Fairly weak outing for Elvis Presley, here playing a soldier returning home to Honolulu and fighting with his parents over the direction of his life (seems EP wants to be a guide for tourists, but his folks would rather have him go into the family business--pineapples!). Angela Lansbury, as Elvis' rock 'n-roll-hating mother, is always an asset but doesn't have much of a character to play; she's forgettable this time, as is Joan Blackman, one of Presley's dullest on-screen love-interests. The star himself looks bored, and most of his songs here are mediocre. Very popular in 1961, mostly with Presley-fans who were celebrating his own return from service, also with viewers who never got to Hawaii themselves. ** from ****
Review of Blue Hawaii
