. "Thank yew vera much!"

kwbucsfan In this movie, Elvis plays Charlie Rogers who has a really bad attitude. This character has quite a chip on his shoulder. It took some time until this character grew on me. This was his last very strong movie until Charro! Once again the plot was great as was the supporting cast which featured the late Leif Erickson the late Barbara Stanwick to name a few. I give this movie five stars